CAMERON, DONALD, Private, No. 50633, 17th (Service) Battn. The Royal Scots (Lothian Regt.), s. of Ewen Cameron, of 22, Cromwell Street, Glasgow, and Riverview, Strontian, by his wife, Margaret, dau. of Ronald McDougall; b. North Kelvinside, 9 Nov. 1898; educ. Dunard Street Public School: Strontian Public School, and North Kelvinside Higher Grade School; was Assistant Librarian at Mitchell Library, Glasgow; enlisted in the Cameronians 17 Feb. 1917: transferring to the Royal Scots, he served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from the following Nov., where he took part in much severe fighting, volunteering for stretcher service, during the retreat of March, 1918, and died at No. 3 General Hospital, Stobhill, Glasgow, on 28 Nov. following, of double pneumonia, contracted while on service. Buried at Drumintorran, Strontian. His Commanding Officer wrote: Your son was recommended for very valuable services in the field, and would certainly have been decorated the next time the battalion went into action. He was commended for his good work. With my personal sympathy, and that of my battalion, for the loss of a good soldier and comrade.” Unm.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

Brown D Pte 200616 4th Royal Scots

BROWN, DONALD, Private, No. 200616, 1/4th (Territorial) Battn. (Queen’s Edinburgh Rifles) The Royal Scots (Lothian Regt.), s. of the late Thomas Brown, of 15, Graver Lane, Clayton Bridge, Manchester, Grocer and Sub-Postmaster, by his wife. Eleanor Margaret, dau. of John Lewis, of Rhayader; b. Clayton Bridge, Manchester.co. Lancaster, 2 Sept. 1898; educ. Brookdale Park School, Newton Heath; was an Apprentice Salesman; joined the Royal Scots 17 Nov. 1914, at the age of 16; served with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force in Gallipoli from 23 May, 1915, being present at the second landing there; after the evacuation. of the Peninsula he was sent to Egypt, and took part in the Palestine Campaign; was wounded near Jerusalem in Nov. 1917; in the following April he was sent to France, and was killed in action at Boiry Becquerelle. south-east of Arras, 25 Aug. 1918. Buried in Spinny Ave Trench, near Boiry Becquerelles. His Commanding Officer wrote: “He was a gallant and fearless soldier, and was killed while gallantly chasing the Bosches during the taking of the Hindenburg line.” Unm.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

BAUCHOP, SPENCE, Private, No. 27182, 17th (Service) Battn. The Royal Scots (Lothian Regt.), s. of the late Edward Bauchop, of Rose Cottage, Cambuskenneth, Stirling, by his wife, Lizzie, dau. of Frank Neil; b. Glasgow, 25 Aug. 1892; educ. Allan’s School, Stirling; enlisted 10 Aug. 1915; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from the following Feb., and died at No. 29 Casualty Clearing Station 26 April, 1918, from wounds received in action the same day. Buried in the Bagneux British Cemetery, Gouzaincourt, south-west of Doullens; unm.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 5

Johnston E J F Captain 1st Royal Scots

CAPTAIN E. J. F. JOHNSTON

IST BATTALION THE ROYAL SCOTS (LOTHIAN REGIMENT)

EDWARD JOHN FARQUHARSON JOHNSTON was the elder son of E. F. Johnston, Ship Owner, London, and Mary his wife.

He entered the School in 1896, and left in 1899. He joined the Royal Scots from the Militia, in 1901, and was Adjutant of the 1st Battalion, 1906 to 1909, and of the 3rd Battalion, 1911 to 1914. He was promoted Captain in 1909. He served in the South African War and received the two Medals with five Clasps. He was killed in action in Flanders on April 12th, 1915. Age 32.

He was mentioned in Despatches of May 31st, 1915.

Lt. Col. David Callender, C.M.G., Commanding his Battalion, wrote:-“He was so dependable, so lovable, so absolutely certain always to do the right thing. He never spared himself at his work in the trenches or out. He seemed to have no fear, and would walk about from one trench to another all night long. He was far and away the best, and best loved Officer I have met.”

A brother Officer and the Chaplain of the 81st Infantry Brigade wrote:-

“An example of what an Officer should be, loved and respected by every man in the Regiment, and we know that, had he been spared, he was destined to rise to great heights in his profession.”

“His life has not been lived and given in vain, for the qualities and virtues that made him the man he was, will live and bear rich fruit in the lives and characters of those who knew and loved him. Could you have stood with us to-day, as we laid him to rest, and heard the sobbing of his men and brother Officers, it would have told you how much of all that is best and noblest in man your husband stood for.”

A Corporal and a Sergeant wrote:-

“His loss is felt in every sense of the word, as the men put complete trust and confidence in him. At night, instead of sleeping, he would crawl along to the men at the listening posts between the German lines to see how they were getting on. He used to pray with his men every night in the trenches, and give them all the comfort he could.”

“The bravest man I ever knew was my Captain, Captain Johnston. The men worshipped him, and would have followed him anywhere. Always after being in action they would ask if the Captain was safe, and they said that God took care of him. He was so brave, they had come to believe that nothing could happen to him.”

He married in October, 1907, Vivien Hope Mignon Bayley.

Source : Memorials Of Rugbeians Who Fell In The Great War Vol 1

Royal Scots Officers 1st Battalion

Source : The Royal Scots 1914-1918 By E Wing

Francis B H 2nd Lt 3rd Royal Scots

SECOND LIEUTENANT B. H. FRANCIS

BATTALION THE ROYAL SCOTS (LOTHIAN REGIMENT)

BASIL HUGH FRANCIS was the only surviving son of Captain Harold Hugh Francis, The Royal Scots, of Manor House, Long Stratton, Norfolk.

He entered the School in 1909, was admitted to University College, Oxford, in March, 1914, and received his Commission in the 3rd Battalion The Royal Scuts in August of the same year.

He was shot, in the trenches, near La Bassée, on February 4th, 1915, and was buried in the grounds of the Château of Gorre, near Béthune. Age 19.

His Colonel and other Officers wrote in the warmest terms of the impression he had made during his short time with the Regiment, and the following extract from a letter, written by one of his Company, without the least idea that it would ever be seen by his relatives or friends, shows the feelings of his men:”We lost,” it says, “our Company Lieutenant last week by a German sniper. He was called Francis, and he was an awful nice man. He was a true Tommy Atkins’ friend. He was too good to live, and too brave to lose. All my platoon are sorry to lose such a good Officer.”

Source : Memorials Of Rugbeians Who Fell In The Great War Vol 1

Walker S R Pte 1876 9th Royal Scots

WALKER, SAMUEL REID, Private, No. 1876, A Coy. 1/9th Battn. (Highlanders) Royal Scots (T.F.), yst. s. of John Walker, of Wentworth, Newmarket Road, Norwich, by his wife, Jane, dau. of Samuel Reid, of St. George’s, Norwich; b. Norwich, 13 Feb 1893; educ. Belle Vue and King Edward VI Middle School, Norwich; apprenticed to the Drapery Trade, first at Mr. Moll’s, Norwich, then to Messrs. Bryant and Bryant, St. Ives, Hunts, and lastly to Messrs. Jenners, Edinburgh; volunteered and joined 1/9th Royal Scots (A Coy.), 6 Aug. 1914; left for France, 24 Feb. 1915, and died at No. 8 Hospital, Bailleul, 27 April following, of wounds received four days previously during the Second Battle of Ypres. Buried Bailleul Cemetery; unm. Corpl. W. M. Clarke wrote: “I thought it would perhaps comfort you to know how much he was appreciated by his comrades, and how great a shock his death was to them. His bright face and willingness made him a valued man in my section and won him everybody’s affection. Our only consolation, and I hope it may be yours Samuel Reid Walker. also, is that he died like a man fighting for the Old Country.”

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 1

Trotter A N Lt Royal Scots

Source : The Illustrated London News 14th Nov 1914

Trotter A N Lt 1st Royal Scots

TROTTER, ALEXANDER NIGEL, Lieut. 3rd (Reserve), attd. 1st, Battn. The Royal Scots (Lothian Regt.), only s. of Alexander Pelham Trotter, of 181, Ashley Gardens, London, S. W., Electrical Adviser to the Board of Trade, by his wife, Alys Fane, dau. of Maurice Keatinge, and a nephew of Lieut.-Col. Sir Henry Trotter, K.C.M.G., C.B.; b. Cottesmore Gardens, London, W., 17 Sept. 1894; educ. Packwood Haugh, and Clifton College, where he was a member of the O.T.C., shot in the Bisley VIII, and was one of the best boxers in the school; gazetted 2nd Lieut., 3rd Royal Scots, 21 Dec. 1912, and promoted Lieut. 9 July, 1914; acted as Transport Officer for the 3rd Battn. on the out- break of war; left for France in charge of a draft of 100 men for the 2nd Battn., 30 Aug. 1914; the Royal Scots left the trenches at the Aisne about 26 Sept. and arrived in position near Bethune 11 Oct., and Lieut. Trotter was killed in action at La Fosse, near Vieille Chapelle, 12 Oct. 1914, while engaged in attacking a wood strongly held by the enemy.

The ground over which the British had to advance was intersected by small irrigation canals crossed by plank bridges, on which the officers and men offered a good target. Lieut. Trotter is believed to have been first hit while crossing one of these bridges, and after advancing three-quarters of a mile fell with two more wounds. He was buried on the farm of Zelobes, near La Fosse, north of Bethune; unm.

His Coy. Commander, Capt. (now Major) F. C. Tanner, D.S.O., wrote: “Everyone is unanimous that Nigel died like a hero, and knowing him I could not suppose it otherwise. I saw him under fire at the beginning of the action”; and a man in his company: “I can assure you all the men were sorry to lose him, for he seemed to have no fear and was a good leader of men.” On the cross put up on his grave by the mobile column of Alexander N. Trotter. the Red Cross, some of his comrades wrote: “A very gallant gentleman.”

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 1

Todrick T Captain 8th Royal Scots

Source : Edinburgh University Roll Of Honour 1914-1919

Todrick T Captain 8th Royal Scots

TODRICK, THOMAS, W.S., Capt., 1/8th Battn. Royal Scots (T.F.), elder s. of Robert Todrick, Agent for the Bank of Scotland at Haddington, Hon. Sheriff Substitute, by his wife, Marianne Somerville, dau. of the late Rev. John Stevenson, of Wigtown; b. Haddington, 26 Dec. 1879; educ. Knox Institute; Leys School, Cambridge, and Edinburgh University, at which latter he took his law course, and was admitted, in 1904, a Writer to the Signet. Apprenticed for a time in the offices of Messrs. J. & J. Turnbull, W.S., Edinburgh, he afterwards started business there on his own account. He received his first commission in the 7th (Haddingtonshire) Vol. Battn. of the Royal Scots, 1900, and was appointed to the command of the Headquarters Coy. at Haddington, 1908, which command he held till 1913, and then joined the Reserve of Officers. Early in 1914 he accepted the offer to take command of the Dalkeith Coy., and on the outbreak of war volunteered for foreign service. It was expected that the Service Battn. of the 8th Royal Scots would be called upon to leave Britain about Christmas, but on 1 Nov. they received orders to entrain the following day. Within a few days they were in France, and by the 15th of the same month in the firing line. Capt. Todrick took a prominent part in the operations, and was killed in action 15 Dec. 1914.

A few nights before his death he crept from the British across to the German trenches, went under the wire entanglements and came back on that occasion in safety. A few days later the General in command asked that listening patrols should be sent out at night, and Capt. Todrick went out with three men himself. On reaching a certain point he asked them to lie in a ditch, as he thought he saw figures moving in front; he went on alone and fired his revolver. Doubtless the flash revealed him; an answering shot struck him in the neck, and his death was practically instantaneous. His men brought back his body, and he was buried in a little French cemetery while shells passed overhead. One of his brother officers wrote: “Poor Todrick has gone, best of comrades and bravest man in the battn.; no officer could have been more beloved by the others of all ranks in the battn.” Capt. Todrick was mentioned in F.M. ‎‫‬‎ Sir John (now Lord) French’s Despatch of 31 May, 1915.

He m. at Blackheath, 27 Aug. 1910, Brenda (30, Regent Terrace, Edinburgh), dau. of John List, chief engineer of the Union-Castle Line, and had a son and dau.: Archibald, b. 25 April, 1912; and Elizabeth, b. 5 Feb. 1914.

Source : De Ruvigny’s Roll Of Honour Vol 1