Robert was born in 1888, the son of William McKay (Farm Servant) and his wife Eliza McGillvary, living at Kirkettle Cottages, Rosewell, Midlothian. On the 12th of February 1916, Robert, also a farm servant at Kirkettle, married Margaret Livingstone, a domestic servant.
It appears that Robert enlisted in the Royal Garrison Artillery at some point during 1916 and was posted to France / Belgium, where he died in a Casualty Clearing Station in the vicinity of Lijssenthoek on 16 July 1917 from concussion of the brain. It’s likely that he suffered a head injury whilst undertaking his duties as a gunner. He was 29 years of age.
The village of Lijssenthoek was close to the Ypres battlefields, but out of range of the German artillery. It was a natural location for a number of Casualty Clearing Stations.
Gunner Robert McKay is buried at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. He is also commemorated on the memorial plaque in Rosewell Memorial Hall, Rosewell, Midlothian.
In March 1921, Robert’s widow, Margaret married James Livingstone in Rosewell. The couple then moved to Station Road, Buchlyvie, Stirling County.
DONATE TO OUR CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
Your donation supports projects like this one, which educate and involve future generations in remembering those who fell in the two world wars. Your support helps us keep their stories alive. Thank you.
