Walter Douglas Gray

[sallyann]

I am trying to find out more about the war record of Walter Douglas Gray born 30th Jan 1891. He was a merchants clerk in civvy street, married and living in Leyton, London. We think he volunteered early in the war, but are not certain. According to his medal record card he was Private S-14600 in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. We have a photo of him in his uniform - wearing a kilt. We are not sure why he joined this unit as he has no Scottish ancestry. On the medal card it also says R S Fus 29913. Is this the Royal Scottish Fusiliers? His roll number is D/102B10 page 1009. We think he was a sniper, and possibly a batman, and think he was in the Somme, but he would not talk about his experience. He was invalided home at some point following a machine gun injury to his leg. We think he was sent to Mold in N Wales to recover, but was sent back to the front.

I do not know which battalion he was in.

I have a very interesting copy of a letter sent to him from London Hospital, Whitechapel Road E1 dated 20/4/17 from a C. Colburne Inith c/o High Commissioner, Union of South Africa, 32 Victoria Street London. The letter thanks his for 'the trouble you took over me on the 11th'. He describes being hit - 'it got a bit of my tongue as well as my teeth, gums and jaw bone and prevented me from - talking, eating, smoking. However I smoked my first cigarette yesterday and I can talk a little now.' He talks of having arrived in Blighty yesterday i.e. 19/4/1917 after being detained in Rouen. There is a lot more interesting stuff about the shell and the action being a 'wash out'. He aslo asks Gray how he 'got hold of those prisoners' so assume that Walter Gray took some prisoners. His records seem to be in the burnt lot so we don't really know what action he saw exactly.

Can anyone help?

Should I try to scan in the letter - it's a copy but easily readable - would anyone be interested?

[rksimpson]

Hi

Yes RS Fus is as you wrote

Yes I would like to see that letter and I am sure others would

According to his MIC he joined the A&SH first - S-14600 then was transferred to Royal Scots Fusiliers - 29913

He was only awarde the pair (BWM and Victory) so he did not go overseas until after 1915.

To find out which battalions he was in read these-

http://www.1914-1918.net/grandad/medals.htm

http://www.1914-1918.net/grandad/themedals.htm

and as to why he was in them - http://www.1914-1918.net/notlocal.html

for his regiments -

http://www.1914-1918.net/argyll.htm

http://www.1914-1918.net/rsfus.htm

hope this is a start for you and helps

regards

Robert

[KevinBattle]

From the brief details available, and ASSUMING he was Royal Scots at the time, there were 72 casualties between 10th and 12th April 1917.

There were 53 on the 11th.

Of these, 47 were from the 6th/7th Battalion, so it would appear that could have been the "washout" when he was wounded.

He obviously met the South African after being wounded and taken to Rouen.

Hopefully, that will fit with any action mounted by the 6th/7th that day.

Maybe someone can access the appropriate War Diary entries, if I am right in my guess that he was in the RSF at that time.

C Colburne Inith (Smith?) also seems to have survived, despite his facial injuries. He MIGHT have been in the 3rd or 4th Regiment SA Infantry which also suffered casualties.

[PPCLI]

Hi,

I can fill in part of his earlier overseas service which fits with Kevin's assumption that he was serving with the RSF by spring 1917.

Walter Douglas Gray is named in a long list of Argyll And Sutherland Highlanders soldiers published in The Scotsman on 23 Aug 1916, p 11: Gray, 14600, W. (Leyton)

The same list names 28 A&SH men killed. I checked a quarter and they were all 2nd Bn. men who died between 15th and 20th July 1916. So, I would say that it's likely that Walter Gray was posted to the Western Front by mid-1916 and was wounded on the Somme, either Bazentin Ridge (14-17 July) or at High Wood (20-25 July). He would probably have been invalided to the UK to recover and posted back to France and re-badged with the RSF.

You will need to check the medal roll at Kew to confirm the battalions in which he served.

Stuart