Hairdresser. SON OF MR. AND MRS. GALBRAITH, OF 57 REGENT Street, GREENOCK. Brother of Malcolm Sinclair Galbraith. We are most grateful to Mike Mearns for the following info:

Patrick Templeton lived in Ann St, and Peter Galbraith lived in Regent St, just round the corner, both worked as hairdressers for Mr Watson.  I suspect they joined up together, in 2nd Battalion Royal Scots, Patrick was 20248 and Peter 20247.  Both were RS machine gunners and were transferred to 8th Company MGC in January 1916, this is confirmed in the war diaries at the National Archives in Kew.  They had been together since arriving in France in July 1915, until both were hospitalised.  Machine Gunners rarely went back to their original Companies but were drafted in where necessary.  Peter went to 214 Company and Patrick to 216 Company, both Companies were raised and trained at Grantham and shipped out to France around the same time.  In the photo the Corporal on the right could possibly be Peter, he is a Corporal, he has a wound stripe and they would have been at Grantham at the same time. Both men died in the 3rd Battle of Ypres, Patrick being killed in action on the last day of Passchaendale.  

Men were not recruited directly into the MGC, these were hand picked elite troops.  On creation of the MGC all existing trained machine gunners were transferred, en masse, from their existing battalions into the MGC Companies.  Afterwards selected men were sent for the specialist training.  As that old saying goes, these men fought to the last man or bullet (frequently both) and the MGC quickly became known as the "Suicide Squad".

FORMERLY 20247, Royal Scots.

Buried at MENDINGHEM MILITARY Cemetery, Belguim. Grave Reference V. E. 9.

Newspaper Clippings relating to Peter Sinclair Galbraith

Peter S Galbraith

Peter Sinclair Galbraith