14
country:
England (Wiltshire)
comments: An early contributor to the site (Entry 4) was the Rev. Canon John Caird. At the time of writing to you, May 2004, he was in Palliative Care in Winnipeg and passed away on 5th August 2004.
John was a Son of the Village and cousin of the late Walter Nichol, raised firstly at Whitehill, in late 1947, he moved into St Boswells, living with and raised by his uncle Johnny Caird and Aunt Nin in the prefabs in what was then, Lessudden Park.
We were friends, joining the village band and eventually the scouts in Newtown as well as enjoying many years of friendship. I joined the army in 1958, maintaining contact with John until he moved to Canada and eventually lost contact in the late seventies. I found John again by the magic of the Internet and we spent a few years renewing our friendship. When we regained contact he knew that he only had a few years to live and retired early in 2003 in order to enjoy more time with his family, 19 months later he died.
At his funeral service, held in St John s Cathedral, Winnipeg it was standing room only and among the congregation was the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba. John was buried with Military Honours due to his connection for eighteen years with the Army, Navy, Air Force Veterans Association and the Cathedral was packed to the doors. The tributes to John were amazing, his wife, Anne, received hundreds of letters and cards from all over Canada and the northern USA.
This was a man of whom St Boswells should feel proud and I am sure that those who recall him from all those years ago will be saddened to learn of his passing, one year ago.
Jim Bunton
An obituary for John Caird can be found at:
John Caird's Obituary
