A Favourite Photograph

One of my favourite photographs is of my Dad - Tom, (Thomas Ritchie McGoram), with two of his brothers, Uncle Davey (David Ritchie McGorum), and Uncle Ted, (Edward Ritchie McGoram), taken before (David & Edward), went to the First World War.

L-R: David Ritchie McGorum. Thomas Ritchie McGoram. Edward Ritchie McGoram

Maybe you are wondering while Tom is not in a Defence Uniform? Tom was diagnosed with “flat feet’ and was classed as medically unfit to go to war, so instead, he remained in New Zealand and served in the Home Brigade. Uncle Davey was the eldest of the three brothers, (in this photo), and Uncle Ted, the younger.

Tom, in the NZ Army Reserve 1915.
Photo taken in the Rimutaka mountain range, in the North Island, New Zealand.

Hmm….maybe you are also thinking, ‘Why are there different spellings for McGorAm/McGorUm?’ Well, when all the family were living in Scotland, the surname was spell as McGorUm, sometime after they moved to New Zealand, some of the family changed their surname to McGorAm, easy, peasy!