Dr. Lachlan M. V. Mitchell - Biography-4
Dr. Lachlan Mitchell: A Life Well Lived....
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Lachlan Martin Victor Mitchell –known affectionately as “Lal” - was born in Inverness, Scotland on 24th March 1887. His family on both sides were Scots, hailing from the Highlands and islands of the north.​
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Lal joined the Royal Army Medical Corps as a Captain and met his future wife, Harriet Doris Riggall while working at a hospital for wounded soldiers in Cambridge in 1914. ​Lachlan and Doris married in 1920 and made their home in Inverness. On returning from the war Lachlan took a a further qualification at Aberdeen University as a Doctor of Public Hygiene. He then went to work in the Royal Northern Infirmary in Inverness as their first bacteriologist.
Over his long career he continued to support the work of the Forbes Dispensary (the charitable pharmacy and medical practice that his father had run), served as a hospital bacteriologist, and as medical consultant at the Royal Northern Infirmary. Lachlan was widely respected in his Inverness community; as noted in his obituary, “Lal’s ready wit, his fun, his vast knowledge, and his love of his fellow men made him an ideal companion and one who will be sadly missed by those who had the privilege of calling him friend.”
The medical gene lived on through Lachlan’s daughter Harriet, who like her father graduated in medicine from Edinburgh University. Harriet and husband Reginald Harvey had a son, George – Lal’s only grandchild -- and he is now the proud possessor of Lachlan's trench watch. George and Barbara Harvey's daughter Rachel has a two year old (Lal's great-great-grandson) - so his watch will have a good home for generations to come!
Pvt. Paul R. Thomer Biography-1
Paul Thomer's Watch Returned to His Family - Sept 2023
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On Sept 9, 2023, Pvt. Thomer’s watch was returned to his daughter Deborah and her four siblings, exactly 80 years after Paul purchased it. They will treasure it as a tangible memory of their courageous Dad. Semper Fi.
Pvt. Paul Thomer -- 1942 Guadalcanal Marine & His Watch
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Private Paul R. Thomer (1923–1992) fought at Guadalcanal as a member of the famed 1st Marine Division. Paul was from Pittsburgh PA, and enlisted in the Marines in January 1942.
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The 1st Marine Division sailed from San Francisco in June, and landed on the island of Guadalcanal on Aug 7, 1942. This was the first major US amphibious landing of World War II. The invasion ignited a ferocious struggle with Japanese forces, marked by seven major naval battles, numerous clashes ashore, and almost continuous air combat through December 1942.
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The fighting at Guadalcanal took a terrible toll; the 1st Division suffered 650 killed in action and 1,278 wounded, with a further 8,580 contracting malaria and other diseases. As one Marine recalled, ”the Division suffered 100% casualties, with the dead, wounded, and those sick from malaria, dengue fever, jungle rot, malnutrition and combat fatigue… “.
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Battle-weary and in poor health following the Guadalcanal campaign, the men of the First Marine Division were shipped to Melbourne Australia for nine months recuperation in January 1943. “They were greeted with warm hospitality; these 15,000 young American men found a home away from home”.
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On Feb 10, 1943, Paul Thome purchased a steel-cased wristwatch from a local Melbourne jewelry store, and had it engraved “Paul R. Thomer ~ U.S.M.C. ~ 343824 ~ Australia ~ 2-10-43”.
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The 1st Division returned to combat in the South Pacific in October 1943, leading the December offensive at Cape Gloucester, New Britain. “The action they found there has been described as the toughest man has ever endured.” In July 1944, the 1st Division returned to the US for stateside duty. Paul was honorably discharged in 1945.
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In 1954, Paul married Frances Mary LaRoche in Pittsburgh; in 1962, they moved to California. Paul and Frances had five children – two sons and three daughters. Paul died on February 16, 1992, and is buried with Frances in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, CA.
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