Photo: Angela Conroy
Photo: John Sheen
In Preston Cemetery is a family headstone which reads:
The
family burial place of
John C. and Margaret Meikle
In
Loving memory of the above
John Cunningham Meikle
Who died May 18th 1916, aged 65 years.
Also of the above
Margaret Meikle
Who died November 2nd 1930, aged 76 years.
2nd Lieut. Robert Jardine Meikle
2nd The Durham Light Infantry
Who was killed in action at Ginchy, Somme
September 15th 1916, aged 23 years.
Lieut. John Meikle
Royal Canadian Dragoons who was killed in
action at Beaucourt-en-Santerre
August 8th 1918, aged 28 years.
Jean Longstaff has submitted the following:-
The youngest of the seven children of Scottish parents James Cunningham Meikle, a travelling draper and fishing boat owner, and his wife Margaret (nee Miller), Robert Jardine Meikle was born in the spring of 1893 and lived in North Shields with his parents and siblings, James born in 1878, Jessie, Maggie, William, Archie and John.
By 1911 Robert was working at the Alliance Assurance Company in Newcastle, and still living at home in Marine Avenue, Monkseaton with his parents; he was a member of Rockcliff Rugby Club and also played golf at Whitley Bay. Robert enlisted with the Northern Cyclists’ Battalion in September 1914 as Cyclist 996 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 4th Battalion Durham Light Infantry in May the following year.
As the 4th Battalion was assigned to home duty only, in February 1916 Lieutenant was posted to the 2nd Battalion in France and joined them in the Ypres Salient on 5th March where he was assigned to 'D' Company. Granted leave at the end of May 1916 Robert returned home for his father’s funeral, and on rejoining his Battalion moved with them to the Somme valley.
At the beginning of September 1916 the Battalion was preparing for the assault on Courcelette which was timed to start at 19.30pm on 15th, but 2nd DLI only just reached their position before the attack began. Lieutenant Robert Jardine Meikle was one of the officers killed in that attack.
According to the Whitley Bay Chronicle his address was 'Gerahom', Marine Avenue, Monkseaton.
He was the brother of John Meikle.
Robert Jardine Meikle is remembered at North Shields on N34.36 and N34.46, in Whitley Bay on W84.01, W84.14, W84.30, where his name is given as Merkle and W84.31, and in the D.L.I. Book of Remembrance, page 244.
