Joiner, cabinet maker, upholsterer and funeral undertaker, 3 Henry Street

Thomas Milligan (1864-1941) was part of a family that had a number of businesses, including joinery, an entertainment hall, a cinema and a music band.

A joiner usually made retail furniture and fittings in a workshop, whereas a carpenter typically did the woodwork for commercial installations. However, the terms overlapped, with ‘joiner’ being the more common in southern Scotland. A cabinet maker made high quality furniture of all types, including tables, chairs and desks.

Thomas worked in his father Robert’s business, R B Milligan & Sons, until Robert (1843-1916) retired when Thomas started trading in his own name.

Two of Thomas’s brothers were also in their father’s business, but Robert junior (1867-1894) died at age 27 and John (1877-1923) started working independently. Thomas’s other brother Frank (1870-1951) was a storeman with Reid & Taylor and is back left in the photo below.

Thomas had two sons in military service:

• Robert (1893-1917) was a stationer in Glasgow and joined the 17th Highland Light Infantry.
• Thomas (1895-1963) was with 1/5th KOSB.

Thomas Armstrong (1897-1916) was an apprentice joiner with the Milligan family and joined 2nd Royal Highlanders (Black Watch). He was injured in the Battle of Loos on 25th September 1915 but recovered and was assigned to Mesopotamia.

Former apprentice Thomas Armstrong was reported missing in Mesopotamia on 21st January 1916 and was later presumed dead, aged 19. He is remembered on the Basra Memorial in Iraq.

Robert Milligan was awarded the Military Medal for gallantry and devotion to duty under fire in Nieuport, Belgium, in July 1917. He was killed by shellfire on 1st December 1917, aged 24, and is buried in a cemetery near Ypres, Belgium. He was awarded the Langholm Burgh Medal posthumously in 1919.

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