Andrew David Aitkin Short
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Andrew (Andy) David Aitken was the second son of James and Annie Short (neé Aitken).Both his parents were born in Scotland, James in about 1863 and Annie on 5 December 1864. They had at least four children born between 1894 and 1900: James b. Scotland, Andrew David Aitken b. Harworth 26 March 1895 bap. Harworth & Bircotes All Saints 12 May 1895, John William b. Harworth bap. All Saints and Annie Pretoria Nicol b. Harworth bap. All Saints. According to the information on the 1901 Census, James and Annie's eldest son, James, was born in Scotland although no Scottish records have yet been found either of his birth or their marriage. However, James and Annie had moved to Hesley, Harworth, by the time their second child, Andrew, was born in 1895.In 1901 James (37), a gardener, and Annie (36) were living at New England Cottages, Hesley, Harworth, with their four children: James (7), Andrew (6), John (3) and Annie (under one year).Andrew was recorded as a boarder/school boy at Kelham Theological College in 1911. However, neither his parents nor siblings have yet been traced on the 1911 Census. According to a notice of Andrew's death in a Scottish newspaper, the family moved from Haworth to Tickhill, Yorkshire; his father, who predeceased his son, probably died in England.Andrew's mother returned to Scotland as the same newspaper report gave her address as Otterston, Aberdour, and this was also her address on the later CWGC record: The Stables, Otterston, Aberdour, Fifeshire.
Formerly 71063 Private, Notts & Derby Regiment. Commissioned second lieutenant in the 18th Bn, Lancashire Fusiliers.Andrew served in France from 1916 and was killed in action on 26 March 1918. According to a newspaper report of his death, he died on his 23rd birthday.He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial, Somme, France.He qualified for the British War Medal and Victory Medal.CWGC - History of the Pozieres Memorial (extract){ 'The POZIERES MEMORIAL relates to the period of crisis in March and April 1918 when the Allied Fifth Army was driven back by overwhelming numbers across the former Somme battlefields, and the months that followed before the Advance to Victory, which began on 8 August 1918. The Memorial commemorates over 14,000 casualties of the United Kingdom and 300 of the South African Forces who have no known grave and who died on the Somme from 21 March to 7 August 1918.' (www.cwgc.org)
Hawick News & Border Chronicle, ‘For King and Country’, 17 May 1918: ‘Short. Killed in action on his 23rd birthday, Andrew (Andy) David Short, 2nd Lieut., Lancashire Fusiliers, second son of the late James Short, gardener, Tickhill, Yorkshire, and Mrs Short, Otterston, Aberdour (formerly of Hawick), and grandson of the late Mrs Short, 15 Duke Street.’ (www.aksplough.co.uk)An Army record of casualties parents and relatives names his mother, Annie Short of the Stables, Otterston, Aberdour.Registers of Soldiers' Effects: no legatee named
