THE First Wolrd War stole millions of lives, leaving many families devastated and over the years left many questions unanswered.

ANN FOTHERINGHAM met one man who's interest in history prompted a search which has taken thousands of miles around the war memorials of Scotland.

A CHANCE conversation about a Scottish soldier who fought in World War One sparked John Houston's fascination with war memorials.

The East Kilbride grandfather has travelled all over Scotland and beyond in a bid to document the plaques and statues which commemorate those who fought in both wars, and to tell the stories behind the names carved on them.

It's a massive task - there are around 1400 civic memorials dotted across the country for a start.

"And that does not include the 'hidden' ones," explains John.

"Ones lying forgotten in golf clubs, churches or offices ... there could be many hundreds more."

John and his wife Margaret knew that her grandfather, James Morrison, fought in the First World War.

"Everyone in the family thought he was in the Cameronians, but a photo came to light which showed him in his platoon wearing a kilt, and the Cameronians didn't wear kilts," explains John.

"It turned out he was in the Cameron Highlanders, serving in Palestine in the Machine Gun Corps. And then we discovered James's brother, Patrick, had also served and had been awarded the Military Medal not once, but twice."

John's curiosity was well and truly piqued and he got in touch with the Scottish Military Research Group, who are photographing and documenting all of Scotland's war memorials.

"I thought - I could do that," laughs John, 70, who spent his working life in the telecoms industry.

"I started locally, with places like Greenbank Parish Church in Clarkston and the Duff Memorial Hall in Busby, which was named in honour of two brothers killed in the First World War.

"Their father was a jeweller, who donated the money to build the library.

"I also found a long-forgotten plaque buried in undergrowth on an industrial estate in East Kilbride."

As Scotland prepares to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War, John is heartened by the work being done in the nation's schools to educate children about the conflict.

"It's great there are so many projects planned, not just this year, but in the four years up to 1918," he says.

"It's important today's pupils understand about the war and the sacrifices which were made.

"Both Margaret and I were born during the Second World War, and we knew relatives had served, but it wasn't really discussed at home or in school."

John and Margaret visited local schoolchildren recently to talk about one of the memorials he has researched in his home town.

Pupils at Auldhouse Primary, in East Kilbride, were keen to learn more about the First World War soldiers named on the stone cross in village as part of a class project.

They looked at medals belonging to Margaret's grandfather and followed John's tips on how to look up the names on websites and research databases.

Primary seven pupil Rebekah Smith, 11, said: "We learned a lot. We worked in groups to research different names, and found out a lot about the soldiers and their families."

David Young, a P6 pupil, said: "Looking at the medals was very interesting and Mr and Mrs Houston helped us understand what it must have been like for young soldiers going away to war.

"Some of them were the same age as our older brothers and sisters."

John is now supporting the Scottish Military Research Group in its latest project - to create an online record of everyone from Scotland who served in any war.

"It's a huge task, and we need to raise funds for an online database," says John. "We're talking about maybe half a million people, including not only those who died, but those who survived."

Often, John and Margaret are struck by the stories behind the names on war memorials.

"I was out photographing a memorial and a lady approached me to ask what I could do about a plaque dedicated to her uncle, which was lying in the basement boiler room of a Glasgow school," says John.

"I looked into it and sure enough, in Neilston Primary, there was a plaque dedicated to a former teacher, Matthew Montgomery, who was killed during World War One. It had been taken down during renovations and never returned - but the school was fantastic about it and it is now back up on the wall."

Margaret adds: "We became quite attached to Matthew and his story and visited his grave in France. It's funny - we'd previously driven in France and passed all the signs, for Ypres and The Somme, without really noticing them.

"Once we started this project, we made a point of visiting them."

She adds: "Sometimes, you do become involved with the people and their history - I always say the project shouldn't be called the 'war memorials project' as it's not about war - it's about people."

John agrees: "You get a real buzz when you identify someone who had been missing from the records. It's very rewarding.

"The difficulty is that, often, there are so many names on the memorial. When you don't trace every single one, you feel like you are failing them in some way.

"You want to do them all justice."

For more information, visit www.scottishmilitaryresearch.co.uk