1121 C.S.M. Charles Wilson British Army 2nd Btn. Kings Own Scottish Borderers (d.Aug 1914) My great uncle Charles Wilson, a C.S.M. in the 2nd K.O.S.B.was killed at Mons
in the opening shots of W.W.1 in August 1914.
His brother Bill was killed on on the 25th April 1915 on Lancashire Landing beach at Gallipoli. My great grandparents had previously lost a son in the Boer War in the 1st K.O.S.B. As they were an Army family they took the loss of 3 sons with stoicism. Additional Information: | I am so sorry to learn of the tragic loss of so many of your family, and I you don't mind me sharing this with you in memory of those no longer with us. My grandfather was Alexander Kirk Wilson and I think he served alongside your relative. He was taken prisoner very early on, again I believe at the Battle where your relative was killed. He was taken as a prisoner of war by the Germans and he told my mother many years later that he almost escaped when the Germans confused his identity with that of a dead officer. My grandfather was a piper and I believe they had assumed from this, and possibly his uniform, that he was the Officer Wilson. There was a roll call and the list of prisoners for release/exchange was read out. He asked his commanding officer what he should do and it was decided by him that my grandfather should go and escape. However, an Englishman advised the Germans that my grandfather was not an officer and that he was not eligible for release. Sadly. my grandfather then spent the rest of the war in a Hellish prison camp and had to be sent to Holland for some time after the end of the War as he was close to death and needed to be rehabilitated. His most treasured possession during his time as a prisoner was his Bible which he passed on to my mother. I cant help thinking it is quite a co-incidence that their names appear next to each other in a roll call 101 years later. Annette Allison.annette allison
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