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Pte. James King Moodie
British Army 1st Btn. Kings Own Scottish Borderers
from:Kirkwall, Orkney
(d.26th Apr 1915)
James was born at Silverhall, in Lady parish on the island of Sanday, Orkney Islands, on 9th July 1885, the second son of James Moodie and Margaret Moodie (née King). When he had finished his schooling on Sanday, young James left his large family and moved into a boarding house at 1 Bridge Street in Kirkwall. He served an apprenticeship as a shop assistant with Bailie J.F. Flett and Dean-of-Guild P.C. Flett, then moved to Kelso to work in a shop there.
James was keen to see more of the world, so in 1907 joined the 1st Battalion, King’s Own Scottish Borderers. It was then stationed at Cairo in Egypt, where James was to spend most of his army career. In 1911 1st K.O.S.B. left Egypt for India, and was stationed at Lucknow when war broke out. The Battalion left Bombay on 30th October 1914, and landed at Ismailia on 16th November, when 1st K.O.S.B. became part of 22nd Indian Brigade, general reserve of the Suez Canal Defence Force.
1st K.O.S.B. sailed on the 24th November in the cruisers Amethyst and Sapphire, to land on Gallipoli. At 5 am next day the Scottish Borderers lead a company of 2nd South Wales Borderers and the Plymouth Royal Marine Battalion ashore from cutters towed by trawlers at Y Beach, the furthest north landing beach at Helles. Fortunately only four Turks opposed the Borderers as they scrambled up the steep cliffs and then pushed forward 300 yards to the edge of Gully Ravine. The force waited, in vain, for British troops to advance from the southern Helles beaches to join it and only at 3 pm began to entrench on top of the cliff above Y Beach. Turkish field gun fire started an hour later and at 5.40 pm a series of fierce infantry attacks began that continued through the night. The Turks had withdrawn by daylight, but they had inflicted heavy British casualties and ammunition ashore was short. Requests for reinforcements met no response and there was even confusion as to which officer was in command of the mixed force. Evacuation of wounded from Y Beach in the morning of the 26th lead unintentionally to an increasing stream of demoralised men also boarding the boats and by noon the whole force had withdrawn.
However James Moodie did not live to join the withdrawal, having become one of 1st K.O.S.B.’s 296 casualties in the night attacks. James died at Y Beach aged 29 but his body was not identified until after the war and he is now commemorated on Panel 90 of the Helles Memorial.
