The Earl of Stair, who had been a prisoner of war since October 1914, came home to Lochinch in September 1917 having been repatriated due to heath reasons.
Before he left for war he was Viscount Dalrymple and the MP for the county. Taken prisoner by the Germans at the retreat from Antwerp, while serving with the Scots Guards, he became an Earl on the death of his father while in a prison camp in Germany. His seat at Westminster was taken by his uncle, the Hon. Hew Dalrymple.
At a function on the lawn at Lochinch he was welcomed home by the tenantry on the estates and the members of Stranraer Town Council.
Speaking to the gathering, the Earl said: “I am sure everyone of you will understand my feelings in being kept away from my home for the past three years and in such as way and at such a time when one wanted to be at home more than at any other time.
“There were times when one got into the depths of depression, and I thought that my return home would be even more depressing than my departure had been as I would have practically no friends left. I was repatriated as my eyesight had suffered serious deterioration due to close confinement, but otherwise my health is as good as can be expected.”