William Arthur McCreary

William and the Battalion arrived at Boulogne on the 11/07/1915 and were part of the 46th Brigade, 15th (Scottish) Division. William was wounded and gassed at the Battle of Loos in 1915 and returned to France on the 12/04/1916. He was Killed in Action at the Battle of Pozieres, 23rd July - 3rd September 1916 : Pozieres was a small, straggling village on the main Albert-Bapaume road. It is situated on high ground that gives the occupier observation southwards along the road towards Ovillers, La Boisselle, Albert and beyond; to the east across to High Wood, Delville Wood and beyond; and westwards to Thiepval. Possession of Pozieres was key to making possible any further advances towards Bapaume, the capture of the Thiepval ridge and the breaking of resistance at High and Delville Woods. The Battle for Pozieres and nearby Mouquet Farm became an epic in its own right, with tenacious German defence keeping determined British-Australian attack at bay for several weeks. This was the first large-scale Australian battle in France and proved to be its costliest in terms of total casualties. The Battle was part of the Battles of the Somme, 1st July - 18th November 1916 : A Franco-British offensive that was undertaken after Allied strategic conferences in late 1915, but which changed its nature due to the German attack against the French in the epic Battle of Verdun, which lasted from late February to November. Huge British losses on the first day and a series of fiercely-contested steps that became attritional in nature. For all armies on the Western Front it was becoming what the Germans would call "materialschlacht" : a war not of morale, will or even manpower, but of sheer industrial material might. The 15/09/1916 saw the first-ever use of tanks in the step known as the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. The British army in France is now approaching its maximum strength in numbers but is still developing in terms of tactics, technology, command and control. William is also remembered on the Coats Parish Church Roll of Honour (see photos). William was reburied in Caterpillar Valley Cemetery (see photos). See photos for William's Medal Index Card, his Newspaper clippings x 3, his CWGC Grave Registration x 2, his Headstone Report, his listing in the England and Wales Civil Registration Birth Index (Jan-Feb-Mar 1888), his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, William's Pension Records x 2 and the Highland Light Infantry Cap Badge.