Analysis of John Bruce Cairnie

John Bruce Cairnie, born of September 22, 1889 in Thurso, Caithness, was the son of Davide Dandie Cairnie, and Mary Bruce Wilson. He attended the Miller Institute in Thurso, and later to Edinburgh University, where he graduated M.A. in 1911 and B.Sc. in 1912. He then attended teachers' college.
In October 1917 he sailed to join the 3/4 King's African Rifles as a lieutenant. He kept a diary from then on until January 1919 as he sailed for home.

On January 26, 1915, he was doing a platoon drill and bayonet fighting, and ammunition, preparing for the war. The soldiers had been leaving on random destinations, and some people were hopeful that they would be brought to Edinburgh Castle or Inverness. After his afternoon parade he found himself and two of his fellow soldiers on a similar mission. A man named Russel, and Jim Matheson were selected to go with him. They paraded for 15 minutes, before realizing that they were supposed to do picket duty at the Herring Green crossroads with orders to stop all cars and take inventory.