Gilbert McMillan Mason. Photograph originally shared on Ancestry by Joan Capstick11 on 12 Feb 2016

Gilbert McMillan Mason was born on 23 June 1893 at New Cumnock.

Gilbert McMillam Mason married Mary Thompson McMurdo on 10 July 1924 at New Cumnock.

Gilbert and Mary had a Daughter, Janet Mason born 1927. She died on 1 December 1982, age 55.

Gilbert McMillan Mason died on 16 April 1941, age 47.  He is listed as a Civilian Casualty of WW2 in Barrow in Furness, a victim of the Barrow in Furness Blitz

“Firewatcher. Son of Mr. W. Mason, of New Cumnock, Ayrshire, Scotland; husband of Mary Mason, of 27 Carlton Avenue. Died at Baptist Chapel, Abbey Road”.

The difficulty of solely targeting Barrow’s shipyard meant that many residential neighbourhoods were bombed instead; 83 civilians were killed, 330 injured, and over 10,000 houses were damaged or destroyed during the Blitz, about 25 percent of the town’s housing stock. Surrounding towns and villages were often mistaken for Barrow and were attacked instead, while many streets in Barrow were severely damaged. Bombing during mid-April 1941 caused significant damage to a central portion of Abbey Road, completely destroying the Waverley Hotel as well as Christ Church and the Abbey Road Baptist Church. The town’s main public baths and Essoldo Theatre were also severely damaged.