Lives of the First World War

Nelson Downie was born in Newton Mearns on 5 May 1892, son of Marjorie and John Downie, the Head Teacher of Mearns Public School. The family lived in “School House” on what was then Kilmarnock Road. Nelson was a pupil at Glasgow High School where he edited the school magazine and was President of the School Council. He graduated from Glasgow University in 1913 with an MA in Mathematics and Natural Philosophy and was appointed as a Provincial Magistrate of the Indian Civil Service in November 1915. Whilst in India Nelson Downie joined the Indian Army Reserve of Officers. Indian Army troops fought in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. One consequence of this was that India itself was vulnerable to hostile attention from dissident groups. Although Afghanistan formally maintained its neutrality during the war, there were factions within the country intent on taking advantage of Britain’s relative weakness. In May 1917 there was an attack by Mahsud dissidents along the northwest Frontier. On 17 May Lieutenant Nelson Downie died from wounds sustained the previous day. His Deputy Commissioner described him as “one of the finest young men….... all who knew him loved and admired him". Nelson Downie is buried in Dera Ismail Khan in present day Pakistan and is commemorated on Face 23 of the Delhi Memorial (India Gate). He is also commemorated on the war memorials at Glasgow University and Mearns, and on the family gravestone in New Kilpatrick (Hillfoot) cemetery.

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