WWI: Irish wounded convalescing at Glamis Castle

[JPC]

During WWI, a number of Irish servicemen recuperated from their wounds at Glamis Castle, the family home of the late Queen Mother (Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, as she then was).

Elizabeth's father, Claude Bowes-Lyon (the Earl of Strathmore) and her mother, Nina (Lady Strathmore) had five sons and one other daughter, Rose.

When World War I broke out, Strathmore offered the Castle to the Government as a convalescent hospital and had it fitted out to accommodate 16 officers.

Rose, a trained nurse, took care of the men. Elizabeth and David, their brother, used to help out in the wards by running errands for the soldiers, writing letters and making sure they had enough tobacco.

Elizabeth also kept them entertained by playing cards and billiards with them or singing songs and generally kept their spirits up.

My great-grandfather, Patrick Killeen, was there for a while recovering from his wounds. He was from Newmarket-on-Fergus and enlisted in the Royal Munster Fusiliers. He was later assigned to the Machine Gun Corps.

The attached group photo showing Nina, Rose, Elizabeth and Patrick (back row, seventh from the left) with the other soldiers who recovered at Glamis.

I'd be great to hear from anyone who knows who the other soldiers were or who has any other information about life with the Bowes-Lyon family during WWI.

Regards, JPC