The Battalion arrived in France in May 1915 and were part of the 27th Brigade, 9th (Scottish) Division. William arrived on the 15/12/1915. William was wounded as part of the Machine Gun Corps on 25/02/1916. By the 13th of July the British advance had taken it to a point where it was now facing the second German defensive system. A well planned and novel night attack on the 14th of July took British troops through that system in the area of Bazentin. William was wounded here and died the following day. There was a fleeting but lost opportunity to capture High Wood beyond it. The objective of the battle was to take the high ground of Bazentin Ridge, between Bazentin le Grant and Longueval. This also included taking control of the ridge road, and Deville Wood behind Longueval village. By doing so, the British forces would occupy the high ground on the ridge and expose German positions to our artillery. In detail, the objective was : To advance from the British front lines to Longueval village 2.5 miles away. To continue into and through Deville Wood a further 0.3 miles and to then extend the line eastwards a further 0.35 miles along the ridge road. The 8th Black Watch, alongside with the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, was with the 26th Brigade of the 9th (Scottish) Division, on the east flank. Also with the 9th was the 27th Brigade, including the Royal Scots, on the west flank. At 03.00 hours on the 14th July 1916, under cover of darkness 26th Brigade move through "No Man's Land" to within 400 yards of the German first line in front of Longueval. At 03.25am the attack begins and by 10.00am Longueval village is taken. The southeast corner holds out until 17.00pm. At 13.00pm patrols of Delville Wood are met with resistance (the second line) and fall back to the village. German bombardment of the village continues throughout the night. The 9th (Scottish) Division and 3rd Division captured Longueval on the 18th July. This 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 15th September 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. The 9th (Scottish) Division and the 3rd Division captured Longueval on the 18th July. SEE PHOTOS x 14 FOR THE BATTALION WAR DIARY FOR JULY 1916 and PHOTOS x 28 FOR THE 9th (SCOTTISH) DIVISION BOOK 1st - 15th JULY 1916. From the Battalion War Diary, the Battalion suffered the following casualties during the attack on Longueval from the 14/07/1916 - 19/07/1916 inclusive : Officers... 7 Killed, 6 Wounded, Other Ranks....65 Killed, 223 Wounded, 16 Missing. William is listed as aged 31 on the CWGC site. Grave photo donated by Mick McCann at the British War Graves website who supply photos FREE OF CHARGE
here. See William's Army Register of Soldiers Effects for the names of his enlisted brothers Thomas and Andrew. William is also remembered on the St. Patrick's Church and in the St. Augustine's Parish (book) Rolls of Honour. See photos for William's Medal Index Card, his Newspaper clipping, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls, Corbie Communal Cemetery Extension, another photo of William's grave, his CWGC Grave Registration x 2, his Headstone Report and the Royal Scots Cap Badge. Finally, see photos for the 9th (Scottish) Division Order of Battle x 12 (the Division he was with when he died) and another photo of William's grave kindly donated by my friend in France, Thierry Dericbourg.
