Clair Baillie

Died of Wounds on the 04/10/1915 at No. 20 General Hospital, Camiers, north of Etaples. Wounds received at the Battle of Loos

The Battalion arrived in Boulogne in July 1915 and were part of the 44th Brigade,15th (Scottish) Division. Clair arrived in France on the 07/08/1915. He received his Wounds at the Battle of Loos just over 6 weeks later. Scottish Regiments lost a huge amount of brave men at Loos. Here is a list of Infantry Battalions who lost more than 500 men at the Battle of Loos from 25/09/1915 to 16/10/1915 (Clair's Battalion was among those listed) - 7th Cameron Highlanders 687, of which 19 Officers, 9th Black Watch 680, of which 20 Officers, 6th King's Own Scottish Borderers 650, of which 20 Officers, 10th Highland Light Infantry 648, of which 20 Officers, 7th King's Own Scottish Borderers 631, of which 20 Officers, 8th Devons 619, of which 19 Officers, 8th Royal West Kents 580, of which 24 Officers, 8th Buffs 558, of which 24 Officers, 12th Highland Light Infantry 553, of which 23 Officers, 8th Black Watch 511, of which 19 Officers, 5th North Staffordshire 505, of which 20 Officers, 8th SEAFORTH HIGHLANDERS 502, of which 23 Officers. Clair received his wounds at the Battle of Loos, 25th September - 8th October 1915 : Gas release to be made along Divisional Front from 5.50a.m with Zero hour set for 6.30a.m. In the first instance, Brigade to secure the German front-line area known as, "The Jews Nose", and then press on to secure the enemy's second line east of Loos village. Once these objectives had been captured, surviving troops were to press on and secure Hill 70. The Brigade was to attack with the 9th Black Watch right and 8th Seaforth Highlanders left, both supported by 7th Cameron Highlanders. The 10th Gordon Highlanders were to be held in reserve. On the 24/9/1915 Brigade to assembly trenches. "A" Company vanguard. 25/9/1915 at 5.50am : Gas release commenced followed by smoke release. Germany artillery responded immediately fearful of a British attack. At that time the wind changed, and the lethal gas blew back on the troops mustering to go "over the top" at 6.30am, causing significant casualties and confusion. At the appointed time, the Battalion went into the attack and carried its initial objectives under heavy fire, suffering further significant casualties. By 8.30am, troops had begun to assault Hill 70, and later in the day attempts were made to press on to Cite St. Auguste and Dinamentiere. 26/9/1915 Battalion relieved at 1a.m, and fell back on Mazingarbe, where the roll was called. Twenty-two officers and six hundred and eighty other ranks failed to answer, having been either killed, wounded or taken prisoner. My thanks to Richard Stiles for the information regarding the order of battle. SEE PHOTOS x 34 FOR THE BATTALION WAR DIARY SEPTEMBER 1915. Also see photos for Newspaper clipping from the Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser on the 02/10/1915 reporting Clair being wounded. He died 2 days later at No. 20 General Hospital, Camiers from his injuries received at the Battle of Loos. Clair was 1 of 99 men from the Coatbridge Memorial who fell during and from injuries from the Battle of Loos. See photos for Clair's Medal Index Card, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls x 2, his CWGC Grave Registration x 3, his Headstone Report x 2, Etaples Military Cemetery, the Seaforth Highlanders Cap Badge and Clair's Pension Records x 2. Finally, see photos for Newspaper clippings x 6 (Coatbridge Leader x 4 and Coatbridge Express x 2), another photo of Clair's grave, SEE PHOTOS x 13 FOR THE 15th (SCOTTISH) DIVISION ON THE 25/09/1915 and SEE PHOTOS FOR 33 PAGES FROM THE MOST UNFAVOURABLE GROUND BOOK REGARDING THE BATTALION and DIVISION 25/09/1915 (fantastic book on the Battle of Loos kindly signed by the author Niall Cherry), the 15th (Scottish) Division Order of Battle x 13 (the Division he was with when he died), more Newspaper clippings x 2 (Inverness Courier x 1 and The Scotsman x 1) and 2 grave photos + the main grave photo kindly donated by my friend in France, Thierry Dericbourg, Thierry's wife and daughter at Etaples Military Cemetery helping him take photos and finally another grave photo.