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1st Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers    1st Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers were in Lucknow, India when war broke out in August 1914. As soon as a territorial unit arrived to take over the garrison, they departed for England, arriving on the 28th of December 1914 to join 87th Brigade, 29th Division at Rugby. They were training for France when orders arrived to prepare to depart for Gallipoli. They embarked from Avonmouth between the 18th of March 1915 sailing via Malta to Alexandria then on to Mudros in April. They landed at Cape Helles, Gallipoli on the 25 April 1915 and were involved in heavy fighting until the evacuation on the nights of the 7th and 8th of January 1916 when they returned to Egypt. In March they were sent to France, sailing to Marseilles arriving on the 18th of March and travelling by train to concentrate in the area east of Pont Remy by the end of March. In July they went into action in the Battles of the Somme. In 1917 they were in action in the The First, Second and Third Battle of the Scarpe during the Arras Offensive, then moved to Flanders and fought in the The Battle of Langemarck, The Battle of Broodseinde and The Battle of Poelcapelle. Before moving south for The Battle of Cambrai. In 1918 they were in action in The Battle of Estaires, at Messines and The Battle of Hazebrouck including the defence of Nieppe Forest and The Battle of Bailleul. They were involved in The Action of Outtersteene Ridge, The capture of Ploegsteert and Hill 63 during the Advance in Flanders. At the Armistice the 29th Division was selected to march into Germany to occupy the Rhine bridgehead, they crossed the Belgian-German border at Malmedy on the 4th of December 1918. Demobilisation began in December. 26th Aug 1914 In Action Feb 1915 Training Mar 1915 Training 12th Mar 1915 Inspection 17th Mar 1915 On the Move 24th Mar 1915 On the Move 26th Mar 1915 On the Move 28th Mar 1915 On the Move 29th Mar 1915 Accomodation 30th Mar 1915 Into Billets 31st Mar 1915 Training 1st Apr 1915 Orders Issued 2nd Apr 1915 Orders Issued 3rd Apr 1915 Preparations 6th Apr 1915 Inspection 7th Apr 1915 On the Move 9th Apr 1915 Embarkation 10th Apr 1915 Embarkation 19th Apr 1915 Orders 20th Apr 1915 Orders 21st Apr 1915 Conference 22nd Apr 1915 Preparations 23rd Apr 1915 Transports Sail 24th Apr 1915 At Sea 25th Apr 1915 Landing 26th Apr 1915 Wounded 27th Apr 1915 Holding the Line 28th Apr 1915 Ground Gained 6th May 1915 In Action 7th May 1915 In Action 11th Jun 1915 In Support 21st Jul 1915 On the Move 19th Aug 1915 Water Scarce 19th Aug 1915 On the Move 21st Aug 1915 Attack Made 16th Oct 1915 The Derby Scheme 25th Oct 1915 Trench Work 27th Oct 1915 Relief 4th Nov 1915 Working Parties & Football 12th Nov 1915 Reliefs 28th Nov 1915 Reliefs 1st Dec 1915 Derby Scheme Armlets 11th Sep 1915 Last day of Derby Scheme Recruitment 10th Jan 1916 Group System Reopens 9th February 1916 Call Ups 18th Mar 1916 1st KOSB Dock  1st Btn. Kings Own Scottish Borders docked at Marseille and boarded a train at 10pm which departed at 10.45 pm 3rd Feb 1918 Reliefs If you can provide any additional information, please add it here. Want to know more about 1st Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers? There are:5277 items tagged 1st Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers available in our Library   These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War. Those known to have served with 1st Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers during the Great War 1914-1918. Affleck Thomas. Pte. (d.19th April 1917) Andrews Harry. Pte. (d.4th Oct 1917) Burns Alfred. Pte. (d.1st Jul 1916) Butler Albert. Pte. (d.1st July 1916) Carl Joseph. Pte. (d.26th April 1915) Casey Robert. Pte. Casey Robert. Pte. Cloughley James. Dixon Richard Chandler. Pte. (d.5th Oct 1918) Edmenson Thomas. Pte. Geggie DCM. Thomas. RSM. Gow William Rodger. Pte. (d.16th April 1917) Hartley Thomas. Pte. (d.8th Jul 1916) Hewitt Joshua. Pte. (d.30th Nov 1917) Hoy Alfred. Pte. Hunter Alfred Cornelius. Pte. (d.18th Oct 1917) Ivison James. Pte. (d.12th May 1918) Laurie Bruce Llewellyn. Sgt. (d.1st Jul 1916) McGeary Reynolds. Pte. (d.2nd May 1915) Moodie James King. Pte. (d.26th Apr 1915) Noble James Alfred. L/Cpl. (d.29th April 1917) Pearce DCM. John. RSM. (d.4th June 1915) Peckover Ernest Edwin. Pte. (d.14th Dec 1915) Skinner VC, DCM, CdeG. John Kendrick. CSM. (d.17th Mar 1918) Slater Frederick John Thomas. Pte. Warin John. L/Cpl. (d.26th Apr 1915) Wilson Richard. Pte. (d.1st July 1916) All names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List Records of 1st Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers from other sources. The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website. 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time. Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the Great War? Our Library contains many many diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. Looking for help with Family History Research?    Please see Family History FAQ's Please note: We are unable to provide individual research. Can you help? The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web. If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation. Announcements 19th Nov 2024     Please note we currently have a massive backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than 264989 your submission is still in the queue, please do not resubmit. Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to the Great War. If you have any unwanted photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them. The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted. World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great battalion regiment artillery Did you know? We also have a section on World War Two. and a Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.   Pte. Ernest Edwin Peckover 1st Btn. Kings Own Scottish Borderers (d.14th Dec 1915) Ernest Peckover served with the 1st Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers during WW1 and died on the 14th December 1915. He is buried in Twelve Tree Copse Cemetery, Helles, Turkey. Gordon Clark Add to this record.   Pte. Thomas Hartley 1st Btn. Kings Own Scottish Borderers (d.8th Jul 1916) Thomas Hartley was my Uncle. He is listed on the Edinburgh Roll of Honour. Lenny Hartley Add to this record.    James Cloughley 1st Btn King's Own Scottish Borderers I've been researching my family tree for some time now, and I've just found out my grandfather was a Private in the 1st Btn Kings Own Scottish Borderers. I didn't know he was even in the First World War and if possible I'd love to know more if you could even put this on to the right people so I could learn more about it. Add to this record.   Sgt. Bruce Llewellyn Laurie 1st Btn. Kings Own Scottish Borderers (d.1st Jul 1916) Up until a few years ago, Bruce Laurie was just a name on my family tree. A chance conversation with a distant cousin from the USA on a family history website, lead to her coming to visit me in the UK. She brought with her a small collection of old photographs, two of which were of Bruce. It was amazing to be able to put a face to the name, but I still know very little about Bruce. Darren Laurie Add to this record.   Pte. Joshua Hewitt 1st Btn. Kings Own Scottish Borders (d.30th Nov 1917) Joshua Hewitt's name is on the cenotaph in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, our great uncle. Catherine Stock Add to this record.   Pte. Thomas Affleck 1st Battalion Kings Own Scottish Borderers (d.19th April 1917) Thomas Affleck was killed in April 1917. Ijust found his medals in a shop and thought I would look after them and look up about him. RIP Morgan Cashin Add to this record.   Pte. Albert Butler 1st Battlaion The King's Own Scottish Borderers (d.1st July 1916) Albert Butler was my maternal grandmother's first husband, marrying in Aston, Birmingham 1913. Not sure how he came to sign up with the KOSB, but it would seem that he enrolled at Rugby, near Coventry before being shipped off to Gallipoli in 1914 before being shipped with his regiment to France. The 1st Battalion were one of the first units to go over the top at the Somme on July 1st 1916 and Albert Butler was killed in action, with no known grave. His name is featured on the Thiepval Monument and on the Bilston, West Midlands War Memorial. It's assumed that his wife, Edith (my grandmother) had moved there whilst Butler was serving in the forces Kevin Evans Add to this record.   Pte. William Rodger Gow 1st Btn. Kings Own Scottish Borderers (d.16th April 1917) A hero’s story. Private William Rodger Gow – service no. 40440, formerly of the Royal Scots – service no. 3673, age 33, 29th Division (the union division – one battalion from each home country - and last regular army unit to enter the war - under the command of Allenby), 1st Battalion Kings Own Scottish Borderers, died on 16th April 1917 digging a new trench near Monchy Le Preux, a few miles east of Arras in northern France. The following text outlines all that I can find out about his death and location of his grave, it includes the following excerpt from the regimental diary for the 1st KOSB on that day. Location, firing line: At dawn A, D Coys moved forward and held the new line. All work during the day was ordered to widening fire-stepping and improving the trench. At night one Coy of the R. Irish Fus was placed at the disposal of the C.O. to dig the gap between A and D Coys thereby making a continuous line. The party moved forward at 8 pm under the order of Capt. Scott-Moncreiff. 1 Officer (slt J. Routledge) and 4 O.R. killed. 4 O.R. wounded. The grave of 2nd Lieutenant John Routledge, age 21 and the other four soldiers who died that day recorded as being unmarked, none have a headstone with a name, and all are remembered only on the Arras memorial, Bay 6. The names of the O.R. (other ranks) were Pt. James Penman, age 20; Thomas Prentice, Company Serjeant Major MC, age 32; Pt. William Humphrey, age not noted; and W. R. Gow. From the diary it is not clear whether the five men died during the day in sporadic incidents or en masse. His death could even have been related to the arrival of the Royal Irish Fusiliers at 8.00pm, when Capt. Scott-Moncreiff took over command of them. The family legend has it that W.R. Gow was a courier and was shot by a sniper. In speculation, perhaps he was sent with a message on behalf of Capt. Scott-Moncreiff from the Front Line to the HQ and was hit on his way. We will, I suspect, never know, although I wonder where this story emanated from? Moreover, each daily entry in the diary concludes with a list of the day’s casualties, and only commissioned officers are named. It is therefore not necessarily the case that the noted event and the deaths are related. It is interesting though that this order is deliberately and specifically laid out by the author as there are very few other examples of individual commands in the rest of the diary. The Commonwealth War Grave Commission reconfirms and tallies with the published obituary, below, as well as the diary entry. They show the full list of the names and dates as noted above. January 1917 was the coldest for many years, a short excerpt from the KOSB in the Great War by Captain Stair Gillon, gives a sense of challenges that this posed and sketches out the events leading up to the 16th on page 190 of the book: ‘The battalion was in for a rather trying time. Unless when actually working (under risky conditions) at a new firing trench nearly 600 yards in front of the one hitherto occupied or patrolling, they felt the cold in the absence of greatcoats and blankets. But the work was arduous and warming. After three nights’ digging and two days’ occupation and improvement, the battalion found itself in possession of a trench fully a mile long. The work and covering parties suffered casualties. Three second lieutenants were killed – D. H. Robertson and P.S. Mackay on 14th, and J Routledge on 16th. So was A/RSM Prentice, MC. O.R. casualties were continuous: 8 on 13/14th, 15 on 14th, 7 on 15th, 8 on 16th, 5 on 17th, 7 on 18th, and 8 on 19th April. 2nd Lieut. R.D. Peat had been wounded on the way up from Brown Line. To finish up, the relief was complicated in the extreme, no less than five battalions and two divisions occupying the sector.’ (Gillon, 1930) Of note, almost all of the other men that died in the days before and after the 16th were buried in unmarked graves, except for - P.S. Mackay – who is now buried at Wancourt British Cemetery just a couple of miles south of Monchy. This is a large cemetery that was increased in size from and original 400 or so to 1500 plus and used as a place of consolidation. Most of the graves here were reburied from other smaller graves from the nearby area, the men of the 1st KOSBies who died on the 14th April are amongst them, searching on the CWGC website confirms this. It is as a consequence reasonable to imagine that the remains of W.R.Gow are also here in one of the unmarked graves. Almost half of the graves at Wancourt are unnamed. A particularly large percentage, which perhaps indicates and reinforces the comments in the books that Monchy was a very very tough battle. Stair Gillon’s foot note, which reads ‘The sights and smells of Monchy, with its dead horses and men, beggar description’, gives some sense of the tragedy of this place (Gillon, 1930, p. 190). There is a chance that he may be at the actual Monchy Cemetery, which is closer, to the west of the town, but the general lack of KOSB graves there means it is less likely in my opinion. Particularly as the headstones are mainly Wessex and Canadian Soldiers who led the initial attack on horseback on the 11th April and were all but annihilated. As an aside, theirs is one of the most remarkable stories of the entire war, and resulted in one of the largest hauls of VCs in a single action ever. The story also takes a somewhat unexpected turn when we look deeper at whom Capt C.K. Scott-Moncreiff was at that time and was to become. On the 23rd April he was very badly injured in the leg and played no further part in active service duties. A quick look at the life of Scott-Moncreiff provides a rather sensational surprise, to say the least, he turns out to be amongst other things a spy, and the original translator of Proust into the English language. His biography was published in 2014. It includes excerpts from his war diaries, and gives a good and rounded sense of what was going on at and around this time, albeit from a much more privileged perspective. Returning to Monchy, it is also worth noting the comments of the Commander in Chief, Sir Douglas Haig in his Arras Despatch to the war office. He outlines the action on the 14th to 20th April below: On other parts of our line heavy counter-attacks developed on the 14th April, the most violent of which were directed against Monchy-le-Preux. The struggle for this important position (held by the 29th Division, Major-General Sir H. de B. de Lisle) was exceedingly fierce. The enemy's attacks were supported by the full weight of his available artillery, and at one time parties of his infantry reached the eastern defences of the village. To the south and the north, however, our posts held their ground, and in the end the enemy was completely repulsed, with great loss. These heavy German counter attacks were led by the elite Bavarian 3rd Infantry Division who outnumbered the 29th Division, which was made up of one battalion from each home nation, 3 to 1. Finally, it is noted in W.R. Gow’s obituary that he was put forward for the Distinguished Conduct Medal for some extraordinary act of bravery in January 1917. Mrs Gow, 21 Livingstone Street, Clydebank, has received information that her husband, Pte William Roger Gow (40440), KOSB, was killed by a sniper in France on April 16th. Pte. Gow, who was 33 years of age, was the eldest son of Mrs Gow, 35 Crown Avenue. He was a native of Renton, but had been resident in Clydebank for a good number of years. Prior to joining the colours on August 20, 1915, he was employed in dept. 17, the Singer Manufacturing Co. Ltd, Clydebank. He was well known as a prominent member of the Clydebank Burgh Band, in which he was a trombone player, and was one of the band who on numerous occasions distinguished themselves in the Scottish Championship contests. He is the fourth member of the band to fall. Pte. Gow had been at the front since August, 1916, and had seen a great deal of severe fighting. In January last he was recommended for the DCM, but nothing has since been heard of the matter. Of general unassuming disposition he was held in the highest of esteem by a wide circle of friends and acquaintances, and the utmost sympathy will go out to Mrs Gow and her two children in their sad bereavement. The DCM is a prestigious award which is ranked second only to the Victoria Cross. The action which was at the Somme on January 30th 1917 that W.R.Gow was involved is described in detail by Captain Stair Gillon, but I prefer to let you read the battalion diary entry for that day. 1 officer and 21 O.R. of the enemy were captured by B Coy in the morning. The party had come up to take over a position held by the 1st Royal Irish Fusiliers two days previously. They lost their way and in the morning were seen between our most advanced post and the old front line. Six men volunteered to go out and attack them. After getting round the Geremans and throwing a few bombs, the enemy surrendered (the enemy were more active than usual with the artillery). 12 men killed, 16 wounded off R.D. Smith wounded, 28 men sent to hospital 1 man returns from hospital. The B coy was relieved by the 1st Royal Irish Fusiliers and marches back to Carnoy Camp. Hot tea and rum was prepared for the B coy at Guillemont Camp and hot soup prepared on arriving at Carnoy. 2nd Lt. R.D. Peat, who we saw injured above at Monchy was the platoon commander of B Company. Stair Gillon notes on page 188 the captured men were dubbed “Peats Prussians”. The only member of the group that appears to have been given an award, which was in fact the DCM, for this act of bravery was the Company Serjeant Major James A. Battle. Stephen Best Add to this record.   Pte. Joseph Carl 1st Btn. King's Own Scottish Borderers (d.26th April 1915) We do not know a lot about Joseph Carl. He was born about 1893 and married Ellen in 1911 and they had a son, John. He joined the KOSB at the very start of the war, feeling it was his duty to do so. After being shipped from Avonmouth, the 1st Battalion arrived in the harbour of the Greek island of Lemnos on the 24th April, where they trained to tranship into smaller vessels. The 25th April saw them off the coast of Gallipoli where they disembarked onto 'Y' beach. Joseph Carl was killed in action on the 26th. His name is on the Helles Memorial. Deni Add to this record.   Pte. James King Moodie 1st Btn. Kings Own Scottish Borderers (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. s flynn Add to this record.   L/Cpl. James Alfred Noble 1st Battalion King's Own Scottish Borderers (d.29th April 1917) My grandfather, James Noble joined the 1st Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers at the outbreak of World War One. He was badly wounded on the 29/4/1917, his grave is in the war cemetery at Etaples, France Jim Noble Add to this record.   Pte. Harry Andrews 1st Btn. King's Own Scottish Borderers (d.4th Oct 1917) Harry Andrews was my great grandfather. He joined the Colours in September 1916 but before this he was a rullyman employed by Messers Hayes, Alfred Street, Hull general carters. He was shot by a sniper on the morning of 4th of October 1917 age 27. An officer wrote to his wife and young son (my grandfather). "I must send you some expression of my deep sympathy with you in the great loss you have sustained. Private Andrews was a good soldier who fought nobly for home and honour and we all grieve over his death. He was killed by a sniper on the morning of 4 October 1917 whilst he was engaged in a successful attack of that day. He was later buried by his comrades. I commend you to him who is able to bind up the wounds of our hearts. May he be very near you in your darkest days." We still have the letter, death plaque and medals. We as a family are very proud of Harry. My father is named after him. Lest we forget. Your great grand daughter Sue and your Loving family in East Riding of Yorkshire. Sue Dodds Add to this record.   CSM. John Kendrick Skinner VC, DCM, CdeG. 1st Btn. Kings Own Scottish Borderers (d.17th Mar 1918) John Skinner served with the 1st Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers during WW1 and was killed in action on the 17th March 1918. He is buried in Vlamertinghe New Military Cemetery in Belgium. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre (France) in addition to Victoria Cross and Distinguished Conduct Medal. Son of Walter Skinner and husband of Annie E. Y. Skinner, of 173, St. Andrew's Rd., Pollokshields, Glasgow, he was native of Glasgow. An extract from the Second Supplement to the London Gazette dated 14th Sept., 1917, recording the award of V.C., reads- For most conspicuous bravery and good leading. Whilst his company was attacking, machine gun fire opened on the left flank, delaying the advance. Although C.S.M. Skinner was wounded in the head, he collected six men, and with great courage and determination worked round the left flank of three blockhouses from which the machine gun fire was coming, and succeeded in bombing and taking the first blockhouse single-handed; then, leading his six men towards the other two blockhouses, he skilfully cleared them, taking sixty prisoners, three machine guns, and two trench mortars. The dash and gallantry displayed by this warrant officer enabled the objective to be reached and consolidated. S Flynn Add to this record.   Pte. Reynolds McGeary 1st Battalion King's Own Scottish Borderers (d.2nd May 1915) Reynolds McGeary served with the 1st Battalion King's Own Scottish Borderers. He was aged 29 when he died on 2nd May 1915. He was born in Jarrow in 1886, the son of Reynolds McGeary. He enlisted in Newcastle as a regular soldier, on the 1911 census he is listed as Reynolds McGeary age 23 a Private with 1st Battalion King's Own Scottish Borderers, his father Reynolds McGeary and his stepmother Annie McGeary are at 32 Dock Street, Tyne Dock, South Shields. He was the brother of Mr. J. McGeary of 21 Stanley Street Jarrow. Reynolds is remembered on the Helles Memorial. Vin Mullen Add to this record.   Pte. Richard Chandler Dixon 1st/4th Btn King's Own Scottish Borderers (d.5th Oct 1918) Richard Chandler Dixon died aged 22. The son of Robert and Margaret Dixon (nee Chandler) of 31 Henry Street Jarrow, he was born in Jarrow and lived and enlisted there. Richard Chandler Dixon age 9, at school, is with his parents Robert and Margaret Dixon and family at 31 Henry Street, Jarrow on the 1911 census. Richard is buried in Sunken Road Cemetery. Boisleux-St. Marc. He is commemorated on the Palmer Cenotaph (north face) Jarrow and on the Triptych in St. Paul's Church, Jarrow. Vin Mullen Add to this record.   RSM. Thomas Geggie DCM. 2nd Btn. Kings Own Scottish Borders Thomas Geggie was born on the 23rd August 1881 at Scots Place Berwick upon Tweed. He was orphaned at the age of four and at the age of eight/nine years he was sent to an orphanage at Aberlour in Scotland. We know that Tom enlisted at the age of 18. He was then posted to South Africa on the 4th Jan 1900. Tom took part in the 2nd Boer War where he was wounded. He recovered from this wound and was promoted to Corporal on 9th of August 1902. Tom married Ada Butcher in November 1906. On the 1st December of that same year he was posted to Egypt and Ada went with him. Two of their six children were born in Egypt, my father Thomas being one of them. In 1911 he was then posted to India where another child was born. In 1913 he left the 1st Battalion for the 2nd Battalion of the Kings Own Scottish Borders. Tom was promoted to Company Quartermaster Sergeant on the 3rd of April 1914. He was then sent to France as part of the expeditionary force on 10th August 1914. Tom was duly promoted to Regimental Sergeant Major on 14th Sept. He was mentioned in dispatches by Sir John French dated 8th of October 1914. This was confirmed by the London Gazette dated 9th December 1914. He was mentioned again on the 3rd of June 1916. During the war Tom wrote to his uncle in Canada. (We have all his letters). His letters so impressed his uncle that he had some of them printed in the Toronto Star. Later Tom was to become a war correspondent for the Toronto Star. In November of 1916 Tom was badly wounded and on the 7th of June 1917 he was officially discharged from the Army. Tom was reunited with his family and went to live in Kinross, Scotland for a while before going to London where he continued to write for the Toronto Star. In 1922 Tom died from illness related to being in the 1st World War, where he had been exposed to gasses and wounded in the leg. Sandra Rowan Add to this record.   Pte. Frederick John Thomas Slater 1st Btn. Kings Own Scottish Borderers My Grandfather on my father’s side, Frederick John Thomas Slater, was born at Eastney Barracks, Portsmouth on 20th July 1884. His father, John Slater, was a gunner with the Royal Marine Artillery. On 24th Sept 1915, he joined the Army as a private with the 1st Btn. King’s Own Scottish Borderers; his first posting was to the Balkans. Later, I believe he served in France, (area unknown), and was wounded, losing his left leg below the knee, due to shell-fire. He then lay out on no-man’s land for three days before being taken prisoner by the Germans. He was taken to German medical facilities, and operated on a total of three times due to gangrene infection. Eventually, he recovered, and remained a prisoner of war until the end of WW1. The following statement is an account of Freds time spent as a prisoner of war with the Germans, Catalogue Reference: WO/161/100/455. This was given to a solicitor on his repatriation to England. It details his treatment after losing his leg and the time spent at Furstenfeldbruck Hospital as part of the Lechfeld POW Camp. No. 2546. Name, Rank, No. and Regiment: Slater, Frederick John Thomas, Private, No. 21062. 1st KO. Scottish Borderers. Home Address: 20, Newcastle Place, Brumley, Yorks. Place and Date of Capture: Estaires, 13th April 1918. Nature of Wound. if any: Left leg removed by shell. I am 38 years of age. I joined the army in June 1915. In civil life I was a joiner. On the 10th April 1918 I was at Estaires. I received a bullet wound in my leg in the morning, but it was not very serious, and I was able to get about. In the afternoon of that day a bursting shell took off my leg above the knee. I lay without receiving any attention until the 13th April 1918. On the morning of that day I Was found by the Germans. I was taken to an advanced dressing station, where the stump of my leg was amputated. I had a local amesthetic—a kind of freezing stuff. I did not lose consciousness, but I did not suffer any pain. I think the amputation was properly done. A few days after the amputation I was taken by motor ambulance to the hospital at Lille. Lille Hospital. April 15—May 15, 1918: The hospital at Lille was under. two German doctors. One was decent, the other was rough and used to remove bullets and pieces of shrapnel without giving ame.'thetics. A few days after I arrived an English doctor who had been taken prisoner was brought in, and after that he looked after the English prisoners. The attendants were English R.A.M.C. prisoners with the help of some French women and occasionally two German women. They were changed about a good deaL They did all they could for us and I have nothing to complain of. The French women brought their own towels and soap to wash us. The bedelothing was dirty and verminous. The food consisted of the usual bread ration (about 6 oz.) and macaroni soup, with coffee in the morning. It was fairly good, but. I could not eat very much then. We were not registered. We were told we could write letters and I did write, but the letters were never delivered and I do not think they were dispatched. Journey. May 15-19, 1918: On the 15th May 1918 I was taken with a number of other prisoners to Furstenfeldbruck. The journey took about 31 days. We were taken in a Red Cross train. We were well looked after on the journey and provided with food. At the frontier station between Belgium and Germany, some nurses met the train and dressed the wounds of some of the prisoners while the train was waiting. Furstenfeldbruck Hospital. May 19—Sept. 12, 1918: At Furstenfeldbruck we were taken direct to the hospital. This. hospital is attached to the prison camp at Lechfeld, which is about three hours' journey by train from Fiirstenfeldbruck. I stayed at the hospital all the time and never visited the camp at Lechfeld, so I know practically nothing about the camp. I heard that their food at the camp was the same as ours at the hospital, but as the prisoners in the camp got parcels they were better off. A corporal from the camp who came one day to the hospital said we had better make haste and get well so that we could be transferred to the camp. The food at the hospital was poor. At 7 a.m. we had some coffee and our bread ration for the day (a tiny loaf weighing nut more than 31: oz. I should think). At 11.30 we had some vegetable soup. This varied a good deal. Sometimes it was like barley water, sometimes it was full of sediment like sand, quid sometimes it was thick and full of spots and looked like frog-spawn. At 2 o'clock we had some more coffee and at 5.30 some boiled vegetables—cabbage, mangolds or potatoes. The potatoes were often diseased. I never had any parcels except three emergency parcels which were sent through the British committee at the camp, two in July and one in September. just. before I left. Two British officers in the hospital wrote to the camp several times or we should not have got these parcels. I have been told that parcels were sent out to me. but I never received them. I never received any letters. We were allowed to write two letter-cards and two postcards each month. No cards were supplied to us by the hospital authorities. We had to buy them from the French prisoners, and those who had no money to buy cards could not write home. I should think there were between 400 and 500 prisoners in all at Fiirstenfeldbruck. About 80 of these were British. The remainder were of various nationalities—Russian. French, Italian, Roumanian. There were 31 men in a hut. and men of different nationalities were not kept. separate. I never observed any difference in the way prisoners of different nationalities were treated. The French prisoners had parcels and biscuits supplied to them regularly. They had a store from which a ration of biscuits was issued to each new French prisoner on his entering the hospital. I do not know why no provision is made for British prisoners. I suppose the French organisation is better. The Italian prisoners had the easiest time on the whole. They used to get jobs in the kitchen, helping the cooks. I only saw one American prisoner. He was brought in two or three days before I left. lie was treated just like the others. A doctor from Switzerland visited the hospital shortly before I left. He came on behalf of the French Government and spent his time chiefly with the French prisoners. An English officer (Lieut. Gibson) complained to him of the food. The doctor said that complaints by English prisoners were really outside his province, but he would make a note of it. If anything the food got rather worse after this. There were four doctors at the camp—all Germans. I have no complaint to make of them. They treated us with respect and kindness. One of these doctors bad charge of all the operations. We were told that the supply of chloroform was very short. The sentries were oldish men—mostly men who had been hi the army since 1914 and had been released for guard duty. We had no trouble with them. The orderlies in the huts were boys of 18. They used to shove the men about sometimes. but it was only larking. There was no ill treatment. There were no recreations for the prisoners to my knowledge, and no library. There were services fm. Roman Catholic prisoners tone of the Italian prisoners was a priest), and one Sunday a Church of Englund service was conducted by a Captain Gibson who was a prisoner. One day a Church of England elerayman (who was formerly in charge of an English chaplaincy in Germany) came to the hospital and conducted service. I do not know his name. There were no epidemics at the hospital while I was there. The sanitation was good and the bedding• was very clean. If a man was put in a wrong ward by mistake, clean bedding was supplied on his removal. even if he had only occupied the bed for half an hour or so. We had two blankets and a coverlet, but we felt the cold considerably. There were very few punishments inflicted. If a prisoner swore at a German N.C.O., or made himself troublesome. he wits put in the bathroom at the end of the ward for 24 hours or more 'on brteld and water diet. This did not happen often. and the longest period of confinement was three days. The clothing supplied to prisoners was very thin, something like apron cloth or rough shirting. The socks and shirts were very thin and ragged. There was no warmth in them. Journey. Sept. 12-15 1918: When 1 had been recommended for exchange, I was taken to Aachen by an ordinary train. It was a three dpys' journey. There was not much food on the journey. We had a big loaf given to us on starting, and a meal of macaroni once while on the way. Aachen. Sept. 1918: The Board of Inspection at Aachen seemed to be entirely composed of Prussian doctors. They were all in German uniform. They passed me without difficulty, but many very had eases were turned back. I was able to get about on crutches before I reached Aachen. I think it was about a mouth before that I left my bed. The amputation wound had healed long before, but I was suffering from abscesses and diarrinea, probably due to the food. Opinion of Examiner: The witness wag examined by me at the First London General Hospital on the 26th September 1918. He appeared to me to be an intelligent and truthful witness. He seemed disposed to treat his hardships as the fortune of war, but to be much concerned at the numbers of men returned from Aachen to their camps after being recommended for repatriation. Herbert James Wady, Solicitor. 63, Queen Victoria Street, London, 27th September 1918. After leaving the army, he lived with my Grandmother at a number of places, but in later years he lived in Bramley, Leeds, and then moved to Bedale in north Yorkshire, and from there, a few miles down the road to Snape. Granddad was a tall man, over six foot, and although he was on crutches, he could easily outpace my sister and me when we were children. In the last few years of his life, he lived at Marske in the north of England, where he passed away in 1970 aged 86. I can find no further information on his army career, as his records may be among those lost due to bombing during WW11. Derek Slater Add to this record.   Pte. Thomas Edmenson 1st Btn. Kings Own Scottish Borderers Edmenson, Thomas, Private, No 17925, 1st Battn, (25th Foot) The King's Own Scottish Borders, was the 3rd son of William Edmenson, Foreman Fitter at Houghton Colliery, by his wife, Catherine, daughter of Robert Potts; b Houghton-le-Spring, co. Durham, 25th Aug, 1880; educated C.E. Shcools there; joined the Navy in 1896; and was on H.M.S. Isis when that ship was commissioned for particular service during the hostilities between the United States and Spain in 1898; obtained his discharge in 1907, and was a Seagoing Steward until a short time before the war, when he became an employee at the Houghton Colliery; enlisted 13 Jan. 1915; went to the Dardanelles 18 July, and died on H.M. Hosptial Ship Dongola, 25 Aug. following, from enteric fever contracted while on active service on the Peninsula. He m. at North Shields, Annie (2 Stanley Street, Houghton-le-Spring, daughter of William McEwan, and had a son, Wiliam Hunter, b 9 May, 1909. Taken from: UK, De Ruvigny's Roll of Honour, 1914-1924 Record for Thomas Edmenson. Christine Stromberg Add to this record.   Pte. Robert Casey 2nd Btn. Kings Own Scottish Borderers My Grandad Robert Casey was born in Stockton on Tees, Co Durham 1895, he worked as a Heaters Lad (Rivetters) with Ropners & Sons on the rRiver Tees, in 1912 he joined the army in the Kings Own Scottish Borderers, 3rd Battalion special reserve. At the out-break of the Great War, Robert was sent to join the 2nd Battalion with the BEF, 4 weeks after they landed in France in 1914. For reasons not known to me, my Grandad Robert at some time ended up back at the depot hospital Berwick upon Tweed, then he was sent with the 1st Battalion to Gallopli, he was there until campaign was over, then he was sent back into France for the Somme Offensive. On the 1st day of the Battle my Grandad fell badly wounded with bullet & shrapnel wounds to his left leg, many months in hospitals followed, operations and much probing of his wounds, until Grandad said enough, he was discharged from the K.O.S.B 1918. His medals indicate he was one of those men who would become known as the Old Contemtables. The wounds he received on the Somme that day would lead to his early death in 1939, a year before he died Grandad Robert applied to join the Old Contemtables Association and was accepted. We, his grandchildren never got to see or know our Grandad, no photo survived so we don't know what he looked like, I have spent many hours trying to find if any photos existed but no luck so far, in the last 2 years I have been doing my Casey ancestry and discovered we, have lots of Casey relations up in Scotland and Glasgow in particular, always hoped my Grandad being so close to the border might have went and visited relatives and had a photo taken. Perhaps some one reading this might have a Casey connection or a relative who served in the K.O.S.B with Grandad Robert? I still believe in miracles and hope a photo of Grandad Robert will turn up. Derek Casey Add to this record.   Pte. Robert Casey 1st & 3rd Btn. King's Own Scottish Borderers Robert Casey. Pte 6371 K.O.S.B, enlisted 22 April 1912 as Pte 3rd Special Reserve K.O.S.B. Mobilised 8th August 1914 Berwick, B.E.F France 11th September 1914 17th October 1914 with 2nd K.O.S.B home 18th October 1914 {reasons not known} but likely illness. K.O.S.B Depot 18th October 1914 1st Febuary 1915 {on depot roll so probably in hospital} 3rd K.O.S.B 2nd Feb 1915-2nd of July 1915 Mediterranean Expedition Force Gallipoli 3rd July 1915-9th March 1916 with 1st K.O.S.B. EXpeditionary Force France 10th March 1916- 7th July 1916 K.OS.B. Wounded 1st day of the Battle of the Somme. Home 8th July 1916-23rd Feb 1918 disharged no longer physically fit age 23 years. This is my grandad, he died in 1939 due to the wounds he received on the Somme that day. None of grandad's grandchildren ever got to meet or see him. His first grandchild was born the same year he died. I can't help but wonder if all those years ago he had a photo taken with a mate or mates and it's hidden away some where or still proudly hanging. My grandad was from Stockton-on-Tees and lived at Housewifes Lane. I have found that several young lads joined the K.O.S.B from our town. Grandad's mate was Patrick Sullivan he died, I believe, in 1915. There was also Tom Bowes living near to grandad same area of Stockton. He was also disharged due to wounds in 1918. Wish by some miracle a photo of grandad would turn up, just feel one may be out there with my grandad proudly standing in his uniform. He did just before he died join the Old Contemtables Assocciation this was in 1938. I am appealing to all who had grandfathers serving in the K.O.S.B 1912-18 check those photos you have and perhaps you will find my grandad on one. All the best Derek Derek Casey Add to this record. Recomended Reading. Available at discounted prices.

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