Glasgow adds more than 5,000 names to First World War Roll of Honour after 20-year search
Retired BT engineer John Houston from East Kilbride checked more than 17,500 names and found thousands missing. The revised Roll now has 24,824 entries, including the Lord Provost's great-grandfather.
The Mitchell Library in Glasgow, where John Houston carried out much of his research. · Photograph: Stinglehammer (CC BY-SA 4.0)
More than 5,000 names have been added to or verified in Glasgow's First World War Roll of Honour, after nearly two decades of research by a retired BT engineer.
The revised Roll now contains 24,824 entries, correcting and expanding a record first published in 1922, Glasgow City Council has announced.
Who carried out the research?
John Houston, from East Kilbride, began the work in 2007 after retiring as a BT engineer. What started as an interest in tracing his family history grew into a project lasting nearly two decades.
He scrutinised more than 17,500 names already in the Roll, while investigating and verifying thousands more he believed were missing. Much of the work was done at the Mitchell Library and at his computer at home.
His wife, Margaret, recalled: "He wouldn't stop looking for that person until he'd got all the proof that he needed."
How many names have been added?
More than 5,000 names have been added or verified, taking the Roll to 24,824 entries, according to the council.
What is the Lord Provost's connection?
Her great-grandfather was wrongly listed in the original Roll. Private Allan Hannah McIlvennie's entry was incorrect, an error uncovered through her cousin's research.
Lord Provost Jacqueline McLaren said: "To finally see my great grandfather take his proper place in Glasgow's Roll of Honour means a great deal."
What happens next?
The corrected names now form part of the revised edition of the Roll of Honour. Details of how to consult it are available from Glasgow City Council.