Gordon Highlanders

[Idlewild]

Hi,

After looking into the family tree and trying and succeeding in tracking down my Great Grandfather from the photo below I turned my attention to the man standing who is a Gordon. At first nobody knew who he was but we think he may be my Great Grand-Uncle, Alexander Melville. This had originally been discounted as Alexander had joined the Black Watch in 1914 and was discharged due to epilepsy/falling from a cart.

Have since found out that he re-enlisted in the 3rd Battalion Gordon Highlanders as this is what is listed on his marriage certificate when he was married in January 1916. Have found a medal card which lists the following;

Alexander Melville 13156 Gordon Highlanders

Labour Corps 689374

Other details

Born 1892

Lived in Dundee

Married January 8th 1916

Any help in finding out where he might have served as all I have to go on is his medal card which lists him eligible for the Victory medal and British War medal, any other details would be fantastic. Any information needed just ask.

Thanks folks

Andy

[johnboy]

A look at The Long Long Trail, top left of page will give details of 3rd Gordons.

[Patrick Watt]

Hi there

Alexander Melville has pension papers available. They say that before the war he served in the 4th Black Watch, a Territorial Force battalion, but resigned on his own request. This was the 'City of Dundee' battalion and he probably resigned when he could not longer come to training - he gave his address in August 1914 as Perth and worked in Luncarty. When the war broke out he volunteered into the 6th Black Watch (Perthshire battalion).

The 3rd Gordon Highlanders were a training battalion and that would fit as the Alexander Melville who joined the Gordons must have done so in the second half of 1915 (to fit in with others with similar service numbers). This also fits with the pension records of the first AM who was discharged on 28 June 1915. However, it states that he was having epileptic convulsions every second day at the time of discharge so I imagine that this would be particularly noticeable on active service.

The award of only the War Medal and Victory Medal mean he only saw active service from 1 January 1916 onwards. He would have been transferred to a regular or service battalion sometime afterwards in France.

Hope this helps

Patrick

[sotonmate]

Unfortunately his Medal Roll was completed by the Labour Corps and the ones I have seen don't normally enter the original unit served on first landing in a war zone.

[PPCLI]

Hi Andy,

As sotonmate indicates, it won't be easy to pin down which Bn(s) he served with overseas. However, it should be noted that the two men with numbers preceding Alexander (S/13156), S/13154 John Cluckie and S/13155 Alexander Paton were both killed in action on 18 July 1916 serving with the 1st Gordon Highlanders, part of 3rd Division which which captured Longueval that day. A service file for S/13160 Thomas Marshall survives. It shows him enlisted on 22 Oct 1915 and joined the 3rd Reserve Bn on 27 Oct. He was posted to the 1st Bn in France on 22 Feb 1916.

Whichever battalions he served with, Alexander certainly saw some action. A search of the casualty lists published in The Scotsman finds him named in three lists of wounded Gordon Highlanders, published 28 Aug 1916, 24 Mar 1917 and 31 Oct 1917. These lists usually trailed the actual event by about a month to five weeks, so the first will refer to the Somme in the second half of July 1916, the middle the end of Feb 1917, while the latter suggests a likely wounding near the end of September 1917. If with the 1st Gordons then the Battle of Polygon Wood, 26 Sep - 3 Oct 1917 fits.

Stuart

[spof]

The LC number was allocated between September and December 1918.