Remembering Loos - S/12216 Cpl Jack R Young, 5th Bn, Cameron Highlanders

Nearly 10,000 British Army officers and men died on this, the opening day of the Battle of Loos: 25th September 1915. Today, on the 95th Anniversary of this battle, I remember one man of many: Corporal Jack Young.

S/12216 Corporal Jack Young was serving with the 5th Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders when he was killed in action. He was born in Steyning, Sussex but was living in Glasgow and enlisted there in September 1914. He was an original member of the 5th (Service) Battalion and arrived in France on the 10th May 1915.

Jack was lost within the opening minutes or hours of the battle, reported missing at the end of the day's events and never seen again. His body - or at last identifiable remains - was never recovered, and he is one of over 20,000 men commemorated on the Loos Memorial.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry (MIC)
Soldiers Died in The Great War
Army Service Numbers
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

S/22736 A/Sgt Cyril Robertson Aikman, 7th Bn, Cameron Highlanders

S/22736 Acting-Sergeant Cyril Robertson Aikman of the 7th Battalion, Cameron Highlanders, was killed in action on the 29th March 1918, one of over a thousand British soldiers to die on this date. He was born in St Pancras, London but enlisted in Inverness around May or June 1916.

Cyril was serving with C Company at the time of his death. He was 26 years old, the son of Mrs. Jessie Aikman of 36 Falkland Road, Kentish Town, London. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial.

Despite the fact that he was killed in action, papers exist for Cyril in the WO 364 (pensions) series at the National Archives. He first enlisted as a territorial with F Company, the 9th Londons, on the 21st February 1910. That was at 56 Davies Street, London and Cyril was 17 years and three months old and working as a clerk, possibly for a coffee merchant although the writing on his attestation form is difficult to decipher. He was five feet, eight inches tall and in good health. He was given the number 1147.

On 1st April 1912, Cyril was appointed lance-corporal and he attended the battalion's annual camps for each of the four years he served with the Queen Vic's. He was discharged on the 28th March 1914 as a time-expired territorial. His next of kin is recorded on these papers as his mother who was living at 320 Easton Road, London NW.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry (MIC)
Soldiers Died in The Great War
Army Service Numbers
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

S/14482 Pte James Prentice Gow, 5th Bn, Cameron Highlanders

497 men died on the 10th November 1918, one day before the end of the war to end all wars. S/14482 Pte James Prentice Gow of the 5th Battalion, Cameron Highlanders was one of those 497 men. He died of wounds.

James was born in Glasgow, was living there when war was declared, and enlisted there. His number indicates that he enlisted in November 1914 and that he'd therefore survived unscathed for nearly four years by the time he was killed. Pages from James's service record survive at the National Archives in London and the following information is taken from these.

He enlisted at a Glasgow recruiting office on the 9th November 1914, giving his age as 22 years and 62 days and his occupation as clerk. His next of kin is recorded as his mother, Mrs Jemima Gow of 14 Parkhouse Lane, Duke Street, [Dennistoun] Glasgow.

James joined the Cameron Highlanders at Inverness on the same day and was posted to the 3rd Battalion the following day. He remained with the reserve battalion until the 22nd February 1915 when he was posted to the 2nd Battalion on arrival in France. He remained overseas until 10th December 1916 and then returned to England with cellulitis in his arm, remaining there until 7th May 1917. He returned to France for a second time on 8th May 1917 and joined the 7th Battalion in France the following day. Later that month he was posted to the 5th Battalion. He wasn't there long however, before he was returned to England again on 17th August that year. He returned to France for the third and final time on 21st June 1918.

James's service record states that he died of gunshot wounds to the groin and abdomen at the 11th General Hospital at Wimereux. He'd sustained the wounds on the 1st November and therefore must have been in a great deal of pain when he died. He is buried in Terlincthun British Cemetery in France.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Ancestry
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission

3/5840 Pte John Purcell, 1st Bn, Cameron Highlanders

3/5840 Private John Purcell of the 1st Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders was killed in action on the 11th October 1914. His number indicates that he joined the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion on about the 20th August 1914 and so he had not been overseas very long before he was killed.

Strangely, his medal index card makes no mention of his award of the 1914 Star (and clasp) to which he would have been entitled. There is a note next to the entries for the British War and Victory medals that these were returned (and would have been broken up after ten years).

I would suggest that John Purcell was probably an old soldier and was almost immediately posted to a regular battalion after he enlisted with the Special Reserve. It was then probably a matter of weeks or even days before he found himself overseas with the regular 1st Battalion.

John Purcell is buried in Vendresse British Cemetery on the Aisne. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission adds no additional detail about him, although Soldiers Died in The Great War notes that he was born in Camelon, Falkirk, was living in Glasgow and enlisted in Edinburgh.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Ancestry
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission

S/16609 Pte John Sheddens, 1st Bn, Cameron Highlanders

765 men died on this day, 4th September, 1916. Such casualty figures seem incomprehensible today, but as the 1916 Somme battles dragged on, and with the nearly 20,000 casualties on 1st July 1916 alone, long lists of names in newspapers were a daily fixture throughout the British Empire.

S/16609 Pte John Sheddens of the 1st Battalion, The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders was one of those 765 casualties on September 4th 1916. He died of wounds and is buried at Heilly Station Cemetery, Mericourt L'Abbe. Soldiers Died in The Great War records that he was born in the pretty Scottish village of Dalserf in Lanarkshire and was living at Larkhall when he enlisted there. His number indicates an enlistment date of early January 1915 and he arrived in France on 11th May 1915.

The Commonwealth War Grave Commission records his surname SHEDDANS.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Ancestry
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Photograph of the rear of Dalserf Parish Church (with what looks to be the village war memorial to the left) from Geograph.

201135 Pte Herbert Arthur Bray, 7th Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders

201135 Pte Herbert Arthur Bray of the 7th Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, was killed in action on 28th July 1917.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) notes that he was 34 years old, the son of John William and Kate Elizabeth Bray of 55 St. Saviour's Road, West Croydon, and the husband of Mabel H. Bray of 5 Sundridge Road, Addiscombe, East Croydon, Surrey. He was serving with the 7th Battalion's A Company when he was killed.

I am uncertain when Herbert joined the Cameron Highlanders but his medal index card notes that he was only entitled to the British War and Victory medals which in turn means that he must have arrived overseas no earlier than the 1st January 1916. Soldiers Died in The Great War records that he was living in Croydon and enlisted in Croydon and this obviously ties in with the next of kin information sent to the CWGC after his death.

Herbert Bray has no known grave and is one of 54,896 commemorated on the Menin Gate at Ypres.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in the Great War

S/8122 Pte David Carnie, 9th Seaforth Highlanders

S/8122 Private David Carnie of the 9th Seaforth Highlanders was killed in action on 2nd July 1915. Soldiers Died in the Great war 1914-1919 notes that he was living at Barony, Lanarkshire and that he had previously served with the Cameron Highlanders where his number was 10577.

10577 for the Cameron Highlanders indicates a joining date of late August 1914 whereas the Seaforths number dates to April/May 1915. David Carnie's medal index card records both service numbers and indicates that he arrived in France on 10th May 1915. It seems likely therefore that very shortly after arrival in France, he transferred to the Seaforth Highlanders and was given his new number.

David Carnie is buried in Le Touret Military Cemetery, Richebourg-L'Avoue; grave reference II.E.18. His army service record does not appear to have survived.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.
Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (Medal index card)
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Soldiers Died in the Great war 1914-1919