239825 Pte. Alfred Moffatt British Army 8th Btn. Royal Scots from:Burnhope Colliery, Co. Durham (d.12th April 1918) Last year I discovered by accident that my great great uncle Alfred Moffatt was killed in action on 12th April 1918. He joined the 8th Battalion, Royal Scots in late 1916 in Consett, Co. Durham although there is some suggestion he may have attested in December 1915. I guess from there he went to Haddington before going to France. He was 32, single and a coal miner.
I cannot be sure, but I assume he was involved in the Battle of Arras in early 1917. In September 1917 he was listed as wounded by The Scotsman newspaper but there was nothing about how or when he was wounded. He obviously recovered and returned to his Pioneer Battalion. I am assuming that he was killed, on 12th April 1918, when his Company or Battalion HQ was overrun during a German advance at the Pacaut Front. The Battalion seemed to have retired or retreated to Mont Bernenchon, then the Paradis Position and finally reformed in Busnes. The war diary for that day does not mention his name but four officers were captured and were POWs until the end of the war. I am confused by the fact he is seems to have died in France during the Battle of Lys but is remembered on the Ploegsteert Memorial in Comines-Warneton, Belgium. His original service number was 8301 but changed to 335617 later.
Any further information provided to clarify his service and death would be greatly appreciated.
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