My research into the Men of Kelty, who died for King and Country, arose from an initial interest in learning a little about the backgrounds of those men and their connections with Cowdenbeath.

My research gradually grew to include some 300 war dead and casualties, who lived, were schooled, are laid to rest, or in some other way are linked to addresses in or around Kelty and were involved in the Great War.

People may find the information on the site a starting point for kick-starting their own family tree but in doing so they should exercise caution in verifying that what is presented here is indeed correct before proceeding.

For example: An address linked to an individual may not necessarily be that individual’s home address but may in fact be the address of a relative or friend.

My research for the Men listed on the Memorial sometimes involved working from very scant detail  perhaps only an initial, surname and/or service unit. For others there was a plethora of information available from numerous resources.

Information came from a wide variety of sources:

  • Headstones and memorials in Cowdenbeath Old Cemetery and the cemeteries in the surrounding area
  • Newspapers e.g. Dundee Courier and Telegraph, Dunfermline Press, Fife Free Press, Dunfermline Journal, West Fife Echo
  • Published volumes, Rolls of Honour
  • “Soldiers died in the Great War”
  • The National Archives of Scotland, Register House Edinburgh.
  • Scotland’s People web site
  • Census returns, Electoral and valuation rolls
  • The Internet
  • All Military records were from Ancestry
  • Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
  • Fife Council for their kind help with funding.