The Fraser Family Album
Fraser Family Photographs USA
The purpose of this small web-site is to share the family pictures I've inherited myself or received from other members of my extended family. I still need information on many of the people pictured. For my complete family tree, see here.
Revised: 02 June, 2024
This page is devoted to Fraser Family photographs from the USA, thanks to Philip Green, Robert Fraser, Lindsey Fraser, Joan Coulson and Judith Dolanski. For more pictures from the USA, see Frank Fraser's Photo Album and Ada Jarrett's 1952 USA Photo Album here. For Fraser family photographs from the UK, see here.
 McGeachie sisters, Buffalo, New York, USA, 1930s - Georgina left, Mae (Mary Sargeant McGeachie) second left and Marion second right (the younger girl on the right may be their first cousin Audrey McGeachie born Buffalo 1928) |
 Bertha McGeachie neé Fraser and George McGeachie at wedding of John McGeachie and Alice Marie Bosack, Buffalo, New York, USA, 18 Apr 1942 |
Mary Sargeant "Mae" McGeachie (eldest daughter of Bertha McGeachie neé Fraser) and Thomas J. Waite at their wedding, Buffalo, NY, USA,1946-47 |
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John McGeachie's wedding to Alice Marie Bosack,
daughter of Frederick Bosack and Clara V Balk, took place in Buffalo,
New York, USA, on 18 Apr 1942 (details
from a reference book called “The Bellringer” on Buffalo Public Library’s
web-site listing weddings between 1940-45) Also from the "Buffalo Courier-Express", 10 Jan 1942: "Mr and Mrs Fred Bosack of Riley Street, announce the engagement of their daughter Alice Marie to John McGeachie, son of Mr and Mrs George McGeachie of Parkdale Avenue. The wedding will take place in the Spring." For photos of their daughter Denise born 1943 see Frank Fraser's Photo Album |
 John McGeachie and Alice Marie Bosack at their wedding, Buffalo, New York, USA, 18 Apr 1942 |
 Bertha (Fraser) McGeachie and Alice's mother Clara Bosack née Balk at wedding, Buffalo, New York, USA, 18 Apr 1942 |
Frank Fraser family group, USA, early 1940s (Frank is top left) Judith Dolanski says: "My grandfather, James Lunt is standing next to Frank. Myrtle, James's sister, has on a dark dress, with a white collar, and her husband, Andrew Stahl is standing behind her (he died in 1955). Where the three women are sitting, the one in the middle is James's second wife, Mary Zoleman (she is not my grandmother). Fern Stahl is to the left of Myrtle Stahl. The young girl at the bottom is Dorothy Stahl and the little boy is Kenny Stahl. The woman to the right of Mary (Zoleman) Lunt is Myrtle May Ferguson. Fern Stahl was born in 1923, Dorothy in 1927 and Kenny in 1938 |
 John "Scotty" McGeachie's high school yearbook entry for 1939, picture found on Ancestry by Judith Dolanski |
 Plaque honouring Staff Sgt. John McGeachie in Rue du Libérator, Villers-Saint-Paul, Oise, France, picture from https://birdsandthebs.wordpress.com/tag/legacy/ "There is a memorial plaque there honouring John McGeachie, who was killed by flak on board the plane during the bombing run." (page by David Bouchard, grandson of pilot Charles C. Bouchard). |
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 Alice Marie Bosack's high school yearbook entry for 1938, picture found on Ancestry by Judith Dolanski |
 Georgina McGeachie's high school photo from 1941, picture found on Ancestry by Judith Dolanski |
I have found the obituary of Georgina McGeachie (1926-2004), who married Robert Duncan McKenzie around 1949 and had four children: Anne, Lynette, Roberta Jean McKenzie (1958-2011) and James. Both of her elder sisters had predeceased her in 2004. Mae married Thomas J. Waite and had two daughters, Carol and Sandra. Mary Waite born 1918 died in New York State in 1985. Marion married Edward Stonitsch and had three children, Kenneth, Karen and Mark (1957-2011). Marion Stonitsch born 1922 died in New York State in 1986. Bertha and George therefore had ten grandchildren including John's daughter Denise McGeachie born 1943. Alice Marie McGeachie née Bosack married a second time to John R. Murray and had four further children, Thomas, Christine, Marcia and Kevin. She died in Apr 1971. |
 Mary Fraser with great-nephew Harry Clayton Lunt, Liverpool, May 1945 (photo wrongly identified for many years as being of her grandson John McGeachie) |
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The photo above right shows Mary Fraser at her home at 68 St. John's Road, Waterloo, Liverpool, with a man in US Army Air Force uniform, originally wrongly identified as her grandson John McGeachie, who was a Staff Sergeant with the US Army Air Force, 846th Bomb Squadron, 489th Bomb Group (Heavy), based during World War II at RAF Halesworth, Suffolk (the county where my Hughes and Hatten families lived). The 489th Bomb Group comprised four squadrons: the 844th, 845th, 846th - John's, and 847th. (USAAF Bomb Groups were classified in four categories: Very Heavy: B-29 Superfortress, B-32 Dominator; Heavy: B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator - John's aircraft; Medium: B-25 Mitchell, B-26 Marauder; Light: A-20 Havoc, A-26 Invader.) Thanks to Judith Dolanski for identifying the airman with Mary as actually being her father, Harry Clayton Lunt (also known as Paul Percival DuBois!), see the Sargeant Album for more pictures of him. John, pictured above at his wedding in 1942, and below in Chicago, was killed over Villers-Saint-Paul, Oise, France on 2 Jun 1944, and is buried at Plot B Row 25 Grave 21, Epinal American Cemetery, Dinozé, France:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epinal_American_Cemetery_and_Memorial
Thanks also to Judith Dolanski for finding details on Ancestry contributed by Chris Bouchard of the ill-fated bombing mission on which John McGeachie was killed: "Sgt. John McGeachie was killed in a B-24 Liberator that crashed in Villers-St.-Paul, France on 2 June 1944. The small street where it crashed has been renamed Liberator Avenue and there is a plaque on the corner of the street in memory of Sgt. McGeachie. One can find the street on Google Maps by searching "Rue du Libérator Villers-Saint-Paul France". The pilot of the B-24 was Charles C. Bouchard, co-pilot John F. Cunningham Jr., bombardier Herbert M. Lowe, navigator George W. Burke Jr., gunners William C. Grant, Eugene C. Anderson, Keith A. Peterson, Warren R. Markle." John was the radio operator of the B-24 Liberator "Stubby Gal II" (#42-94933) and was the only crew member who lost his life on this mission, killed when German anti-aircraft shells hit the plane. The rest of the crew bailed out at 3000 feet, and the plane crashed with John's body still on board. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. Survivors Eugene Anderson and Warren Markle evaded capture with the help of the French Resistance, but the remainder of the crew were taken prisoner by the Germans and became POWs.
http://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/9900
http://www.8thafhs.com/get_one_acgroup.php?acgroup_id=21: "Mission 385: In the afternoon, 242 B-17s are
dispatched to railroad targets in the Paris area; 163 hit the primaries,
49 hit Conches Airfield, 12 hit Beaumont-sur-Oise Airfield and 1 hits Caen/Carpiquet
Airfield; 77 B-24s are dispatched to Bretigny Airfield in France; 13 hit
the primary target, 47 hit Creil Airfield and 14 hit Villeneuve Airfield;
2 B-17s and 5 B-24s are lost, 2 B-24s are damaged beyond repair and 90
B-17s and 37 B-24s damaged; 1 airman is KIA (John McGeachie!), 4
WIA and 68 MIA."
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 Emblem of USAAF 8th Air Force |
 Sergeant Horace "Mickey" Baskin, 489th Bomb Group, receiving a medal from Colonel Ezekiel W. Napier, RAF Halesworth, Suffolk, 1944, photo from http://489th-bomb-group-museum.org/489th-group-history/ |
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Thanks to Marjorie Spiers, Curator, 489th Bomb Group Collection, Halesworth Airfield Memorial Museum, Suffolk, for the scans and for the information that John's name is read out each year on Remembrance Sunday in the parish church at Holton near Halesworth. Marjorie also supplied the 2918 photo.
From the Spring 2013 magazine of the US Air Forces Escape and Evasion Society:
"Sgt. Eugene C. Anderson, ball turret gunner, 8th AAF, 489th Bomb Group, 846th Bomb Squadron, Halesworth, England: folded his wings on 11 January 2010.
On 2 June 1944 Eugene was flying his third mission; the target was the marshalling yards at Creil, France. His B-24 #42-94933 “Stubby Gal II” was hit by flak after leaving the target. The radio operator (John McGeachie) was killed by flak, controls were damaged in the waist, number 2 and 3 engines were knocked out. The Liberator was at 3000 feet when everyone but the radio operator jumped. The French found the radio operator’s body in the crashed bomber. Sgt. Anderson landed by the railroad yard at Creil. He ran into a street where a Frenchman (he was short, about 40 years old, with black hair) grabbed him as he passed and pulled him into a house.
The next morning this man gave Eugene a railroad ticket to Paris and told him what train to board. In addition he gave him a colored handkerchief with which to blow his nose when he got off at the Paris train station. He followed the instructions and he was met by the owner of the house in which he had stayed the night before. This man led Sgt. Anderson to an apartment next door to the Belgian embassy where an English speaking man interrogated him.
Next Anderson was taken to a house in Viarmes about 20 kms North of St. Denis. There Eugene spent the night. The next day he was taken to the home of Papa Marie, a cabinetmaker in Viarmes and was sheltered there for a week. In this house he met Nicolle Vires and her parents who lived on the outskirts of Viarmes. After that he was taken to the house of Georges Remy in Boulognesur-Seine. Here Anderson met Lt. Russell Tickner, and the two of them stayed a week. Then they were moved to Paris to the flat of Mme. Diximier, the widow of a French lieutenant, who had been killed by the Germans in 1941 or 1942. She was about 5'5" tall and had red hair. The pair stayed with her for a fortnight.
A man named Remy led them to a rendezvous with a Pierre (unknown last name) who took them to the Freteval Forest camp near Cloyes-sur-le-Loir on July 5th. Anderson stayed the first week in Lucien Boussa’s camp (first camp) before being transferred to the second camp run by Jean de Blommaert. On the August 13th American troops arrived, and Anderson went with them to HQ for the night. He then proceeded with a large group in buses and trucks to Le Mans. Unfortunately his truck overturned and Sgt. Anderson and many others were injured. He was taken to the 32nd Field Hospital on August 14th and transferred the next day to the 141st General Hospital. Upon his release from the hospital on 3 September 1944 he reported to 63 Brook St., London and was officially debriefed.
Sgt. Anderson was one of about 152 Allied soldiers and airmen saved by a joint MI9/MIS-X plan called “Operation Sherwood.” It is a remarkable story how the Resistance groups and Escape Lines involved, were able to keep such a large number of evaders hidden under the very noses of the Germans; as well as keeping it a secret from the local inhabitants. Due to the excellent organization of the camps, not a single evader was lost or captured."
Photos of "Stubby Gal II" required!
 Bertha McGeachie (neé Fraser), John McGeachie's wife Alice, Georgina McGeachie and Frank Fraser, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 1940s |
 John McGeachie and wife Alice Bosack, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 1940s |
 John McGeachie and wife Alice Bosack, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 1940s |
 Bertha McGeachie (neé Fraser), Georgina McGeachie, John McGeachie and wife Alice Bosack, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 1940s |
 John McGeachie, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 1940s (the elephants are stuffed!) |
The photo above has "John McGeachie AAF, died over Europe WW2" written below it (correctly!) |
 Nellie Harrison (neé Fraser), Harold Harrison, Bertha McGeachie (neé Fraser), USA, Jul 1962 |
Photos from Judith Dolanski (with her comments)
 Lunts and McGeachies, Chicago, ca 1941 |
Back row: Russell Ferguson, Andrew Stahl, ?, James Lunt, Dolly Lunt (you can hardly
see her), John McGeachie, Mrs.? McGeachie (my aunt wasn't sure of her name [now
known to be Alice Marie Bosack]),
Lillian Stearns (1st wife of Gordon Lunt), Bertha's daughter (with glasses),
Gordon Lunt, Mary Elizabeth Lunt (my Aunt Betty) |
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 Harry Clayton Lunt with Fraser Family, Liverpool, May 1945 |
On back of photo is written: Taken outside Central School on V E Day (8 May 1945). Weather bad, mist and rain. Bella (Green née Fraser), Winnie (Grimshaw née Fraser), Clayton, Philip (Green), Fred (Green), Leslie (Gelder), George (Grimshaw), Will (Winstanley) |
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 Harry Clayton Lunt with Fraser Family, Liverpool, May 1945 |
On back of photo: Standing: Joan (Grimshaw), Winnie (Grimshaw née Fraser), Fred (Green), Ronnie (Patterson), Dennis (Gelder - 2 yr. old), Will (Winstanley), George (Grimshaw) and Leslie (Gelder). Sitting: Alice (Winstanley née Fraser), Bella (Green née Fraser), Clayton, Irene (Patterson née Birch), Gerald (Patterson - 1 yr. old), Lizzie (Birch née Fraser) and Philip (Green). |
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Photos from Nancy Gamble
 Pamela Harrison, Koontz Lake, Indiana, USA, 1957-58 |
 Gordon and Margaret Harrison, Koontz Lake, Indiana, USA, 1957-58 |
All these excellent photos from Koontz
Lake, Indiana, in the late 1950s are from colour slides taken by Bill Lenz
(see the Sargeant Album and
Ada Jarrett's USA 1952 Photo Album for more photos from Koontz Lake. They are of my first cousins
Pamela and Gordon Harrison, children of my Dad's sister Nellie Fraser and
Harold Victor Harrison. Gordon was born in Liverpool in 1929. He emigrated
to Canada in 1954 and was married to Margaret with two sons, one of whom was
born after he died. Sadly Gordon was
killed in a motor sports accident in Canada in 1966, see below. Pamela was born in 1932 and
married Harold Malcolm Hesketh (1930-96) in Prescot, Lancs, in March
quarter, 1959. She had two sons in 1961 and 1964 and died in 2011. There are no photos of Pamela and Gordon together so these may be from two separate visits, with Gordon and Margaret visiting from Ontario, and Pamela visiting from England. |
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 Pamela Harrison with Nancy and David Lenz, Koontz Lake, Indiana, USA, 1957-58 |
 Pamela Harrison with Nancy and David Lenz, Koontz Lake, Indiana, USA, 1957-58 |
 Pamela Harrison with Bill Paine (Ruth Lenz's father), Koontz Lake, Indiana, USA, 1957-58 |
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 Gordon and Margaret Harrison with Bill Paine, Koontz Lake, Indiana, USA, 1957-58 |
 Gordon and Margaret Harrison, Koontz Lake, Indiana, USA, 1957-58 |
 Gordon and Margaret Harrison, Koontz Lake, Indiana, USA, 1957-58 |
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Gordon was a keen amateur racing driver but was killed while acting as a marshal during a race at Mosport Speedway, Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, on 4 June 1966, see. https://www.wheels.ca/news/jerry-grant-joins-gordon-harrison-in-death/ (The article includes a long-distance photo of Gordon and another marshal standing at the side of the track during the pace lap.)
If you have any more information or pictures to share please contact me: alanfraser87@gmail.com
You will be credited for every picture included.
