234195 Capt. Kenneth Duncan Cameron Macrae MC.British Army att. 8th Btn. Northumberland Fusiliers Royal Army Medical Corps from:Edinburgh Kenneth Macrae, a doctor in the Royal Army Medical Corps, joined up and was attached to the 8th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers from April 1915.
The 8th Battalion was formed at Newcastle in August 1914 and to moved to Grantham to be part of 34th Brigade, 11th (Northern) Division. From there to Witley, Surrey, in April 1915, and sailed for Mediterranean in July 1915. The Battalion landed at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli 6th August 1915. After evacuation they went to Egypt in January 1916, then to France in July of that year to join the offensive on the Somme (1st July to 18th November 1916). The battalion remained in France until Armistice Day 11th November 1918.
His first action was at Gallipoli in 1915. Landing at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli as part of 11th (Northern) Division, which had made the initial landing on the night of 6th of August, in order to take Scimitar Hill. The 10th (Irish) Division, landed the following morning, and together they did not advance from the immediate environs of the beach until 8th August, by which time they were already exhausted from lack of water and being under constant shrapnel and sniper fire. Allied casualties in the Scimitar Hill action reached some 5,000, many of which were incurred after British artillery shrapnel resulted in surrounding bush catching fire. Turkish losses were put at 2,600. They were evacuated in January 1916.
Later in France
Kenneth Macrae was awarded Military Cross for actions between 9th and 18th April 1918 at Armentieres.
On April 9th, Germany launched second Spring offensive, the Battle of the Lys, in the British sector of Armentieres. The allied line is forced back to Wytschaete, Messines Ridge and Ploegsteert; Armentieres was evacuated with practically no loss. His citation reads:
"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He constantly attended to wounded under machine-gun and shell fire. He also maintained an aid post on the line of the enemy's artillery barrage. By his devotion to duty many lives were saved."
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