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1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders
1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders was based in Plymouth with 8th Brigade in 3rd Division when war broke out in August 1914. They proceeded to France on the 14th of August 1914, landing at Boulogne. They were in action They saw action in The Battle of Mons and the rearguard action at Solesmes, and after taking heavy casualties at Le Cateau, they transferred to Army Troops, on the 12th of September 1914. They returned to 8th Brigade on the 30th of September. On the 19th of October 1915 they transferred to 76th Brigade still with 3rd Division. They took part in the Winter Operations of 1914-15, The First Attack on Bellewaarde and the Actions at Hooge. In 1916 they took part in The Actions of the Bluff and St Eloi Craters then moved to The Somme for The Battle of Albert, The Battle of Bazentin helping to capture Longueval, The Battle of Delville Wood and The Battle of the Ancre. In 1917 They were at Arras, seeing action at Battles of the Scarpe and The Battle of Arleux. They moved north to the Flanders and were in action during The Battle of the Menin Road and Battle of Polygon Wood during the Third Battle of Ypres. Then moved south and were in action at The Battle of Cambrai. In 1918 They were in action on The Somme, in the Battles of the Lys, the Battles of the Hindenburg Line and the Battle of the Selle. After the Armistice 3rd Division advanced into Germany as part of the Occupation Force.
29th July 1914 Mobilisation
29th July 1914 Orders
5th August 1914 Mobilization
5th August 1914 Completion of Mobilisation.
9th August 1914 Period of Waiting.
11th August 1914 Advance Party arrives
13th August 1914 Departure
14th August 1914 Quartering Arrangements Completed
14th August 1914 Arrival at Bologne.
15th August 1914 At Bologne.
15th August 1914 Departure from Bologne.
16th August 1914 Movement Orders
16th August 1914 Boulogne to Taisnieres.
18th August 1914 On the Move
19th August 1914 Changes in quartering arrangements
20th August 1914 Changes in quartering arrangements
20th August 1914 March to Doulers.
20th August 1914 At Taisnieres
21st August 1914 Taking up stations in assigned areas.
21st August 1914 Advance to Gognies.
22nd August 1914 Taking up stations in assigned areas.
22nd August 1914 Advance through Belgium.
23rd Aug 1914 German attack at Mons The Battle of Mons began early in the morning with a German artillery bombardment of the British lines, concentrated near a bend in the canal close to the town of Mons. At 9:00 am the German infantry assault began as they attempted to force their way across the four bridges that crossed the Mons-Conde canal. The demolition charges had been placed beneath the bridges by the Royal Engineers, whilst under fire from enemy snipers.
Four German battalions attacked the Nimy bridges, defended by a single company of the 4th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers and a machine gun section led by Lieutenant Maurice Dease at the south side of the railway bridge. The 4th Royal Fusiliers were positioned along the canal between the two bridges, the swing bridge having been turned to prevent crossing. The German infantry suffered heavy losses as they advanced in "parade ground" formation, the well-trained British riflemen were making hits at over 1,000 yards So heavy was the British rifle fire throughout the battle that the Germans thought they were facing machine guns.
To the right of the Royal Fusiliers, the 4th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment and the 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders were suffering heavy casualties in facing the German assault. With reinforcements from the Royal Irish Regiment (acting as the divisional reserve) and fire support from the divisional artillery, they managed to hold the bridges. The Germans then widened their attack, to the British defences along the straight section of the Mons-Conde canal to the west of Mons. Aided by the cover of a plantation of fir trees they inflicted heavy casualties with machine gun and rifle fire on the 1st Battalion Royal West Kent Regiment and the 2nd Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers, who despite their losses, managed to repulse the Germans throughout the morning.
The order to withdraw was given at 3pm, after a German soldier swam out to the swing bridge and activated the mechanism, allowing his comrades to cross easily. To the east the Germans had crossed the canal and were advancing on the British flank. The 3rd Division was ordered to retire to positions a short distance to the south of Mons which necessitated a similar retreat in early evening by the 5th Division, and by nightfall a new defensive line had been established at the villages of MontrÅ"ul, Boussu, Wasmes, Paturages, and Frameries. The Germans had spent the late afternoon building pontoon bridges over the canal, and were approaching in great numbers. News arrived that the French Fifth Army was also retreating, dangerously exposing the British right flank as night fell.
23rd August 1914 German attack crosses Canal
23rd August 1914 Battle of Mons.
23rd August 1914 Orders.
24th Aug 1914 The Battle of Mons At 2 a.m. on 24 August, II Corps was ordered to retreat into France to defensible a position along the Valenciennes to Maubeuge road, requiring a number of sharp rearguard actions against the pursuing Germans. 5th Brigade were ordered to to act as rearguard and fought a holding action at Paturages and Frameries, with Brigade artillery in particular, inflicting heavy casualties on the Germans.
At Wasmes, units of the 5th Division faced a heavy assault from German artillery which began bombarding the village at daybreak, followed at 10 a.m. by an infantry assault by German III Corps who advanced in columns and were "mown down like grass" by British Rifle and Machine Gun fire. Soldiers of the 1st West Kents, 2nd King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, 2nd Duke of Wellington's Regiment, and 1st Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment held off repeated German assaults on the village, despite taking heavy casualties, and then retreated in good order to St. Vaast at mid day.
24th August 1914 Withdrawals
24th August 1914 Retirement from Mons.
25th August 1914 Ongoing Retirement
25th August 1914 On the March
26th August 1914 In Action
26th August 1914 Retirement
26th August 1914 Ongoing Retirement
26th August 1914 In Action
26th August 1914 Entrenching
27th Aug 1914 Rear Guard
27th August 1914 Continued withdrawals
28th Aug 1914 Rear Guard
28th August 1914 Initial Intelligence Report
29th August 1914 Ongoing Retirement
30th August 1914 Demolitions on withdrawals
31st August 1914 Continued withdrawals
1st Sep 1914 Highest Praise
4th September 1914 Enemy across the Marne
6th September 1914 Attack Made
7th September 1914 Attack progressing
8th September 1914 Ongoing Battles
9th September 1914 Ongoing Action
10th September 1914 Davance
11th September 1914 Continued progress
12th September 1914 Bad Weather
12th September 1914 On the March
13th September 1914 Strong Opposition
14th September 1914 Further Advance
15th September 1914 Shelling
16th September 1914 Difficulties
17th September 1914 Heavy Bombardment
18th September 1914 Night Attacks
19th September 1914 Attack Repulsed
20th September 1914 Ongoing Action
20th September 1914 Reliefs
21st September 1914 Attacks
22nd September 1914 Reliefs
23rd September 1914 Patrols
24th September 1914 Artillery Exchange
26th September 1914 Aircraft Assists
27th September 1914 Continuing action around bridges
28th September 1914 Bridges
29th September 1914 Ongoing fighting on all fronts
30th September 1914 September Intelligence Summary
1st October 1914 Commencement of Move
7th Oct 1914 7th Division land at Zeebrugge The 1st and 2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders and the 2nd Scots Guards land at Zeebrugge as part of the 7th Division BEF.
15th October 1914 Operation order received 
24th October 1914 Further German attacks repulsed
24th October 1914 Night Attack
25th October 1914 Further German attacks repulsed
26th Oct 1914 Under Heavy Bombardment
26th October 1914 German front quiet
27th October 1914 Battle for Neuve Chapelle
2nd of November 1914 Three Groups Organised
7th Nov 1914 Reliefs
11th Nov 1914 Reliefs
13th Nov 1914 Attack Made
14th Nov 1914 Attack Made
15th Nov 1914 Under Attack
19th Nov 1914 Attack
14th Dec 1914 1st Gordon Highlanders attack
14th December 1914 Heavy Artillery Bombardment
5th January 1915 Billets
17th January 1915 The Battalion marched to Kemmel
21st January 1915 Reliefs
25th January 1915 Battalion proceeded to Kemmel at 1715 hours
4th of February 1915 Chicken Sentries
19th February 1915 Took over "L" sector on the South side of the Vierstaat - Wyshaete road
3rd Mar 1915 Instruction
6th Mar 1915 Instruction
7th March 1915 Intermittent shelling between Vierstraat and Battalion H.Q.
12th Mar 1915 Instruction
13th Mar 1915 Recce
18th Mar 1915 1st Gordons relieved near Vierstraat 1st Battalion Royal Scots in Ypres, Belgium.
1st Battalion Royal Scots and Suffolk’s relieve the 1st Gordon Highlanders in trenches near Vierstraat.
19th Mar 1915 Reliefs
26th Mar 1915 Reliefs
29th Mar 1915 Reliefs
1st May 1915 Reliefs
4th May 1915 Mine Suspected
12th of May 1915 German Mine Hit
13th May 1915 Trenches Cleared
14th May 1915 New Redoubt
18th of May 1915 Revenge Shelling
2nd Jun 1915 Enemy Active
24th June 1915 Brigade sports
12th July 1915 Reliefs
29th Jul 1915 Working Parties
30th Jul 1915 Working Parties
3rd Aug 1915 Reliefs
10th Aug 1915 Reliefs
25th September 1915 Attack
15th November 1915 Training
4th Jan 1916 Visits to Countrymen
4th February 1916 Roll of Honour
13th Mar 1916 Gordons Relieve Kings Own
2nd Apr 1916 Attacks Made
3rd Apr 1916 Enemy Active
18th July 1916 Last night and this morning very wet being most unpleasant for "C" & "D" Coys. in the new trenches with no cover
25th Jul 1916 Shelling
14th May 1917 Report
6th July 1917 Lewis Gun Teams
25th September 1917 Into Position
31st of January 1918 Training
20th May 1918 Heavy bombardment of shrapnel, H.E. & Gas
1st Aug 1918 Some Shelling
1st Aug 1918 Dispositions
2nd Aug 1918 Hostile Artillery Active
3rd Aug 1918 Quiet
4th Aug 1918 Orders Received
5th Aug 1918 Patrols
6th Aug 1918 Some Shelling
7th Aug 1918 HQ Moves
29th Aug 1918 Message
27th September 1918 Heavy Shelling
1st October 1918 Battalion "Stood To" ready to move at 0700 hours.
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War.
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Those known to have served with1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders during the Great War 1914-1918. - Beattie John. Pte.
- Blues Ritchie. Pte. (d.18th Aug 1916)
- Booth Cecil Richard. 2nd Lt. (d.21st March 1916)
- Boyle Connell. Pte. (d.3rd June 1918)
- Bruce Peter. Pte. (d.23rd Oct 1918)
- Bruce Robert. Pte.
- Carnegie James. Pte. (d.26th Sept 1917)
- Carrick John. Pte. (d.9th April 1917)
- Cassie Omond Stewart. Pte. (d.13th May 1917)
- Cowie Walter James. Pte. (d.23rd Aug 1916)
- Duncan J. Cpl. (d.13th Sep 1915)
- Finlayson Robert Watson Golan. Pte. (d.29th Aug 1918)
- Forbes DCM. Alexander W.. Sgt.
- Foster MiD. George F.W.G.. Pte.
- Fulton Robert Rodman. Sjt. (d.25th Sep 1915)
- Gordon VC. William Eagleson. Bt.Col.
- Grant Francis Morrison. Pte. (d.22nd April 1915)
- Guthrie Norman. Pte. (d.14th December 1914)
- Hardie George. Pte. (d.14th Dec 1914)
- Harper James. Pte. (d.19th September 1918)
- Hart DCM. David Hynd. Sgt. (d.2nd Mar 1916)
- Hay William. Sgt. (d.14th Dec 1914)
- Healy Joseph Gregory. Cpl. (d.12th May 1917)
- Jones Stanley. Pte.
- Kelly John McKie. Pte. (d.26th August 1918)
- King William. Pte.
- Manson Magnus. Pte. (d.18th Aug 1916)
- May Peter Brown Clives. Pte. (d.27th Sept 1918)
- McDowall James Walter Rodger. Pte.
- McKnight William. Sgt. (d.22nd July 1915)
- McMeeking Robert.
- Milne William. Pte. (d.24th May 1918)
- Moore Percy Frank. Pte.
- Morris William. Pte. (d.26th September 1917)
- Murdoch Robert Moir Taylor. Pte. (d.14th June 1917)
- Parkinson DSO J.. Pte.
- Price Harry. Pte. (d.1st Oct 1918)
- Radcliffe William. Pte. (d.23rd September 1917)
- Scott George Borthwick. Pte. (d.23rd August 1918)
- Sharman George Anthony. Pte. (d.1st April 1916)
- Stevenson William. Sgt. (d.2nd Mar 1916)
- Ward Dick. Private (d.15th June 1917)
- Wilkie Alex Agnew. Pte. (d.17th June 1917)
- Wood Alexander. Pte. (d.26th September 1917)
All names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed,
please Add a Name to this List
Records of 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders from other sources.
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Sgt. William "Willie" Stevenson 1st Btn Gordon Highlanders (d.2nd Mar 1916) .jpg) My grandfather, William Stevenson was born in Middlesbrough. He joined the Police Force in 1907. He and my grandmother were married in 1910 and lived in South Hetton, Durham. They had three children, the eldest being my mother. William travelled to Sunderland where he enlisted on 22nd March 1915; he resigned from the Police the following day. His war records, though badly burnt, have provided a few details.
He embarked at Southampton 29th April that year and joined the Battalion on 1st May. He was promoted to Corporal then Sergeant in September, 1915. He went on leave to the UK from 2nd to 10th January, 1916.
According to a war diary on the Gordon Highlanders website an assault began in the Reninghelst area at 4.30am on 2nd March, 1916. Witnesses, L/C Hughes and Pte Ledlingham, told of my grandfather being wounded in a Bombing Post which was subsequently blown up. About a week later, while trench clearing, his body was found and reburied.
My grandmother was awarded a pension of 21/6d per week for herself and the three children with effect from 25th September, 1916.
My grandfather's body was found again and reburied in trenches south of Verbrande Molen. However, it wasn't until some time between 1924 and 1928 that his body was discovered once more and identified by a ring he was wearing. He was finally laid to rest in Sanctuary Wood Cemetery. I have visited his grave a number of times and plan to go there once more for the Armistice Centenary in November.
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Pte. Robert Watson Golan Finlayson 1st Btn Gordon Highlanders (d.29th Aug 1918) Robert Finlayson joined on his 18th birthday in October 1917. He was sent to France in June 1918, was wounded August 27th and died two days later.
He was the son of John and Catherine Finlayson, 5 Shore Street, Cromarty. His occupation, upon enlistment, is shown as Rivet Boy.
He is buried in the Ligny-sur-Canche cemetery in France.
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Pte. Stanley Jones 1st Btn. Gordon Highlanders My husband's father Stanley Jones was born in the parish of Mynyddislwyn, Monmouthshire, Wales, in 1895. Stanley travelled all the way to Perth to join the Gordon Highlanders on 4th August, 1914. Unfortunately his records were lost in the "burnt papers" but we have pieced together his records as far as we can. Stanley was in the Battle of Loos, September 1915 - 13 months in line. Battle of the Somme July 1916 - 7 months in the line. Battle of Arras April 1917v- 5 months in the line - Battle of Paschendele October 4th - November 27th 1917. Stanley was shot and gassed in 1917 and he was sent home to Perth in Scotland then to the hospital in Cardiff.
Recently going through his papers we found a faded photograph of a Gordon Highlander, on the back is written James Carnegie (Barry Carnoustie). This gentleman appeared to have been a great friend of his. Researching on the internet we have found that a James Carnegie S/17411 lst Btn. Gordon Highlanders died at the age of 22 on 26th September, 1917 and is remembered with honour on the Tyne Cot Memorial. Stanley was in the lst Btn Gordon Highlanders (service number S/6402) so we think we have found the young James Carnegie in the picture lovingly kept by Stanley in his precious papers of the Great War.
If anyone of James's family would like to get in touch we would be so happy to hear from them.
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Pte. James Walter Rodger McDowall 1st Btn. Gordon Highlanders Researching my family tree I found James McDowall, his marriage etc and birth of his daughter then nothing. Further research has traced him to the 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders with a report of his death by asphyxiation on 7th May 1916 in France or Belgium.
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Bt.Col. William Eagleson Gordon VC. 1st Btn. Gordon Highlanders  Captain W.E. Gordon received the Victoria Cross for most gallantry during the battle of Leeheehoek in the Second Boer War. After 1888, he was an officer in the 1st Gordon Highlanders and served them in many conflicts.
During the First World War, Brevet Colonel William E. Gordon VC was taken prisoner during the Battle of Le Cateau on 26th of August 1914. He and Lt. Col. Neish got in a big argument when they were cut off from the rest of the force and eventually some 90 percent of the regiment surrendered during the "Chances of War", although W.E. Gordon was convinced there was a chance to break through the enemy lines and get back to the British Army. During his capture, he was wounded and interned at Fort Zinna in the German POW camp in Torgau near the river Elbe. His brother, Major A. A. Gordon, a Belgian king’s messenger, reports that he was a fellow prisoner with the Belgian General G. Leman, who defended the city of Liege most gallantly. However, it is reported that General Leman was a prisoner at Blankenburg, which is located some 100 km north of Torgau. In Torgau, Bt. Col. Gordon was questioned for the use of "flat nose" bullets in his revolver. Eventually, he was exchanged for a German aristocrat prisoner in Madagascar in early 1916.
He returned home to his wife and son, who was only 3 years old at the outbreak of the war. Once he set foot on British soil, he filed a report assigning responsibility for the fate of the regiment in August 1914. After Lt. Col. Neish was released from captivity due to illness and brought through Switzerland in 1916, the investigation began and a Court of Inquiry was appointed for the trial. When in 1919 an article was published by Cedric Fraser in the Dundee People's Journal, W.E. Gordon's name was smeared by the company of John Leng & Co., which owned the journal. Fraser had interviewed Corporal Mutch after his return in 1917, but had altered Mutch's words and had put words in his mouth. After W.E. Gordon confronted Corporal Mutch, he sued John Leng & Co. for £5,000 pounds in a libel case alleging slander. What it made more suspicious was that two brothers of Lt. Col. Neish and Corporal Mutch were shareholders of John Leng & Co. Eventually the Court decided in favour for W.E. Gordon, and he received a claim of £500.
W.E. Gordon's son also joined the Gordon Highlanders as a 2nd Lieutenant. Being a sportscar enthusiast, he was killed at the age of 20 during practice in Donington Park on August 19th, 1933 when the car in which he was a passenger overturned.The accident was reported in The Times on August 21st, 1933. Major A. A. Gordon Society
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Pte. Peter Brown Clives May 1st Btn. Gordon Highlanders (d.27th Sept 1918) Peter May is my Great Uncle (mothers uncle). I found his grave in The British Cemetery at Grevillers in France.
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Pte. Harry Price 1st Btn. Gordon Highlanders (d.1st Oct 1918) Harry Price was my wife's great grandfather, he served with the 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders.
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Pte. John Beattie 1st Btn. Gordon Highlanders My brother has recently uncovered information regarding our grandfather, John Beattie, who served with the 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders in WW1. He was captured in action at the Battle of le Cateau on 26/27th August 1914.
He subsequently spent the whole of the rest of the war as a PoW at Sennelager PoW camp near Bielefeld in north-west Germany.
His medical card has been sent to my brother and the text (in French) describes him as "fading away. He has been here a long time. He is under the orders of Lieutenant Usher whose regiment is also in internment". Despite the description, fortunately he survived the war and returned home.
His unit had landed in Boulogne, France, on 14th of August so he spent only two weeks on active service, followed by four years as a prisoner. After the war he became a police officer with the Glasgow police, where he met my maternal grandmother, Janet Beattie (nee Morrison), who was one of the first three or four female recruits into the police after the war.
She rose to become the first ever female Detective Inspector in Scotland and received a British Empire Medal from the Queen on her retirement in 1968.
My grandfather was fatally injured in making an arrest in Glasgow and died around 1935 when my father (also John) was seven years old.
I recall my father recounting that his father had been a gunner and his position had been overrun by the German cavalry, leading to his capture. We do, somewhere, still have the "comfort photograph" of him that was sent by the German Red Cross to his family at home to let them know he was alive.
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Pte. George F.W.G. Foster MiD. 1st Btn. Gordon Highlanders George Foster attested for the 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders on the 23rd of August 1902 from the Duke of Yorks Military Asylum, Chelsea.
He was listed as a musician.
In 1914 he was part of the British Expeditionary Force in France involved in the Battle of Mons. He was part of the Brigade which failed to retreat in front of the German advance and was captured, with many others, on the outskirts of Bertry.
Taken prisoner, he and others were marched through France and Belgium to northern Germany where he spent the rest of WW1 in Sennelager Prisoner of War Camp.
George was Mentioned in Dispatches for his conduct and support to others whilst a PoW.
He was discharged from the Gordon Highlanders on completion of 25 year's service in 1927.
He died in 1952.
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Pte. Robert Moir Taylor Murdoch 1st Btn. Gordon Highlanders (d.14th June 1917) Robert Murdoch of the 1st Gordon Highlanders was killed in action and is remembered on the Arras Memorial. He was aged 19.
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Private Dick Ward Signals Section, 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders (d.15th June 1917) Dick Ward was born at Charity Farm, Skipwith in 1897 was the youngest child of Frank Ward (b. South Milford, 1854) and Annie Gertrude Durham (b. Wheldrake, 1854). Frank and Annie married in 1876 and had 10 children. Annie died in 1900 when Dick was aged 3. It is likely, Dick was brought up by his older sister Annie Elizabeth (b. 1871 d. 1958). Annie Elizabeth was 21 when their mother died.
Dick’s burnt war records show he was 19 when he joined the Gordon Highlanders in Aberdeen on the 7th of February, 1916. Dick signed on in Aberdeen as his Attestation dated 9th of February 1916 gives his address as Stamford Bridge where he was a Farm Servant and it appears living at home, Danegelt House. It’s uncertain why Dick joined the Gordon Highlanders and signed on in Scotland. Perhaps he was estranged from his father and family, perhaps he had found work in Scotland or perhaps he had just run away from home to join up!
Dick was posted, presumably for training, on the 11th of February 1916. On the 1st of November 1916 he sailed from Folkestone to Boulogne, then onwards to Etaples, a fishing port and base camp 15 miles south of Boulogne. Etaples was an important base for the British Army, using Boulogne as its port for personnel. Calais was used mainly for stores, ammunition, etc. Etaples was the BEF's main infantry base, with sections for every regiment with battalions at the front. In theory, the base held a ten per cent reserve for every frontline battalion, but these figures fluctuated significantly depending on the levels of casualties at the front and the supply of fresh troops from England. Troops held at the base were toughened up while waiting dispatch to the front. Etaples serviced the Regular and New Army battalions at the front and included 16 hospitals. Having passed through Etaples. Dick was posted to the front on 20th of November 20th 2016. Dick is likely to be one of the 19 other rank soldiers who arrived in Vauchelles on 23rd of November.
In June 1917 the 1st Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders were involved in the Battle for Infantry Hill. Infantry Hill near Monchy-le-Preux, southeast of Arras, exchanged hands several times. It was captured in May but retaken by the Germans, and captured again by the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. By the middle of June it was once more in German hands, but on the 14th June of a surprise daylight attack was made by the 1st Gordon Highlanders and the 1st Essex, without artillery support. Success was achieved very quickly, but the enemy drove them off and the attack had to be made one more time to secure Infantry Hill for the British.
Dick’s records state he was killed in action on the 22nd of June 2017. He was actually killed on Friday 15th of June 1917, the Battle for Infantry Hill. He spent only 7 months in action on the front line.
On the 28th June his father Frank wrote to Dick’s commanding officer for further details of his son’s death. Apparently in the notification of Dick’s death no date had been stated. He was checking whether the notification of his son’s death was true. He also queries whether he can have Dick’s possessions and whether or not Dick had made a will. In response on the 2nd July the Major requires more details of Dick’s regiment. Frank’s reply on the 4th July is, I think, very poignant, he writes ‘I hope you will be able to trace him’. Clearly my Great Grandad hopes the notification of Dick’s death is a mistake!
A letter from the War Office in London dated 11th of October 1917 advises the Officer i/c Infantry Records in Perth to dispatch Dick’s belongings to Frank in Stamford Bridge. On the 22nd October Dick’s possessions were forwarded to his father. They were,
A disc, a Pocket Book, Photographs, Signal Certificate, AFB 2079, 1 receipt, his Registration Card and a Society Card. So few personal items.
On the 22nd of October 1919 Frank received a letter from the Officer in charge of Records asking for a declaration regarding Dick’s relatives so the Death Plaque and medals could be issued. Frank completed the declaration on the 3rd November 1919. At this time Frank describes himself as a farmer and is still living in Stamford Bridge. Frank is 60 and his brothers Willie (39) Frank (35) and Peter (29) are living on the farm. Nearly 2 years later in October 1921 Frank finally received Dick’s British War Medal and Victory Medal.
My Great Uncle, Private Dick Ward of the Signals Section, 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders is commemorated on the Arras Memorial. Just one of 34,816.
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Cpl. Joseph Gregory Healy 1st Battallion Gordon Highlanders (d.12th May 1917)  Corporal Joe Healy was the brother of my grandfather John Healy. He was killed in action at the Battle of Arras on 12th of May 1917, aged only 19 years old. He had enlisted in the early days of the Great War and had been in France for 2 years and 6 months.
An article in the local newspaper the ˜Clydebank Press, dated 15th of June 1917 states that he had seen much heavy fighting and was recommended for the Military Medal for bravery in the field in the early days of the Battle of the Somme, but nothing further transpired beyond the recommendation.
The newspaper article states that:
"In a letter from his sergeant, he writes ˜It was when we went into battle at the beginning of May and had met heavy shellfire up until then that Corporal Joseph Healy was killed. On the night of the 12th when the platoon bombing post was being relieved he was struck by a bullet and death was instantaneous. An officer was wounded there too and died half an hour later. We carried Joe's body back from ˜No Man's Land" and buried him decently behind the front line. We erected a cross on which I wrote the inscription. I can assure you that he suffered no pain, and his death was greatly regretted by us all. He was bright and willing man and greatly liked by all the NCO's of his platoon, and was a great help to all his fellow NCO's, because duty calls us in all these hot days".
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Pte. James Harper 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders (d.19th September 1918) James Harper was my 4th cousin 1x removed, I know only the bare facts about him. He is listed in Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919. He was born in Ayr in Scotland on 21 May 1890 and appears to have lived in Ayrshire up until his military service. He died in France or Flanders on 28th of September 1918, age 28, only weeks before the Armistice. I don't know any more details of his death or service. He left behind his parents, five brothers and two sisters.
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Pte. George Anthony Sharman 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders (d.1st April 1916) George Sharman served with 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders.
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Pte. Alexander Wood 1st Btn. Gordon Highlanders (d.26th September 1917) Alexander Wood is my Great Uncle. Two years ago I travelled to Portsoy to visit the graves of my granparents. Alexander was the brother of my Grandfather Findlay Wood, they were a family of fisherman.
My own father, Joseph Wood, followed in the footsteps by joining the Royal Navy and serving 1939-1945. He was involved in the famous Malta Run and in the Battle of the Atlantic.
His brother, my Uncle William Wood, also served in the Gordon Highlanders and was recruited into the first Parachute Regiment involved n the Brummell raid.
A family who all served their country and involved in some of the most difficult campaigns of both wars.
My other Grandfather, Perceival Gray, was awarded the DCM during the First World War.
May they all rest in peace.
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Pte. William Morris 1st Battalion. D Coy. Gordon Highlanders (d.26th September 1917) William Morris was born in 1891 to William Samuel Morris and Elizabeth Birchall Morris (nee Booth}. His brother Harold George Morris was born in 1894 and served with 1st Bucks Battalion, Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry. Harold was killed on 19th August 1917.
The brothers were both killed at the 3rd Battle of Ypres, Passchaendale, and their names are remembered with honour on the Tyne Cot Memorial as their bodies were never found. They were my great uncles on my mothers side of the family. They are remembered with pride and sadness.
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Pte. George Borthwick Scott 1st Btn. Gordon Highlanders (d.23rd August 1918) George Scott was born in Greenock Renfrewshire on 10 November 1893. He was the son of David Scott and his wife Jeanie Borthwick. He was one of ten children. His siblings were Mary, Thomas, Jean, David, Malcolm, John, James, Robert and Catherine.
George died on 23rd of August 1918 aged 24 years while serving with the 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders and is buried in Warry Copse Cemetery, France in the village of Courcelles-le-Comte. My grandfather went to visit the cemetery. I visited the cemetery with my mother in 1995.
George was entitled to the Victory and British War Medals under army orders 266 and 301 of 1919, dated Perth 27th May 1920. His name was inscribed on the War Memorial in Gordon Park Church, Whiteinch. I have been unable to find the whereabouts of the memorial after the church closed and became a furniture showroom and now a nursery. His name is also inscribed on the Roll of Honour in Edinburgh Castle and Glasgow City Chambers. I have no photographs of him.
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Pte. Alex Agnew Wilkie 1st Btn. Gordon Highlanders (d.17th June 1917) Alex Wilkie served with the 1st Gordon Highlanders.
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Pte. Connell Boyle 1st Btn. Gordon Highlanders (d.3rd June 1918) Private Boyle's brother lived in Kilcloony.
He was 23 when he died and is buried near the north boundary of the Kilcloony Catholic Churchyard, Inishkeel, Co. Donegal, Ireland.
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Pte. Percy Frank Moore 1st Btn. Gordon Highlanders Percy Moore enlisted on 2nd February 1910 at Aberdeen. He stated his place of birth as Aberdeen, probably in the hope it would sound more desirable for the Gordon Highlanders than his actual birth place of Guernsey. His age on enlistment was 19 years and 5 months, his service numbers were 405, and later as a reservist 2865163 - which he was from 11th April 1921 to 7th April 1926.
Percy was taken a Prisoner of War. He was captured near the village of Bertry south of Le Cateau, France on 26th of August 1914.
Sadly, my Grandfather talked very little about his experiences, in fact my mother says it was a taboo subject all of her childhood. She was amazed to find that he talked a little more openly to his grandchildren, my brother and I during the 1960/70s.
All that I remember him saying was that if it wasn't for a shrapnel wound to his leg he would have managed to escape the Germans. By the accounts above some soldiers did make it out of the conflict at Le Cateau.
Cruelty - I remember so clearly that when I was about 7-8 ish my grandfather told my brother and I about the time he nearly lost an eye.
"A German soldier was bullying us British and he took a particular dislike to me, he followed me and when I entered a room on my own he came at me with a pen-knife and said he was going to remove my eye with it. I believed him and was very frightened! Luckily for me and just in the nick of time a higher ranking soldier came in and stopped him."
There is probably so much more to this story, but as with many of my fellow genealogists I just wish I'd asked the right questions and recorded the stories at the time, but in fairness I was only 7 years old at the time.
Another anecdote Percy told was that he was imprisoned with the entertainer Maurice Chevalier. All these years later I am able to verify that Maurice was indeed imprisoned in WW1, and in two of the same camps as Percy. How well he knew him I cannot be sure, but my mother was sure that he shared quarters with him.
Percy worked as a personal butler for Rupert Keppel after the war. My mother told me that they met whilst imprisoned, and remained in contact on their repatriation. In what capacity a bond developed - a friendship, or in service I cannot be sure, but they were both taken prisoner a day apart Landrecies and Le Chateau. I suspect their association started shortly after capture. Records suggest that prisoners of officer ranks were held in different camps to other ranks and it is difficult to decipher from the Red Cross records whether they were in the same camps at the same time, thus placing them together during their internment. A bond between them certainly did occur, because Percy worked for Rupert Keppel as soon as he got married and came back from Switzerland. I assume his employment terminated soon after the annulment of Keppel's marriage in 1921. My Grandfather was very respectful of Hon. Rupert Keppel and later named his son Derek in his honour.
From all that I have read, it would seem that Percy would have been sick or injured to be transferred to Switzerland. I know that he received a leg injury during the retreat of the Battle at Le Cateau, but I always assumed he recovered from that quite well - he never limped or used a walking stick in later life. Infectious disease were rife in the camps, and by 1918 Percy had had three and half years of internment so it would be no wonder that he was susceptible to some infection - a lung problem perhaps, or malnutrition. Whatever it was there is no mention of it in his postcards to Hilda, and in general afterwards. I have also learned that it became every prisoners' goal to get to a neutral country. All manner of bribery and trickery was employed (understandably) to get the authority to be moved.
Another reason to be moved was if the Rt. Hon R Keppel was moved to Switzerland and he persuaded the authorities to let him take Percy too as a valet, I have read that other officers did this - just my theory. I always assumed from what my mother told me that they were together in Leysin, but I have not found any evidence to this end. Further research revealed mention that prisoners in Germany of four years or more could apply to be transferred to Switzerland, so maybe that was reason enough!
At present I don't know where Percy returned too in December 1918. Newspapers in Aberdeen listed returning soldiers and their names, but his is not on those lists.
He would have no reason to want to return to Scotland because his parents were now living in Whittlesea, Cambridgeshire, and Hilda would be living with his sister Lily in Coventry. He may have been received back to Barracks in Colchester, Plymouth or Aldershot. Whether or not he was then confined as he puts it in one of his cards I'm not sure, but I should imagine he would have wanted to get straight to see Hilda for her birthday on 15th December. In any case, it couldn't have been long because they were married in Whittlesea, Cambridgeshire on 1st January 1919.
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