Thomas Wilson MacDonald was born in 1884, son of a distiller and merchant in Glasgow.

He attended Sedbergh School in Lupton House from 1898–1903, and joined The Border Regiment as Second Lieutenant of the 3rd Cumberland Battalion (militia) on 3rd December 1904. He served in the 2nd Bn in Burma 1904–05 and in South Africa 1905–1907. He became First Lieutenant 15th March 1907, serving in the UK 1907–1914. He was adjutant to the 2nd Bn from 1908–11, and adjutant (now Captain) to the 5th Bn (Territorial Bn) in 1913 – a post he held when they were mobilised at Workington, Cumbria on August 14th 1914.

The 5th Bn arrived at Le Havre in October 1914, part of the troops under General Stopford. Captain MacDonald appears in various mentions during 1915: a gas attack which repulsed the enemy but led to severe loss, and in June, at Hooge, he is mentioned as the 149th were told to improve the situation with the Germans occupying a salient.

During his distinguished war service in France, he was successively Staff Captain, 1916; Brigade Major, 1917–18; gassed; wounded in the thigh at Hooge, June 1915; mentioned three times in dispatches, 11/1/16, 4/1/17 and 20/5/18; and he received his DSO at Buckingham Palace in Spring 1918. The document for this is signed by Winston Churchill.

He was married to Mary (Molly) Jefferson and lived at Hundith Hill, Lorton Road, Cockermouth, Cumbria (now a hotel). She died from Spanish flu and subsequently he married Mary (May) Murray Dickson (our grandmother). He had two daughters, Miriam and Kathleen Mary, from his first marriage and two sons, Thomas William Ruthven (our father) and David Neville, from his second. After his second marriage, he lived in Sway, Hampshire and Annan, Dumfries and Galloway before returning to Cumbria where he lived successively in Bassenthwaite, Bridekirk and Cockermouth.

He retired from the regular army in 1922 and, with the rank of Major, was appointed to the reserve of officers. In 1928 he was second in command of the 5th Bn and later, commander from 1932–1938 and becoming Brevet Colonel in 1936. He commanded the 7th Bn in 1939 and the 9th Bn in 1940. He was based at Workington Drill Hall, forming new Companies/recruits to go to war. He retired in 1944 aged 60 and died in 1948 aged 63.

He also served his local community: as Deputy Lieutenant of Cumberland, a county and Urban District councillor and President of Rotary. He was one of four brothers: Alan, a Brigadier in the Royal Artillery; John, a Captain, killed and buried in Gallipoli whilst serving with The Highland Light Infantry; and David, a Doctor in Glasgow. He had a sister Elizabeth who moved to Melbourne, Australia.

Both his sons followed him to Sedbergh School. Our father, T W R MacDonald, joined the Royal Artillery, served in India in the late 40s and later became commanding officer of the Workington TA, achieving the rank of Major. In August 1950 he was selected to carry the 5th Battalion colours when they were marched out of Workington to Carlisle Cathedral with full military honours. The colours were marched around Workington, headed by the band of the Border Regiment, and the Regiment were given special dispensation to march with 'bands playing, bayonets fixed and colours flying'. Colonel MacDonald's youngest son, D N MacDonald, followed him into the Border Regiment in November 1953, 1st Bn, and was posted to Suez in 1954 and later to Germany.

Colonel MacDonald's medals and WWI dispatches are with the Border Regiment museum at Carlisle Castle on display.

I hope this helps piece together some of the facts. As a family we are extremely proud of our grandfather's achievements and hope future generations will continue to remember him.