Miniature Portrait of John Currie Lauder, 1914 - 1918
This miniature portrait (bottom left) shows Captain John Currie Lauder of the 8th Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders; he was killed in action on 28 December 1916. “Lauder heard a shell landing in the mud and went to retrieve it. A platoon of Argylls catapulted a grenade towards the Germans which took them unawares. A sniper looked up and saw Lauder and thought he was responsible and shot him….” Pte Black. John had previously been wounded and had experienced a nervous breakdown but had been desperate to return to the trenches. He wrote continuously to his parents, one letter described when some of his men were killed “We carried the boys to one huge grave. The padre said a prayer and we sang a hymn. Then I called my men to attention again and we marched straight back to the trenches, each of us wondering who would be next…”
Captain John Currie Lauder was the son of Sir Harry Lauder. The Image of Sir Harry Lauder (bottom right) shows him in theatrical costume as one of his many comic Scottish characters; this particular costume included an Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders badger head sporran. As a music hall entertainer Harry became as famous, in his day, as Charlie Chaplain and Laurel and Hardy and made friends with these three film stars. At one point he was the highest paid performer in the world and delighted audiences with his characters, catchy songs and famous twisted walking sticks. Through his performance and his fame he worked hard to raise vast sums of money for army charities and was later knighted for his effort.