Former Scots Guardsman James Christie, who fought at Anzio and Monte Cassino during the Second World War, has died aged 99.
He was only 18 when he enlisted in the 1st Battalion The Scots Guards and within two years he was engaged in some of the fiercest fighting of the Italian campaign.
James, of Invergowrie then Birkhill, saw his section leader and commanding officer die at Anzio, and was badly wounded on the advance north through Italy.
He spent three months recuperating in hospital, survived a machine gun ambush and spent VE Day in St Mark’s Square in Venice.
James Wilkinson Christie was born on November 23 1923 in Invergowrie to James and Catherine.
Paper mill
He grew up in County Buildings and went to Invergowrie School before starting work as a machinist in the paper mill. James was also a tennis club member and took part in their concerts.
After joining The Scots Guards he was posted to North Africa for training and then served in Algeria, Tunis and Hammamet.
In January 1944 he was part of the force that landed on the Italian coast. For three months he fought with two battalions trying to advance under strong German counterattack.
Italy landing
In an interview with The Courier in 2005 he recalled they landed without much difficulty but the Germans gathered and tried to storm the beachhead.
During the fighting his commanding officer, as well as section leader Hugh Barclay of Milnathort, were killed and the padre was captured.
“Fortunately they managed to get reinforcements in okay and that strengthened the beachhead, but we were pretty hard pressed for a while,” James said in the interview.
“We were taken off the beach at the end of March by which time we were a pretty shabby looking bunch. We hadn’t been too worried about washing or hygiene; we were busy enough just concentrating on keeping ourselves alive.”
Wounded
It was during the advance north that James was injured in his chest from shrapnel from a mortar bomb.
After his spell in hospital he rejoined The Scots Guards and had a lucky escape two days before D-Day.
“We were going forward with the 56 Light Division and we went up a road with two ditches on each side and a small farmhouse at the top,” said James.
“Two sections of my company went forward to move into this little farmhouse and just as we got there we were ambushed.”
Fatalities
Seven men were killed instantly by machine gun fire and a further three were injured. James was one of only four men to escape unharmed.
In the winter of 1944 James joined South African forces in northern Italy for the final push to victory. They were bogged down in static lines during the worse of the winter weather but advanced as 1945 dawned.
After spending VE-Day in Venice he was posted to Trieste, demobbed in 1946 and returned home to Scotland together with the 1939-1945 Star, Defence Medal, The Italy Star and, in 2020, was awarded the special VE Day Medal.
Marriage
He returned to work in the paper mill, married Maureen in 1957 and they moved to Birkhill. When the paper mill closed, James worked for a bakery firm until his retiral.
Around 22 years after the war, James began to experience pain from his wound.
It was discovered a piece of shrapnel had lodged in his chest and was damaging his lung.
It was successfully removed but he was told if he had been a smoker the outcome would have been different.
The couple remained in Birkhill until Maureen’s death in 2015 when James later moved into Muirton House, Blairgowrie, because of his failing sight.
In retirement, James and Maureen enjoyed holidays, to Benidorm in particular.
Weekend routine
They also spent Saturdays visiting nearby towns by bus. After Maureen’s death, James would go into Dundee on his own and follow a strict route ending at McDonald’s in the Wellgate where the staff looked after him.
His abiding passion was his religion and he could still quote from the Bible to the end. He was an elder of Invergowrie church and very active in congregational life.
He also never forgot the Italian he learned while serving there and if there was anything you wanted to know about Invergowrie you just had to ask Jimmy.
He liked to lay the wreath at the annual remembrance service and knew the names of everyone on the memorial He was often outspoken and liked things done a certain way but the staff at the home still found him a real character.
You can read the formal announcement here.
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