Jock’s Jocks by Gordon and Ian Duncan’s father, Jock Duncan, is the most comprehensive collection of personal accounts of rural Scottish First World War veterans.
North East folksinger Jock Duncan spent over 50 years of his life seeking out and interviewing ‘the Jocks’ – Scottish veterans of the Great War. Transcribing the recordings word for word on an old manual typewriter over 2000 Sunday mornings, Jock’s labour of love has gifted us a truly unique glimpse into the lives of those who left the farms of Aberdeenshire, Angus and Perthshire for the fields of Flanders and France and the shores of Gallipoli.
The stories of 59 men from 14 regiments, including the Gordon Highlanders and the Black Watch, are told in rich and earthy Scots dialects, and are shared in his book for the first time.
These testimonies, described by veterans of that terrible conflict to Jock Duncan, from the 1930s to the 1980s, have been edited by Gary West, a GDMT Trustee, academic, musician, broadcaster and long-time family friend.
An Introduction explains the background to the interview collecting, and includes a detailed timeline of key battles and events.
There is also a full glossary of Scots words and phrases.