The Battalion arrived at Boulogne on the 03/05/1915 and were part of the 153rd Brigade, 51st (Highland) Division. John was Killed in Action during the capture of "Y" Ravine at Beaumont Hamel, Somme. This was part of the Battle of the Ancre, 13th - 18th November 1916 : The Battle was now extended northwards across to the far side of he River Ancre. The British force attacked in fog and snow on the 13th November from the very same front lines from which the attack had failed so badly on the 1st July. Beaumont-Hamel was finally captured but Serre once again proved an objective too far. Considerable casualties were sustained before the Battle was called off. This was part of the Battles of the Somme and also the end of the Somme offensive. 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. John's Grave photo kindly donated by Mick McCann at the British War Graves website who supply photos FREE OF CHARGE
here. Also remembered on the Gartsherrie Works x 2 and in the St. Augustine's Parish (book) Roll of Honour (see photos). See photos for myself at "Y" Ravine Cemetery after a fundraising walk in 2010. Also see photos for John's Newspaper clipping, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls, "Y" Ravine Cemetery, his Headstone Report, John's Pension Record, his CWGC Grave Registration x 3 and his Gordon Highlanders Cap Badge.
