More about James McLaren

James McLaren was born in Errol, Perthshire and was the husband of Mrs Catherine Robertson McLaren of 1 Blackness Street, Dundee. He volunteed to join the Royal Navy as a Boy Second Class and trained onboard HMS Caledonia, a training ship on the River Forth. He served on several ships including HM Ships Agincourt, Kent, Resolution, Bulwark, Duncan, Shannon and Bonaventure and was advanced to Leading Seaman in 1910. Whilst serving in the battleship HMS Duncan in December 1908 he and all his shipmates were awarded the Messina Commemorative Medal by the Italian Government for their assistance in a massive earthquake which killed at least 70,000 people in Sicily and Calabria. He was serving onboard the destroyer HMS Turbulent, a Destroyer launched January 1916. which was sunk by the German battleship SMS Westfalen in the night action at the Battle of Jutland. James McLaren was one of 90 crew to die in the sinking. Only 13 survived, becoming prisoners of war. He is named on the Chatham Naval Memorial, Chatham in Kent.