Other Information
Awarded Military Medal.
Brother of William Dowie. Husband of Jane Blackwood Dowie, of Viewfield, Chirnside, Berwickshire.
Census 1881 at Battery Road, (1) born North Queensferry, son of James (29) quarryman and Jane (30).
Robert became a Contractor’s Timekeeper. He married Jane Blackwood, on 7 Aug 1905 at Edinburgh.
They had sons David, born 1911 at Wick and Robert born 1913 at Cromarty.
He worked for a contractor named Nott, on the construction of the ill fated Cromarty and Dingwall Light Railway, which was intended to run from Cromarty to the Highland Railway station at Conon Bridge. This was beset with legal and other difficulties. The first six miles of track had been laid and additional works over a further two miles were underway when construction was halted at the outbreak of the First World War (the tracks were lifted and re-used by the army in France).
Robert joined up early in the war and was posted to the 8Bn Black Watch.
He gained a reputation for taking part in trench raids.
He was wounded by a grenade in 1916 and spent some time in hospital at Aberdeen before returning to the trenches.
He was awarded the Military Medal in December 1916.
At the start of May 1917 the battalion were taking part in the Battle of Arras when he was initially reported Missing, subsequently updated to “Killed in Action.”
