On par with its counterparts in Balgay and the Western, Dundee’s Eastern Cemetery contains some impressive memorials, many commemorating deceased industrial magnates and their families. The headstone of George Crammond is among the less ornate, but still distinguished. It is a polished granite plinth adorned with a Greek urn, similar to that of fellow Dundonian, Maggie Barrie, in Crieff Cemetery. George died at the Military Hospital, Chichester, on November 30th, aged thirty-eight. He had battled influenza for nine days before succumbing to pneumonia. The headstone, which has undergone stabilisation in recent years, is in good condition and in the care of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
George Crammond Jr. was born in Dundee on January 25th, 1880, to George Sr, a brass finisher, and Isabella (nee Duncan). He was the couple’s third child and their first and, according to his headstone, only son. The Census was taken the following year. George, aged one, resided at 3 Westport in the St Mary District with his parents and two sisters, Elizabeth and Margaret. Tragedy was to befall the Crammond family on February 11th, 1884, when George Sr was killed in a workplace accident, aged just thirty-five, leaving Isabella as head of the household and a single parent to four children (their daughter Isabella Jr having arrived the previous year) and likely pregnant with her fourth daughter Jemima.
By 1891, Isabella, her five children, and niece Nellie Watson resided at 27 South George Street. George Jr., aged eleven, was attending school. I was unable to locate the family on the 1901 Census. Nevertheless, by 1911, George was thirty-one and still resided in the family home at 55 Dens Street, with his mother and elder sister Margaret. The latter was employed in the local jute industry, whilst George had chosen a career in retail, working as a grocer and wine merchant.
Like most young men, George served in the First World War. As a grocer, he may have been exempt from conscription under the 1916 Military Service Act and volunteered to serve. George’s military service commenced in the Royal Navy. However, he was discharged after two months to join the Royal Air Force (RAF).
After his death, Isabella was amongst the executors of George’s estate. She survived her son by over twenty years. She died on March 2 1939, and was interred with her husband and son.
Sources: Ancestry, Find a Grave, Scotland’s People. Wikipedia.
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