James Reid (Jimmy) Carr was born on March 2nd, 1920 at 26 Tannadice Street, Dundee, the second son of William Stewart Carr, an electrician, and Isabella Reid. Willie and Bella had married on August 8th 1913, in Lochee, Dundee.

After training as an electrician with Dundee Corporation Willie went to work for Jute Industries in Dundee, and soon after Jimmy was born the family moved to Stanley in Perthshire, where Willie would work as the electrician at Jute Industries' Stanley Mill power station for almost twenty years.

Stanley was a "model village", largely built to accommodate mill workers and their families.

At first the family lived in a mill-owned house in East Brougham Street, but then moved to a tied cottage in King Street that went with Willie's job as the mill electrician.

When Willie left the mill to work with the Fleet Air Arm at Almondbank near Stanley after the outbreak of the war the family moved to Alma Cottage, a house in the village, and were living there when Jimmy died. Jimmy was one of eight children, four boys and four girls, and they all attended Perth Academy.

In 1938 Jimmy joined the Merchant Navy as an officer apprentice with the Hogarth Shipping Line, whose owners had links with Stanley.

He died aged 20 when his Hogarth Line ship the S.S. Baron Blythswood was torpedoed south of Iceland in the North Atlantic on the morning of 21st September 1940 as part of an attack on Convoy HX 72, a convoy of 42 ships sailing from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to the UK.

The S.S. Baron Blythswood, registered in Ardrossan, was a 3,668 ton cargo ship carrying over 5,000 tons of iron ore from Wabana to Port Talbot as part of the convoy HX 72.

Four of the convoy's ships, the M.V. Invershannon, the S.S. Baron Blythswood, the  M.V. Elmbank and the the S.S. Blair Angus, were torpedoed in the attack.

Dundee Evening Telegraph and Post, 6th February 1941 "STANLEY MAN PRESUMED LOST AT SEA "News has been received by Mr and Mrs William S. Carr, Alma Cottage, Stanley, that their second son, Mr James Reid Carr (20), apprentice, Merchant Service, whose ship was previously reported overdue. must now be presumed lost. "Educated at Stanley School and Perth Academy, Mr Carr joined the Merchant Service some time ago."

Perthshire Advertiser, 12th April 1941 “PERTHSHIRE LAD DEAD THROUGH ENEMY ACTION “Among the names of 114 members of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets who are reported to have died through enemy action is that of James Reid Carr, apprentice, King Street, Stanley.”

Having no grave but the sea Jimmy Carr is commemorated on the Tower Hill Merchant Navy Memorial. He is also commemorated on the Stanley War Memorial.