211211 Sgt. Todd Eaglesham MM.British Army 10th Btn. Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) from:Gorbals, Glasgow (d.28th Mar 1918) Todd Eaglesham and his younger brother John headed for the battlefields of France with the 10th Battalion of The Cameronians. Todd was soon to prove himself as a soldier and before long was promoted to sergeant.
A fighter by nature he was in December of 1916 awarded the Military Medal.
Sadly two years later on the 28th of March he was killed in action in the Battle of Arras. One historian described that day "if ever the lid was lifted from hell, then the 28th of March 1918 was the day it happened". Another quote from the book on the history of The Tenth Battalion, The Cameronians reads "At the same time the battalion lost a most devoted and gallant NCO in Sgt Eaglesham, the provost sergeant, who had been with the battalion from the first. He also had won the Military Medal". There are a couple of pages on what happened, and a report from a public meeting in Edinburgh in 1919 where Earl Haig referred to 'one of the most gallant of the minor incidents of the battle was a counter attack by a single company of the 10th Battalion Scottish Rifles.'
The counter attack was by C company under Captain Munro towards the Feuchy Chapel crossroads. The order was countermanded and the company had to disengage from a considerably superior enemy. Captain Robb and Lt Robb who was wounded both won the Military Cross, and Sgt Barlow The Distinguished Conduct Medal, the latter accounted for fifteen of the enemy with his own rifle during the withdrawal.
The original company position had been astride the Arras Cambrai road. This 'line' consisted of incomplete trenches, in most places 3 feet deep and about 7 feet wide. they found 55 newly arrived men waiting for them. These were posted for the night to the reserve Company - C. Many of them were destined to remain unknown to them by name, for at 3am an intensive enemy bombardment of gas and high explosive shell opened, killing most and causing numerous casualties.
Lt Col Stanley Clarke was awarded an immediate bar to his DSO following this action.
Sergeant Todd Eaglesham is shown in the book as getting his Military Medal on 16th of September 1916. The same day that the tank had been used for the very first time ever in the battlefield. This possibly followed the 10th Battalions involvement on 15th Sept 1916, tanks and Scotsmen, a potent force!
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