Edward Tragheim was born Joseph McColl, because his mother was unmarried at the time of his birth. Eliza McColl married Edward Tragheim (Sr) on 25 June 1884, when Joseph would have been 2 1/2 years old. It's not known whether Tragheim was the father, or whether he simply took on the child when he married Eliza. According to Jean Tragham, in a letter dated 30th Oct 1991, "the father could have been a Joseph Selkirk, a neighbour of the McColl family."

The family lore (recorded by Jean in her letter) has it that Joseph ran away at the age of 16 to join the army, and at that point he changed his name unofficially to Edward Tragheim. However, he enlisted in the Royal Scots Regiment on 31 Oct 1899, when he would have been just over two weeks shy of his 18th birthday. His age on enlistment is recorded as being 18 years, which is close enough to the truth not to matter much.

It's also said that he detested his father, but that may be as unreliable as the claim that he was a boy soldier.

He served in the Second Boer War, and was in Africa from 16th May 1900 to 23 March 1903. On 1 April 1901 was awarded the South Africa Medal and Clasps for service in Belfast, Cape Colony, and the Orange Free State. The Queen's South Africa Medal (QSA) was awarded to military personnel who served in the Boer War in South Africa between 11 October 1899 and 31 May 1902. Units from the British Army, Royal Navy, colonial forces who took part (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India and South Africa), civilians employed in official capacity and war correspondents. The QSA (without bar) was also awarded to troops who guarded Boer prisoners of war at the POW camp on the island of St. Helena.

The Belfast clasp was awarded to troops who, on 26 or 27 August 1900, were east of a north and south line drawn through Wonderfonein, and west of a north and south line through Dalmanutha Station, and north of an east and west line drawn through Carolina (Transvaal).

The Cape Colony and Orange Free State clasps were issued for service within those states when no specific battle clasp was issued to the recipient for a specific action within the same state. So we can assume that Edward was not engaged in specific actions in Cape Colony or in the Orange Free State.

Edward was also awarded the much rarer King's South Africa Medal, on 1st October, 1902. The King's South Africa Medal (KSA) was awarded to all troops who served in the Boer War in South Africa on or after 1 January 1902, and completed 18 months service before 1 June 1902. The medal was not issued alone but always with the Queen's South Africa Medal or QSA.

The KSA was awarded only to those troops who fought in 1902, and who had served for 18 months. Service did not have to be continuous, but even with continuous service the recipient would have had to serve from December 1900 to have 18 months service before the war ended in May 1902 (and commencing before the death of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901). Hence the majority of participants qualified for the QSA only. Edward earned clasps for service in 1901 and 1902.

On 26 March 1904, Edward signed up to complete eight years with the regiment. He was also promoted at that time to Lance Corporal. By that point he'd already served 4 1/2 years. His army forms say that he had enlisted for 7 years' army service, and 5 years on reserve.

His seven years of service would have been up in 1906. On 5th April 1907 he married Jane Ann Waddell in Dundee at her home at 13 Park Lane, Dundee. The wedding was conducted according to the forms of the United Free Church, by George Smart, the minister of the United Free Church in School Wynd, Dundee, vice-president of the United Free Church of Scotland Sabbath Observance Committee, and author of "The Sabbath: The Safeguard of Religion and Morals."

At the time of his marriage Edward was a journeyman baker, and lived at 60 Montrose Street, Brechin. His father was also a baker. Did they work together?

His son Edward was born 9th June 1907, followed by Helen ("Auntie Nell") on 8th Dec, 1908, and Thomas on 9th March 1910. John and Douglas were born in 1912 and 1913, respectively, although Douglas passed away in 1914.

On 5 August 1914 Edward was mobilized at the Royal Scots' Glencorse Barracks, situated just outside the Midlothian town of Penicuik. He was in the British Expeditionary Force from 11th August 1914 to 4th June 1918.

He was awarded the Victory Medal, the British War Medal, and the 1914 Star (also known as the Mons Star). These three medals were awarded to most of the British servicemen that had served from 1914 or 1915. They were irreverently referred to as Pip, Squeak, and Wilfred.

The majority of recipients of the Mons Star were officers and men of the pre-war British army, specifically the British Expeditionary Force (the Old Contemptibles), who landed in France soon after the outbreak of the War and who took part in the Retreat from Mons (hence the nickname 'Mons Star'). 365,622 were awarded in total. Some 6,500,000 British War Medals were awarded in total.

Edward was gassed on 20th May, 1918, and was sent home from the war on 5th June. The effects of being gassed were to stay with him for the rest of his life. Besides damage to his lungs, Edward had been blinded.

If I'm reading his army papers correctly, he was put back on reserve on 6th March, 1919, when he would have been 38 years old.

Lilian was born two years later, in 1921.

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Recollection by Bodhipaksa: I remember visiting my great grandfather in hospital. My grandfather, Thomas Tragham, would take me to a stationer's shop, where he would buy me a Lyons Maid "Zoom" ice-lolly that looked like a rocket, as well as two small tubs of vanilla ice cream. My great grandad would always play a game of not remembering who I was, and then he'd day "Oh, you're the Fifer!" (I lived in the county of Fife). It's possible that he actually had trouble remembering who I was, and that this wasn't a game!

I was ten years old when he died (aged 89) but I have the feeling I was a lot younger at this time. My grandad told me that his dad was very aggressive in the hospital, and would sometimes attack the staff with his walking stick. But he always seemed friendly when I was there.