2nd Battalion Seaforth Highlanders 1914-1916

[neilston war memorial]

Hi Baird
John is not currently directly involved, He did sterling work walking to France with his cousin Jimmy Higgins. Jimmy is still involved though. What I was looking for was info on what the 2nd Batt where up to in the period, we have lots of Seaforths soldiers and two that died one 1917 and one 1918 that where in the 2 Batt. As part of the Neilston project I wanted background history to attach to the lads records, so we did not just end up with a memorial with names on it and no living history.
any help would be great

Cheers Matt

[Raghnallborders]

Hello,

I'm doing a bit of research into my wife's relatives after watching Testament of Youth.  Three brothers from Forres, all served in the Seaforths.  It seems one, John, may have survived.  He served in the 1/6, service number 273249.

William (6188) was in the 5th and is buried in Mailly Wood Cemetery.  We are going to divert our route home on our way back from Italy (via Austria and Germany) at the end of May so we can visit his grave.  My wife had tears in her eyes when I told her I had found the grave of her dad's uncle.

The real purpose of my message is the final brother, James.  He served in the 2nd, service number 21370.  From what I can establish he died on the 28th of March 1918 and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial.  The Morrayshire Roll of Honour states he was buried between the villages of Maricourt and Montauban.  I cannot see any CWGC grave sites between those two villages although there is one immediately north of Montauban.  That is, Bernafay Wood.  If he is buried there, I fear that, since he is recorded at Arras, he is in a grave marked as "A soldier of the Great War" and that he was reburied there from his original grave between the two villages.  Some of the graves there are reburials because some original graves were destroyed by shellfire, perhaps graves between the villages?  The area was in allied hands until the end of March 1918 and since James died on the 28th of March 1918, there is a good chance he died here or hereabouts.

Anyway, I was wondering if you could give me any information that is in the war diary for the 28th of March 1918.  There was an entry in that of the 5th for the day William died, not that he was mentioned but it gave an idea of the circumstances of the day.  It may be that I could get some details from the diary of the 2nd.

Hope you can help.

Thanks, Ranald.

[Baird]

Hello Ranald I do have the diary entry for that day but I have not transcribed it as yet.
I shall do that and forward it to you on Saturday. Quick glance ( it is quite a long entry) shows the battalion were in the area of the Reoux Chemical Works at Arras on that date.
I'll get back to you .

[jim1]

2/Batt. SH were occupying Crete, Cordite, Cycle & Corfu trenches when the Germans attacked on the 28th.
These are their dispositions during the day.
The nearest cemetery is Brown Copse at Roeux a few miles E. of Arras.
50°18'09.2"N 2°53'03.3"E
This link is a side by map:
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01jlk/

Mount Pleasant Wood which was in the middle of these trenches is still there & can be accessed by a farm track.

[Raghnallborders]

Many thanks.  I had read that they were near Arras but what puzzles me is why the Morayshire Roll of Honour would say he was burried close to Montauban.  Could he have been on an attachment?  Perhaps that's an unanswerable question given the passage of time and the fact that so many service records were lost in the blitz.

I'm looking forward to read the diary entry though.

[Raghnallborders]

Thanks Jim.  Really interesting and, since I am a planner (cue chorus of yawns), I love looking at maps.

As I said, the Morayshire Roll of Honour (http://deriv.nls.uk/dcn23/1002/3362/100233623.23.pdf) has James Mclennan buried between Montauban and Maricourt.  This puzzles me.  I know it is the right Mclennan (not MacLennan as CWGC has his brother William) since all the details in the ROH are directly related to those of my wife's gran.  Could it be the ROH was wrong with the location?  There is a difference with William's service number (2313) and that held by the CWGC (6188) but then, they have misspelled his surname.

Ranald

[jim1]

He held both service numbers but just the last one is entered on CWGC.
2313 may be a pre-war number.

[jim1]

I think the Montauban referred to is Fresnes-les-Montauban which is about 5  mls. from where he was.
I've amended the above map slightly as I found another trench.
This map shows what happened during the day. When you get the transcription you'll get a better idea but the outline is that they risked being cut off from their Bde. as the Germans had got into Lancer trench in their rear late morning & had to withdraw to Pudding trench N. of Fampoux. Shortly after 1 Coy. was sent up to the railway to support the Bde's. flank.
Early evening they withdrew to S. of the river.

[Baird]

2nd Battalion Seaforth Highlanders 28th March 1918

17th March  In the field
Church Parade.

18th March 1918;
Received orders that the Division would relieve the Guards Division on the night of the 19th/ 20th .
C.O. and Company commanders went up to the line to reconnoitre .

19th March 1918;

The battalion relieved the 1st Battalion the Royal Welsh Guards in support in Roeux sector, Battalion H.Q. in railway cutting in A23. A and D Companies occupied Coral and Cordite, North of the river and came under the orders of the Duke of Wellingtons Regiment. C Company occupied Lance Lane and B Company Feuchy Caves.
Relief was carried out without incident and was completed by 12:15 a.m.

20th March 1918;
Quiet day . Trenches in good order.

21st March 1918;
Good deal of hostile shelling on our front, Roeux, Fampoux, Feuchy heavily gas shelled. All companies had to put on gas respirators. Shelling chiefly directed against our gun positions. Enemy great offensive started to the South. Arras shelled.
22nd March 1918;
Quiet Day. During night 15th Division were withdrawn behind Monchy. B Company moved up from Feuchy to 3rd line system.

23rd March 1918;
Germans occupied Monchy. C Company dug new trench from Lancer Lane to Lagoon to protect our right flank. B Company brought up from 3rd line system to Lancer Lane.

24th March 1918;
Quiet day on our front. New trench completed and occupied by C Company who also had one platoon in shell holes in front in close contact with the Germans.

25th March 1918;

The Battalion relieved the Duke of Wellingtons in the front line North of the River. A left front Company; B centre front Company; D right front Company; C in support in Cordite, Coral and Cycle . Battalion H.Q. in Crete. One company of Dukes , left in support under Battalion orders in Coral. Relief successfully carried out.

26th March 1918 ;
Quiet day. The company of Duke of Wellingtons in support were withdrawn South of the river.

27th March 1918;
Early in the morning the enemy put down a heavy barrage on our front line, and at about 6a.m. an S.O.S. went up from the left front company, later from battalion on our left. A party of about 30 Germans attempted to raid opposite our left front company but were driven off.