The McAra family

James Bannerman McAra lived at No. 4 between 1934 and 1940.¹ He was born in Edinburgh on 28 January 1900, son of James McAra and Ann Bannerman.² He enlisted, aged 18, on 03 April 1918, qualified as a signaller and was transferred to the Royal Army Pay Corps. He was discharged from service on 28 April 1920.³ His occupation on enlistment was recorded as clerk and as commercial clerk on his marriage registration. He died suddenly at the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh on 12 March 1940.⁴

James B. McAra married Aranka Rose Torok de Varad on 14 August 1931.⁵ She was born in Hungary in 1901, the daughter of Julius Martin Ladislaus Torok de Varad and his wife Margaret and died at Leith in 1980.⁶ She lived at No. 4 Malta Terrace until the 1960s⁷ and died on 14 June 1980.⁸

Mrs Margaret Torok de Varad and her unmarried children lived with her daughter Aranka and son-in-law at No. 4 Malta Terrace until 1939, when she moved next door to No. 3. Her youngest daughter Nina Torok de Varad, sister of Mrs James B. McAra, died at No. 4, aged 27, on 22 August 1934.⁹ (See No. 3 for information about the Torok de Varad family.)

James B. McAra and Aranka Rose Torok de Varad raised three children at No. 4 Malta Terrace: Rose Marie Nina McAra, born on 11 November 1933,¹⁰ before the family took up residence at No. 4; Maureen Anne B. McAra born in 1935;¹¹ and James Bannerman McAra born in 1938.¹²

1. Electoral Registers 1934 to 1939.
2. Births index (SR) Scotland. St George, Edinburgh. 28 January 1900. McARA, James Bannerman. 685/1 342. https://scotlandspeople.gov.uk: accessed 15 December 2023.
3. War Office. Discharge Documents. 28 April 1920. McARA, James Bannerman. WO364/2191. National Archives. https://ancestry.co.uk: accessed 07 August 2021.
4. Death announcements. Scotland. The Scotsman. 14 March 1940. McARA, James Bannerman. p. 14, col. 07. https://britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk: accessed 07 August 2021.
5. Marriage announcements. Scotland. The Scotsman. 15 August 1931. McARA-TOROK de VARAD. p. 18, col. 07. https://britishnewspaperarchive.co,uk: accessed 07 August 2021.
6. Deaths index (SR) Scotland. Leith, Edinburgh. 1980. McARA, Rose Aranka (aged 80). 732/ 397. https://scotlandspeople.gov.uk: accessed 07 August 2021.
7. Electoral Registers 1960 and 1965. https://ancestry.co.uk: accessed 07 August 2021.
8. Death announcements. Scotland. The Scotsman. 16 June 1980. McARA, Aranka Rose. p. 22, col. 1. https://britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk: accessed 13 December 2023.
9. Death announcements. Scotland. The Scotsman. 24 August 1934. TOROK de VARAD, Nina Margaret. p. 16, col. 07. https://britishnewspaperarchive.co,uk: accessed 07 August 2021.
10. Births index (SR) Scotland. Edinburgh. 1933. McARA, Rosemarie N. 685/5 2077. https://scotlandspeople.gov.uk: accessed 07 August 2021.
11. Births index (SR). Scotland. George Square, Edinburgh. 1935. McARA, Maureen Anne B. 685/2 2088. https://scotlandspeople.gov.uk: accessed 13 December 2023.
12. Births index (SR) Scotland. Edinburgh. 1938. McARA, James Bannerman. 685/1 903. https://scotlandspeople.gov.uk: accessed 07 August 2021.