2nd Battalion Seaforth Highlanders 1914-1916

[scot1]

Hi Baird
           I am trying to find info on 3 brothers who were in the 2nd Battalion Seaforth Highlanders .2 of which died .William Fraser 14/04/1884 and died 04/06/1916 in France.Hector Fraser born 20/11/1885 and died 14/05/1914 in France .and also his twin brother Alick (Alexander) Fraser who survived the war all three brothers born in Alness Ross and Cromarty .Any help is would be greatly appreciated
 

[Baird]

Was William Fraser killed 4/6/1915?
Diary entry states;
4TH JUNE 1915;
LOCATION; TRENCHES N.W. OF WEILTJE.
Quiet day, fine, wind wrong way for Gas.
EAST LANCS relieved SOMERSETS after dark and took over trench line from ‘C’ Coy.
‘D’ Coy. relieved ‘B’ Coy. in trench round CROSSROADS FARM and ‘B’ and ‘C’ Coys. went into support at LA BRIQUE(C.26.d).
Some shelling during the day on either side of us. Our 6” guns shelled HAMPSHIRE FARM.
CASUALTIES; 1 KILLED; 1 WOUNDED.


Was Hector killed 14th September 1914?

14th. September;
About 4am the battalion reached LA MONTAGNE FARM North of BUCY-LE-LONG and proceeded to take up position from G to F (?) of LA MONTAGNE FARM  between the RIFLE BRIGADE on our right and the HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT on our left (both of the 11th Brigade). The Royal Dublin Fusiliers took up position between the HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT and the SOMERSET LIGHT INFANTRY West of LA MONTAGNE FARM. The remainder of the Brigade was kept in reserve. The 12th Brigade was on the right of the RIFLE BRIGADE.
By the time it was light we had only had time to make a limited reconnaissance  of the position and to put out two companies ( A and B) to form firing lines and supports and dig themselves in as well as possible with their entrenching implements.
As soon as it was light , intermittent artillery fire opened on us, at times getting quite heavy(shrapnel only) . This prevented us from doing much entrenching so that only rough  shelter trenches were made. The supports of A and B companies were put along a sunken lane with reserves in the rear down the reverse slope of a hill in a wood. Later A company put its supports in a cave between the sunken road and the trenches. The latter was about 400 yards from the road on the top of a very rounded hill top. A very bad position with a very bad field of fire , but the best we could do.
About 9am Lieutenant Colonel SIR E.R. BRADFORD was killed instantaneously with a shrapnel shell.( buried in CROUY VAUXROT FRENCH NATIONAL CEMETERY, CROUY) He had been along to our right to speak to O.C. Rifle Brigade and they had gone out together to reconnoitre the enemys’ position together from the Rifle Brigades front trench. CAPTAIN C.I. STOCKWELL assumed command. ( KILLED 21ST OCTOBER 1914).
About 1130am a very heavy shrapnel fire was opened on our trenches followed by continuous machine gun fire. As it was thought that an infantry advance was being covered it was thought advisable to reinforce the front line. Accordingly 3 platoons of B and C coys. And the detachment of the Gordon Highlanders . This was accomplished with great steadiness and order under a very heavy fire which redoubled as the reinforcing platoons showed themselves advancing over the sky line.
The German main line trenches appeared to be about 1500 yards away and no attack was attempted by their infantry. We kept up a certain amount of fire on their front line. Their artillery seemed to be firing at a range of about 2000 to 2500 yards.
About 1pm the artillery fire weakened on our line, though a fairly heavy fire was kept up to our right, but was kept up intermittently till evening on our line. Quite quiet later.
Our casualties would have been much smaller had we had time to entrench our position. As it was the trenches we managed to dig gave very poor protection against shrapnel and the reinforcements in many cases had no cover at all. Owing to the intermittent fire all day we had no opportunity for making cover for the reinforcements
CAPTAIN P.G. ANSTRUTHER and LIEUT. W.E. MURRAY were wounded and killed respectively almost as soon as they got into the firing line. These two officers , with CAPTAIN D.G.METHVEN and LIEUT. A.N. WILLIAMSON were the officers  who took up the reinforcements.

The officers and men killed in action were buried close to LA MONTAGNE FARM at 12.30 am

Hope this info is some help,
Baird

[scot1]

Thank you for that  yes William died 4th June 1915 not 1916

[Baird]

Total casualties of Officers and men for 14th September was 70 killed or wounded.

Baird

[scot1]

Thank a lot for your help on them it seem sad that william must have died on a day of little action.

[Baird]

A lot of sniping going on at the time.
baird

[Hengistpod]

I'd be interested to know what the diary records for 13 October 1916.

The reason I ask is that it seems one Thomas Mair was killed on that date. He's remembered on the Portsoy war memorial in NE Scotland, and possibly on the Thiepval memorial. He is the namesake of my son, who is in Primary 4.

Although the Seaforths' Thomas doesn't seem to be a relative of ours, I'd be grateful if you could provide whatever extract you have so that I can fill in the picture a bit for my son!

Many thanks.

[Baird]

Hello ,
            I would be only too happy to forward the diary entry for the 13th, and any other battalion information you would like.
5 men from the Battalion are listed as having died that day, Private J Cave aged 21 from Ayr; Private Barclay Stewart aged 20, from Grantown on Spey;Private Thomas Mair; Private William Hay and Sergeant R. Robertson. Privates Hay and Mair have no known graves.
In the meantime I can tell you the Battalion were in trenches immediately to the East and North East of the village of Lesbeoufs, in France.
Can you e mail me at
bairdferguson1@hotmail.com
and I shall forward the information

best regards,
Baird Ferguson

[Baird]

OCTOBER 13TH 1916;
A dull day. We heard that we would either relieve the IRISH FUSILIERS in the trenches at night or , as the Colonel suggested, make a surprise night attack on DEWDROP TRENCH, one of the German strongpoints that had held up more than one attack. The C.O. was therefore asked to reconnoitre the ground in view of this attack. He went out with the two Coy officers who were present, the Scout Officers and a few of the more intelligent scouts, and after looking at the ground from a point of vantage, he decided that DEWDROP TRENCH could be taken by a surprise if the attack was made from a line to the N.E. of LESBEOUFS. The lie of the ground between DEWDROP TRENCH and this line would help the attack enormously and the Colonel was fully convinced that it would be a success.
However we received orders at 5.30pm to relieve the IRISH FUSILIERS in the trenches. The other two companies came up from GUILLEMONT and the battalion relieved the FUSILIERS.
The battalion front stretched from T4.b.5.9. to T4.d.9.7.
Two companies in the front line and two in support. ‘A’ Company were in BURNABY TRENCH. ‘C’ Company in FOGGY TRENCH. ‘D’ Company in left support in THISTLE TRENCH. ‘B’ Company in right support in SHAMROCK TRENCH.
The trenches were in a very bad state, no cover for any kind for officers or men, and the trenches had been very badly blown in. The night was somewhat lively during the relief but quietened down afterwards.
The 2ND ROYAL DUBLIN FUSILIERS relieved the 1st ROYAL WARWICKS on our right. Our battalion H.Q. was in OX TRENCH, behind of the hill W. of LESBEOUFS, about T9.b.5.31/2.
CASUALTIES FOR 13TH;
2 MEN KILLED; 5 MEN WOUNDED, 3 D.O.W..

Baird