Ian Campbell Chrystal
| Rank | Second Lieutenant |  |
| Medals | British War Medal, Victory Medal | |
| Regiment | Seaforth Highlanders 3rd, attached 9th Battalion | |
| Military Service | Chrystal started military service as Private 7721 in an Inns of Court battalion on 22nd November 1915. In March 1916 he transferred to 9th (Scottish) Officer Cadet Battalion and from there was commissioned into the 3rd Battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders, a training and reserve battalion in July 1916. He was posted to the 9th Battalion of the regiment which he joined on 19th September 1916. This was a pioneer battalion attached to the 9th (Scottish) Division and had been in France since the summer of 1915. Although fully trained as infantry and able to fight as such if required the pioneer battalions’ main tasks were digging trenches and gun pits, building huts and maintaining roads. Even when not working in the frontline trenches they were generally well within range of enemy artillery. | |
| Born | c1888, Glasgow | |
| Death | 1st May 1917 | |
| Circumstances of Death | Killed in action during the Arras Offensive. | |
| Age | 29 | |
| Memorial | Point-Du-Jour Military Cemetery, Athies, I.A. 4. Chrystal’s body was not recovered from its temporary grave and buried at Point-Du-Jour Military Cemetery until 1920. His mother chose the phrase “He that overcometh shall inherit all things”, Rev 21-7 for his gravestone. | |
| CWGC Information | Son of Marie L. Chrystal, of Auchendennan, Arden, Dumbartonshire, and the late W. J. Chrystal. | |
| Parents | William J Chrystal (1854-1921) & Marion L Alexander (1854->1925) | |
| Father's Occupation | Chemical manufacturer. Partner in J & J White | |
| Siblings | Robert A (c1882-), Marguerite F (c1884-1960) Eleanor M C (c1892-1916) | |
| Spouse | Unmarried | |
| Education | Routenburn Preparatory School, Largs | |
| Occupation | Worked at J & J White | |
| 1891 Census | Park Circus, Glasgow | |
| 1901 Census | Routenburn Preparatory School, Largs | |
| 1911 Census | Not at home – in Ceylon | |
| Home Address | 1917 – Auchendennan, Dumbartonshire | |
| Glasgow Necropolis | Compartment Zeta Lair 195 | |
| Other Memorials | Scottish National War Memorial | |
| Other Information | In February 1911 Mr & Mrs Chrystal, accompanied by Ian and Eleanor left London for Colombo, Ceylon. | |
| Acknowledgements and Sources | Much of the information on which this profile is based is drawn from various internet sources which are listed below. The Friends of Glasgow Necropolis also wish to make full acknowledgement and thanks for the permitted use of any information or images generously supplied specifically for exhibition, publication or display in connection with The Roll of Honour and accompanying profiles to Ancestry, and Find my past. Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Scottish War Memorials Project The Inns of Court Officers Training Corps during the Great War, by FHL Errington. 1922 | |
Gallery
Ian Campbell Chrystal Monument - Zeta
Credits
Compiled by Morag Fyfe, Historical and Genealogical Researcher for The Friends of Glasgow Necropolis.
