Today marks 25 years since my father, Robert Armstrong Rae, died at the age of 69. I wanted to share a few photos of him that I’ve found.
Born in 1926 he joined the army in 1944 shortly after his 18th birthday. He enlisted as a Seaforth Highlander and can be seen in this photograph standing proudly in uniform.
I don’t remember seeing this photograph while he was alive and I know next to nothing about his time in the army. Isn’t that so often the case that you don’t think to ask?
He looks so young in this next photo. Of course, he was very young!
I never knew my dad to ride a motorbike but here he is pictured in Singapore doing just that.
Being in the army would’ve given him the chance to visit places that a boy from Wishaw would not expect to see. I just wish I knew more.
Shaking The Branches 
What a handsome lad your dad was. May his memory be a blessing.
Have you requested his service records? Here’s a link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/requests-for-personal-data-and-service-records
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Thank you Barbara. I must do that. I have his medical records and release form but they don’t tell me where he served.
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My father was also in the army during World War Two. I seem to remember as a child that there was a kind of unwritten code that you didn’t talk about the war – he never told us anything, and so you grow up thinking that you can’t ask.
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I think you’re right about that. A different generation.
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