Heroic soldier's WWI diary is revealed after decades

Granddaughter publishes poignant account of war journey, trenches and return home

- STUART GILLESPIE

When five pals headed off to fight in World War One, the young soldiers envisioned it being a big adventure.

But sadly it ended in tragedy, with just one of them returning home.

Private John Hope, who was the sole survivor, kept diaries of his time with the Seaforth Highlanders — from joining up in 1915 to being demobbed in 1919.

Written in secret, these records bear witness to the unimaginable realities faced by these young soldiers on the treacherous Western Front.

They have now been published by John’s granddaughter, Gillian Hope, and her cousin Matthew Terras as The Sanquhar Boys and the Seaforths: A Personal Diary of the Great War 1914-1918.

As well as sharing the story of John — who settled in Cresswell in Dumfries with wife Mary after the war — Gillian also wants to let people know more about the four who didn’t make it back: Andrew Stitt, Jamie Stoddart, Hughie Hume and John Hiddleston.

Gillian — who will be appearing at Boswell Book Festival at Dumfries House in Ayrshire next month — says: “They all wanted to go on an adventure and they were inspired by an enthusiastic geography teacher because they decided, being from the south, they would go north and join the Seaforth Highlanders.

“The only bit of colour on the front of the book is the recruitment poster for the Seaforth Highlanders.

“It's got all these young men, all smiling, and the guy at the front has a football.

“That was probably the attraction — they were getting paid to go on an adventure, rather than it showing the grim reality of the trenches.

“It was a heavy price for grandpa to pay for an adventure. He survived. He was just 24-year-old when he came back.