I meant to post this two days ago on the 21st October to coincide with the 100 year anniversary, to the day, of Williams death....He was my Great Uncle.
William was the son of George and Elspeth Soutar, born at Airdrie, Lanarkshire on 14th September 1877. He joined the KOSB aged 21 years and 6 months on 14th March 1899, in Hamilton, transferring from the Militia,( the 4th Battalion Highland Light Infantry). He joined his battalion in Dublin on the 18th, four days later. He served in South Africa with the 2nd Battalion during the Boer War from 12th April 1899 until 29th January 1901 and was awarded the Queen's South Africa medal with clasps for Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Johannesburg.
He left the regular Army in 1905 and was placed on the Section B Reserve . This was for men who had completed their service in the Regular Army and was typically for another five years. Section B Reservists could only be called upon in the event of General Mobilisation. The pay was 3 shillings and 6 pence a week.
In March 1911, in Glasgow, he signed up to be placed on the Section D Reserve list....this was for men who had completed their time on Section B Reserve. They could choose to extend their time for another 4 years and the pay and the training was the same as those on Section B Reserve.
When war broke out William was mobilised and entered France with the BEF on 12th Septemer 1914 as a reinforcement for the 2nd Battalion KOSB which had been in action since the first day at Mons on August 23rd. He would have joined the Bn in the closing stages of the Battle of the Aisne and from there moved with the II Corps to the area around La Bassée in the Race to the Sea.
The War Diaries show that between the 16 and 18th October the Battalion was in action near Beau Puits and carried out an unsuccessful attack on La Bassée with 12 men killed and 44 wounded. I believe he was probably one of the wounded and was shipped back to Eastern District Hospital Brighton where he died from his wounds on the 21st October 1914. I have found his grave at Bear Road Cemetery, Brighton.Plot ZIE.34
The II Corps suffered 14000 casualties during the month of October but the orderly retreat was responsible in a large way for the prevention of the German Army reaching the coastal ports which would have had a disasterous effect on the outcome of the war.... what it did though was ensure that this war would not be over by Christmas.
His Service records show that his Last Will and Testament, taken from his pay book, requested that all his estate should go to his next of kin, sister Elsie Stuart Marshall nee Soutar wife of Duncan Marshall. He was a single man who had been a professional soldier since the age of 21 and was a 37 year Old Contemptible when he died.
If anyone related to the Marshall Family reads this tribute please do get in touch via this website. I have no photographs of any members of the Soutar Family except one of William's brothers, my grandfather.
Remembered with pride for his sacrifice .. and at the going down of the sun, we will remember them
Polly
A big thankyou to Trystan for starting this thread.
