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224502
Pte. John Rorrison
British Army 2nd Btn. Royal Scots Fusiliers
from:Dumfriesshire
(d.23rd April 1917)
Before my mother was born her father had returned from England to his homeland (Scotland). Shortly afterwards the first World War was underway and young John Rorrison signed up in Lockerbie to join The Royals Scots Fusiliers.
By April 1917 he was engaged in ferocious fighting on high ground overlooking the Cherisy Valley in Arras. As the battalion advanced it was under a barrage of machine gun fire. From 4.45 in the morning until 9pm the battle raged and the Royal Scots Battalion was depleted by half. The survivors retreated but John Rorrison was not one of them. He died on 23rd April 1917 and is "Remembered with Honour" in Bootham Cemetery, Heninel, France. Through researching my family history I know far more about my Grandfather than my Mother ever knew.
My father (considerably older than my Mother) also served in WW1 and survived but was seriously wounded at Ypres in September 1917.