John enlisted at the outbreak of war and served throughout the entire war and survived to see the Armistice on the 11/11/1918. His unit was involved in the final thrust of the war at Valenciennes and the wounded were taken to the 32nd Casualty Clearing Station where some men were already hospitalised due to the influenza epidemic. The Battle of Valenciennes, 1st - 2nd November 1918. This was part of the Final Advance in Picardy, 17th October - 11th November 1918 : The hardest-fought of the final offensive actions. First, Third and Fourth Armies exploited their success in breaking the Hindenburg Line by pushing on across the Rivers Selle and Sambre, recapturing Valenciennes and finally in liberating Mons, where it had all begun for the British Expeditionary Force more than four years before. This was John's final involvement in the War after over 4 years of service. John was reported in his Pension Record as dying of a disease on the 27/11/1918 and as died on his Service Medal and Award Rolls but was reported in the Coatbridge Express on the 11/12/1918 as being Killed in Action on the 04/11/1918 (see photos). I have listed John as dying from the influenza epidemic (Spanish Flu). He is one of the last men from Coatbridge to die at the front. The T on John's Service number was the Army Service Corps, Horsed Transport. The ASC HT Companies in the Divisional Trains : Each Division of the army had a certain amount of transport under its own command, known as the Divisional Train. It was the "workhorse" of the Division in terms of carrying stores and supplies, providing the main supply line to the transport of the Brigades of infantry and artillery and other attached units. It initially comprised 26 officers and 402 other ranks of the Army Service Corps, looking after 378 horses, 17 carts, 125 wagons and 30 bicycles. These comprised a headquarters and 4 Horsed Transport Companies (one for each infantry Brigade and one for Divisional HQ and other troops). The Train moved with the Division. In all, there were 364 ASC Companies of this type. A huge thanks to Mick and the team at
here for John's Grave photo. John is also remembered on the St. Patrick's Church (book) and St. Mary's Church (4 brothers listed) Rolls of Honour (see photos). See photos for John's Medal Index Card, his Newspaper clippings x 2 (John reported as being Killed in Action on the 04/11/1918), his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls, his CWGC Grave Registration x 2, his Headstone Report, John's Pension Records x 2, Valenciennes Communal Cemetery and the Royal Army Service Corps Cap Badge. Finally information on John's elder brother Joseph. His Medal Index Card, his Service Medal and Award Rolls, his Attestation Papers x 4 (Joseph (5851) previously enlisted in the 3rd Battalion Highland Light Infantry on the 22/11/1905 aged 17) and his Pension Records x 2. A James McInally (13494) is listed in the Reverend Samuel Lindsay's 1919 book alongside Joseph and Peter in the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). His address is listed as 17 Middle Row, Rosehall, Coatbridge. Brother James possibly joined the Cameronians alongside Joseph and Peter (see photo).
