RAID ON DELBAR WOOD BY THE 6TH SEAFORTHS.
SEPTEMBER 1918.
THE drawing shows the apparently casual though cautious method of attack. The Valley of the Scarpe and ruins of Pelves village in the distance.Names of Men appearing in the Sketch.--- Corporal J. Sinclair; Lance-Corporal Armour.
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9TH ROYAL SCOTS ATTACK "CRUMP TRENCH."
ON April 23, 1917, the 9th Royal Scots took part in an attack on Roeux. Advancing along the side of the river Scarpe, with Roeux Wood on the right and Mount Pleasant Wood on the left, they were held up at the edge of the wood. With the assistance of a tank, however, they took the trench which was impeding the advance, together with a number of prisoners.The drawing shows the men rising from "Creek Trench" to attack "Crump Trench," where the enemy were stubbornly holding out. Monchy is in the distance.Names of Men appearing in the Sketch.--- Coy. Sergeant-Major D. Walker; Corporal J. Hanna; Privates R. Jameson and C. Arnott.
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4TH GORDONS CLEARING-- THE CREST OF GREENLAND HILL AND "WINDMILL COPSE."
SEPTEMBER 1918.
SHOWS the final attack on these historic strongholds, where the Division had already lost so many men. The capture of Greenland Hill was of particular significance, as it might be described as the position on which the great final move forward to the Canal du Nord pivoted.Names of Officer and Men appearing in the Sketch:--- Lieutenant N. S. Williamson; Sergeant R. Thain; Privates J. Stewart, J. Wilson, G. M'Donald, and J. Stewart.
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DIVISIONAL AMMUNITION COLUMN
LOADING UP AT DUMP.
THE ammunition dumps in France and Flanders were carefully chosen, with special regard to accessibility and protection from enemy observation. On a demand for ammunition being received from a battery, the Divisional Ammunition Column wagons, which were always full, proceeded to deliver the ammunition to the battery concerned, returning to the dump to refill, and proceeding then again to the guns or to the Divisional Ammunition Column. The work was usually done at night, especially in Flanders, where the absence of hills rendered observation possible at considerable distances. The work was at all times hazardous, and especially so when a "strafe" was in progress, as the ammunition had to be delivered at the guns at all costs.Names of Men appearing in the Sketch:--- Brigade Sergeant-Major F. Shepherd; Sergeant A. M'Dougall; Drivers A. Duncan, R. Douglas, J. A. M'Phail, W. Thomson, F. Murray, and T. Cairns.
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BREAKING THE HINDENBURG LINE.
NOVEMBER 20-23, 1917.
THE drawing shows the second phase of the attack on Flesquières. This was the first assault in which tanks were used as a substitute for a preparatory barrage. The whole movement had been very carefully rehearsed for a long time behind the lines. Seventy tanks swept across the Hindenburg Line and up the support systems. Half were with 152nd Brigade and half with 153rd Brigade, and divided into three waves. The first, formed of twelve "rovers" or .wire-cutters, set out one hundred and fifty yards in front of the second wave to cut the wire and tackle machine guns and posts. The second wave---thirty-six fighting tanks---dealt with the trenches. The third wave, composed of those remaining, had to form up at Grand Ravine at zero plus ninety minutes with the survivors of the preceding waves. Each of the tanks carried a fascine for dropping on any trenches encountered.The attacking troops are seen at the rail line below the ridge, and to right and left of the village. Just out of sight on the extreme edge of the drawing, on the right, the village of Ribecourt, and on the left Havrincourt.
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R.A.M.A. OF THE DIVISION LOADING AMBULANCE CARS AT ESSEX FARM DRESSING STATION.
JULY 31, 1917.
THE dressing station sustained many direct hits during the bombardment before and on the date of the offensive.Just behind the ambulance car in the picture is the famous " Bridge 4 " over the Yser Canal. which was always a particularly nasty quarter.Names of Officers and Men appearing in the Sketch:--- Lieutenant-Colonel G. W. Hiller, D.S.O., T.D.; Captain H. N. Browne, M C.; Staff-Sergeant W. L. Smith; Privates G. Allan, A. Scorgie, W. P. Leith, and A. Donald.
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.LIEUTENANT HUNTER, 256TH
BRIGADE, R.F.A.,
AT THIANT.
LIEUTENANT HUNTER turning the guns at Thiant. His battery was the first up to get a crossing over the Ecaillon, but the Engineers had only begun the construction of a bridge when he arrived. His movements having been observed by enemy aeroplanes, a very heavy fire was directed on the village, laying out his gun teams. Lieutenant Hunter and his men, however, by sticking to their job and with assistance from Second-Lieutenant J. R. Hardern, managed to get teams together and pull the guns away. Lieutenant Hunter was awarded the Military Cross.Names of Officer and Men appearing in the Sketch:--- Captain Hunter, M.C.; Sergeant-Major Hodderson; Sergeants J. N. Gray, C. Wood, and S. Robertson; Privates D. Dunn, J. Stewart, and H. Kaye.
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7TH BLACK WATCH BEYOND ROEUX CHEMICAL WORKS.
WAITING for one of the numerous counter-attacks made by the Boche in this sector.Names of Officer and Men appearing in the Sketch:--- Major James P. Beveridge, M.C.; Lieutenant James B. Cable, M.C.; Coy. Sergeant-Major Mitchell (for Sergeant J. Adams, killed).
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COLONEL ROBIN CAMPBELL'S INCIDENT AT ROEUX.
ON May 16,1917, at 3.30 a.m., the Germans, under cover of an exceedingly heavy barrage, counter-attacked the sector of the front under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Robin Campbell, D.S.O., of the 8th A. & S. H. At the time of the assault a relief was in progress on part of the sector, and the situation resolved itself into a matter of withstanding the strong attack and at the same time carrying out relief. In the heavy fighting which ensued, Colonel Campbell found himself forced back from the Chemical Works to the south side of the railway by 4 a.m. Gathering every available man, including men from Headquarters in the quarry, he resolved to chance an attack. He re-formed his line, with the 6th Seaforths on the right and the 8th Argylls on the left; and mounting to the top of the railway embankment, he personally led the attack forward from there. Rifle grenades were used with much effect in forcing the enemy out of the shell-holes, and he drove his way forward again until once more the enemy had been swept from the Chemical Works. For his personal gallantry and leadership Colonel Campbell was awarded a bar to his D.S.O.
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MAJOR-GEN. R. BANNATINE-ALLASON, C.B.,
FORMERLY of the Royal Artillery, served in Afghanistan, the Sudan, South Africa, Manchuria (with the Japanese), and the Indian frontier prior to the outbreak of the Great War. He took command of the 51st Division on mobilization, and took it to France in May 1915, where he commanded it on active service till September 1915, when he was transferred to England and subsequently commanded the 61st (South Midland) Division and the 64th (Highland) Division.
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LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR G. M. HARPER, K.C.B., D.S.O.
AFTER having held an appointment on the Instructional Staff at the Staff College, was ordered in 1911 to the War Office. He was responsible for working out the plans of concentration of the Expeditionary Force.On the outbreak of war in August 1914 he was appointed Director of Military Operations at General Headquarters. Early in 1915 he was appointed to command the 17th Infantry Brigade, and in September of that year he took over command of the 51st Division. The General led the Division through all its battles from that date till the beginning of March 1918, when he was appointed to the command of the IV Army Corps; which appointment he had hardly taken over when the German offensive of March 1918 was launched. It was in this corps that the 51st Division played such a gallant defensive part from 21st to 26th March 1918, and contributed in large measure to the failure of the offensive on Amiens. He was known to all in the Division as "Uncle Harper."
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MAJOR-GENERAL G.T.C. CARTER-CAMPBELL, C.B., D.S.O.
WAS commissioned in October 1889 as Second-Lieutenant in the 2nd Scottish Rifles, and served in the South African War as Adjutant of that battalion, being promoted Brevet Major and twice mentioned in dispatches.On the outbreak of the Great War he proceeded to France with the 8th Division as second in command of the 2nd Scottish Rifles, and was wounded at Neuve Chapelle on March 10, 1915, being awarded the D.S.O. and Order of St. Stanislaus (3rd class). He subsequently commanded the battalion till September 23, 1915, when he was appointed Brigadier-General to command the 94th Infantry Brigade. While holding the latter command he was promoted Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel and finally Brevet Colonel.He assumed command of the 51st Division on March 17, 1918, and was its G.O.C. till he was transferred to the Rhine to take command of a brigade there, shortly before the Division proceeded home for demobilization. While in command of the Division he was awarded the C.B. and Legion d'Honneur (Croix du Commandeur).
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BRIGADIER-GENERAL L. C. L. OLDFIELD, C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O.
WAS Lieutenant-Colonel commanding a brigade of artillery when war broke out. He was transferred from the 6th Division to the 51st Division as C.R.A. on July 3, 1916, and was present with the Division during all its battles from that date until the signing of the Armistice. He was once wounded---at St. Venant, in April 1918.During the war he was awarded the C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., was made Officier du Legion d'Honneur, and was mentioned in dispatches seven times.On the Division returning home for demobilization he was transferred as C.R.A. to the London Division on the Rhine.
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BRIGADIER-GENERAL SIR W. C. ROSS, K.B.E., C.B., C.M.G.
COMMENCED his military career in the Militia in 1875, transferring to the Regular Army two years later. He served in the Afghan War of 18791880, and was successively Adjutant of the 68th Light Infantry, Adjutant of the G. L. P. Railway Volunteers, Assistant Military Secretary, Bombay, and subsequently the Punjab. He served in the South African War with the Mounted Infantry, being dangerously wounded and three times mentioned.He was awarded the C.B., and retired as Colonel in 1908, when he became Secretary of the Territorial Force Associations (Five Northern Counties), Scotland, in which capacity he served until the outbreak of war in August 1914.In November 1914 he was given command of the brigade afterwards known as the 152nd Infantry Brigade, which he took to France and commanded till July 1916, when he reverted to the Retired List. On 1st October of that year he was appointed to command the 214th Brigade, being transferred to the command of-the 221st Brigade in December. In the same month he was appointed to command the 228th Brigade in the Salonica Force, where he remained till he again reverted to the Retired List in February 1919, having received the C.M.G. and been mentioned four times. He resumed secretaryship of the Northern Territorial Force Associations in July 1919, and in 1920 was created K.B.E.
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BRIGADIER-GENERAL H. PELHAM BURN, C.M.G., D.S.O.,
JOINED the Gordons in May 1901, and went to France with them in October 1914. Was appointed Adjutant of the 1st Battalion in November 1914 till February 1915, when he was appointed Staff-Captain of the 8th Brigade, 3rd Division. He was appointed Brigade-Major of the Brigade in March 1915, and transferred as Brigade-Major to the 76th Brigade, 3rd Division, in October 1915. In December he was given command of the 10th A. & S. H. He was successively commanding the 8th Gordons and 8/10th Gordons, being finally transferred to the 51st Division to command the 152nd Brigade in April 1917.
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BRIGADIER-GENERAL J. K. DICK-CUNYNGHAM, C.M.G., D.S.O.,
GAZETTED to 2nd Gordons in May 1898, and saw service in South Africa from 1899 to 1902, being awarded the D.S.O. in 1900 and mentioned in dispatches in 1901.On mobilization he was appointed A.P.M., II Corps Headquarters, in which capacity he served till September 29, 1914. His subsequent successive appointments were Brigade-Major, 14th Infantry Brigade (to September 3, 1915); Brevet Major on February 18, 1915; General Staff Officer, I Corps (2nd grade, to November 15, 1916); Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel on June 3, 1916, G.S.O. (1st grade, to April 6, 1918). He was awarded the C.M.G. On January 1, 1918, and was finally appointed to command the 152nd Infantry Brigade, with the rank of Brigadier-General, on April 7, 1918, but was wounded and taken prisoner at Le Cornet Malo on the 12th April, after only six days with his new command. Upon repatriation after the Armistice he was appointed A.A.G., War Office.He was with the 51st Division in all their battles from Beaumont-Hamel till the date of his capture. He was five times mentioned in dispatches between February 1915 and December 1917.
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BRIGADIER-GENERAL K. GRAY-BUCHANAN, C.M.G., D.S.O.,
WAS gazetted to the Seaforths in January 1900. He went to France in October 1914, and served in Belgium and France up till the signing of the Armistice, first on the Staff, then in command of the 8th Seaforths, finally being appointed to command the 154th Infantry Brigade in September 1917.He was three times wounded. His honours include the C.M.G., D.S.O. and Brevet Lieutenant-Colonelcy.
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BRIGADIER-GEN. DOUGLAS CAMPBELL, C.B.,
JOINED the Seaforths in May 1885, and served in India with the 2nd Battalion, taking part in the Hazara Campaign of 1888 and the Relief of Chitral in 1895.He commanded the 2nd Seaforths from 1909 to 1913, and at the outbreak of war was in command of the South Wales Infantry Brigade. He was transferred to the Gordon Brigade, Highland Division, at Bedford, in February 1915; but this brigade was re-formed before proceeding overseas, and was eventually composed of the 6th and 7th Black Watch and the 5th and 7th Gordons. On its arrival in France the brigade was renamed the 153rd Brigade. He commanded this brigade till May 5, 1917, when he was transferred to command the 217th Infantry Brigade.He took part in all the Division's actions from Festubert in May 1915 up to the capture of the Chemical Works at Roeux in April 1917. He was awarded the C).B. in January 1917, and was three times mentioned.
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COLONEL C. M'LEOD ROBERTSON, D.S.O., T.D.,
COMMENCED his military career in September 1893, when he was gazetted as Second-Lieutenant to the Argyle and Bute R.G.A. (V.) and appointed to the local company at Millport. He was promoted Lieutenant in 1895, and Captain two years later; and on the disbanding of the Argyle and Bute R.G.A., consequent on the inauguration of the Territorial Force, he was transferred to the Bute Battery, 4th Highland (Mountain) Brigade, R.G.A. (T.), being promoted Major to command that battery on April 1, 1908. In November 1912 he was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel on being given command of the brigade.On the outbreak of war he mobilized with his brigade, and remained in Bedford training till the Division was ordered to France in April 1915, when he took command of the Divisional Ammunition Column. He served with the Division during its whole period of active service, being the only combatant commanding officer to do so, and finally came home in command of the cadre of the Division in April 1919.In recognition of his length of service in the field he was promoted Colonel on August 5, 1918. He was twice mentioned, was awarded the D.S.O. in January 1918, and the Croix de Guerre of France (with silver star) for the operations on the Marne in July 1918. He also has the Territorial decoration which he received in 1913.
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COLONEL P. SINCLAIR, D.S.O., C.F.
IN pre-war days "Padre Sinclair" was parish minister of Urquhart, Elgin, and Territorial Chaplain to the 6th Seaforths. On the outbreak of war he offered his services, and was posted to the Highland Division and attached to the Artillery. On the Division leaving for France he was appointed Senior Chaplain, which post he held during the whole war.Though nominally attached to Divisional Headquarters, he yet invariably billeted with the Field Ambulances which were in charge of the advanced dressing stations. He was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel in March 1916, mentioned in dispatches in December 1917, awarded the D.S.O. in January 1918, and captured at the advanced dressing station at Doignies on March 21,1918. He was repatriated from Germany on November 3, 1918, and rejoined the Division on November 26, 1918. He was once wounded---on August 6, 1917.He was most unselfish, and risked his life constantly in the front areas in his anxiety to see that every man obtained a decent burial. He disdained to use either car or horse, and was a familiar figure on the French roads on foot or bicycle. His quiet, unostentatious demeanour, combined with an impulsive generosity and unfailing cheerfulness, even in captivity, made him one of the most popular members in the Division.
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COLONEL D. RORIE, D.S.O.
DR. David Rorie (M.B., C.M.) was in practice at Gardenden, Fife, and subsequently at Cults, Aberdeenshire, prior to the outbreak of war. He joined the Volunteer Force in 1903, and was a Lieutenant in the Black Watch Bearer Company, of which he raised the Fife section. In 1905 he was transferred to the Aberdeen Companies, R.A.M.C. (V.).On the inauguration of the Territorial Force he was appointed Captain in the 1st Highland Field Ambulance, R.A.M.C. (T.), and shortly after mobilization in 1914 was posted to the 2nd Highland Field Ambulance. He was promoted Major in September 1914, and went to France with the Highland Division in May 1915. In May 1917 he was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel, and given command of the 2nd Highland Field Ambulance. On Colonel Fleming, D.S.O., being killed in action, Dr. Rorie was promoted Temporary Colonel A.M.S., and A.D.M.S. of the Highland Division. He was awarded the D.S.O. and mentioned in dispatches in June 1917. In December 1918 he was promoted Brevet Colonel and again mentioned, also receiving the Croix de Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur of France.
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COLONEL S. J. L. HARDIE, D.S.O.,
WAS a Second-Lieutenant in the 6th A. & S. H. at the outbreak of war, and was mobilized with that battalion on August 4, 1914, proceeding to Bedford, where the Division was stationed until it left for active service.He proceeded to France with his battalion, which formed part of the 51st Division, on April 30, 1915, and has fought in all the battles in which the Division has been engaged as a machine-gun section officer, machine-gun company officer, divisional machine-gun officer, and eventually commanding the 51st Battalion, M.G.C. He came through the whole period scathless, was awarded the D.S.O. in 1916, and three times mentioned in dispatches. It has been said of Colonel Hardie that his ranging of fire could be depended on "to a foot."
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MAJOR S. V. KENNEDY, M.C.,
Of the 13th Hussars, was appointed D.A.A.G. of the 51st Highland (T.) Division in February 1917, and held that post till February 1919.Previous to his transfer to the Highland Division he was Staff-Captain of the 27th Infantry Brigade (9th Division). The Major thus was with the Division during its most strenuous years, and there was no more popular member of the 51st.
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MAJOR G. FOX, D.S.O.,
COMMENCED his military career in 1902 in the 1st Queen's, in which regiment he served till 1904, when he resumed civil life. Shortly afterwards he qualified in London as M.R.C.V.S., and went to the Argentine, where he remained until the outbreak of war.On the commencement of hostilities he returned to England, and joined the 8th Queen's as Lieutenant. He went to France with the battalion as Major, and was appointed Staff-Captain, 72nd Infantry :Brigade, in October 1915. In March 1917 he was appointed D.A.Q.M.G. of the 51st Division, and remained with the Division in that capacity until demobilized in April 1919.His honours include the D.S.O., Croix de Guerre of France (with silver star), and four Mentions.
PLATE
41.