213929 RSM. Thomas Geggie DCM.British Army 2nd Btn. Kings Own Scottish Borders Thomas Geggie was born on the 23rd August 1881 at Scots Place Berwick upon Tweed. He was orphaned at the age of four and at the age of eight/nine years he was sent to an orphanage at Aberlour in Scotland. We know that Tom enlisted at the age of 18. He was then posted to South Africa on the 4th Jan 1900. Tom took part in the 2nd Boer War where he was wounded. He recovered from this wound and was promoted to Corporal on 9th of August 1902. Tom married Ada Butcher in November 1906. On the 1st December of that same year he was posted to Egypt and Ada went with him. Two of their six children were born in Egypt, my father Thomas being one of them. In 1911 he was then posted to India where another child was born. In 1913 he left the 1st Battalion for the 2nd Battalion of the Kings Own Scottish Borders. Tom was promoted to Company Quartermaster Sergeant on the 3rd of April 1914. He was then sent to France as part of the expeditionary force on 10th August 1914. Tom was duly promoted to Regimental Sergeant Major on 14th Sept. He was mentioned in dispatches by Sir John French dated 8th of October 1914. This was confirmed by the London Gazette dated 9th December 1914. He was mentioned again on the 3rd of June 1916. During the war Tom wrote to his uncle in Canada. (We have all his letters). His letters so impressed his uncle that he had some of them printed in the Toronto Star. Later Tom was to become a war correspondent for the Toronto Star. In November of 1916 Tom was badly wounded and on the 7th of June 1917 he was officially discharged from the Army. Tom was reunited with his family and went to live in Kinross, Scotland for a while before going to London where he continued to write for the Toronto Star. In 1922 Tom died from illness related to being in the 1st World War, where he had been exposed to gasses and wounded in the leg.
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