250636 Pte Thomas Boag British Army 12th Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers from:Glasgow (d.28th June 1918) Thomas was in the 12th Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers. His initial medical review states "not likely to make an efficient soldier" yet he is still enlisted. The 12th Battalion was a Territorial Army regiment and it may have been for medical reasons that Thomas was placed in this regiment at his initial enlistment in 1915. He is then not called up until 1917. His army record states that he was posted to Egypt 18th October 1917.
The history of the 12th Battalion Royal Scots is as follows: 14th January 1917 the Battalion formed in Egypt and engaged in various actions of the Palestine Campaign including;
- 1917 The Second Battle of Gaza, The Third Battle of Gaza, The Capture of Beersheba, The capture of the Sheria Position, The capture of Jerusalem, The Defence of Jerusalem.
- 1918 The Battle of Tell'Asur.
- May 1918 Moved to France.
- 21.06.1918 Transferred to the 94th Brigade of the 31st Division which engaged in various actions on the Western Front.
The attack at La Becque started on 28th June 1918 and was a trench warfare campaign. British troops went over the top in the early hours of the morning and all had reached their enemy objective positions by 7.35am. Many of the casualties were actually caused by their own shrapnel being fired to short of the trench they were advancing too. The majority of Germans were taken too much by surprise to reach their machine guns on time. Sadly, for Thomas, his military record states that he died of wounds on the 28th June 1918 in France at a Casualty Clearing Station meaning that this offensive was most likely where and when he died.
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