More about Alfred Beedie Dair

Alfred Beedie Dair   CZ/4818   Hood Bn Royal Naval Division

A.B. Alfred B. Dair, R.N.D., son of Mr and Mrs David Dair, 25 Robertson Street, has died as the result of wounds received in action.  Deceased enlisted four years ago, and went through the Dardanelles campaign.  Two years ago, he was drafted to France.  He had been previously wounded in the neck.  Prior to joining up he was employed as a fireman with the North British Railway Company Ltd.  Mr and Mrs Dair have three other sons serving—John, at present with the Scottish Horse in France; Alexander, in Mesopotamia; and Colin training with the Scottish Rifles.

Dundee Courier 22nd October 1918

Alfred B Dair was the son of Mr David and Mrs Margaret Dair of 25 Robertson Street, Dundee and was formerly employed by the North British Railway Company as a fireman. In May 1915 he volunteered to join the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve for service in the Royal Naval Division. After initial Naval Training at the Crystal Palace in South London he was sent to Blandford Camp in Dorset for advanced military training. Rated Able Seaman in August, he was drafted to the Drake Battalion in Gallipoli and arrived on the peninsula in October 1915. In mid December of that year he was hospitalised with a hernia injury and transferred back to Britain for treatment at the Royal Naval Hospital at Haslar in Gosport. After recovery and further duties at Blandford, in September 1916 he was drafted to the Hood Battalion which had arrived in France in May. After training in Army tactics the Hood Battalion experienced the war on the Western Front and was being prepared to join in the Somme battle. One of the first day’s objectives of the British attack on 1 July 1916 was the capture of the village of Beaucourt just to the west of the River Ancre. It was finally taken on 14 November by the men of the RND. This was the first major operation by the RND in France and established a reputation for being a “Can Do” Division. However, the casualty list was very long and over 30 local men were killed and countless more wounded including Alfred Dair. He remained in hospital care until February 1917 when he rejoined the Hood Battalion. He survived battles at Gavrelle and Passchendaele but on 31 December 1917 amidst the fighting at Welsh Ridge he absented himself from his post. In a Field General Court Martial he was found guilty but the strain of his war must have been taken into account and he received a suspended sentence of one years hard labour. He was with the Hood Battalion during the German offensive in March 1918 and then took part in the Allies 100 days campaign which ended the war. In October 1918 Alfred Dair received serious wounds during these advances and died from gunshot wounds to the head and back in hospital at Camiers on 16 October 1918. He is buried in the Etaples Military Cemetery, Northern France.

Iain Stewart and Iain Birnie