John Kyle Gordon Highlanders 9th Battalion

[Guest]

Looking for information on Private John Kyle, Gordon Highlanders 9th Battalion, S/10258.  Died 13 May 1916.

Attached attestation into KOS Borders in Glasgow, 20 August 1912, medal card, I think shows 9th and 4th Battalion?  Buried in Vermelles British Cemetary, France.

Book on 11th Battalion has a John Kyle listed??

Lots of bits and pieces of when he joined, maybe changed battalions?, when he died, but where was he, from 1912, until he died in 1916?

Where did he actually die?  Which battles was he in?  Who attended his funeral service?

Greatly appreciate any information, as my dad and I are planning a trip in late 2018 to visit family, and family sites in Scotland, Ireland and France.

thanks,

Bob

 

KYLE,JOHN-D 1916 FRANCE.pdf

[Derek Black]

H Bob,

If you have access to Ancestry, or download the War Diary of the 9th Btn Gordon Highlanders, this will tell you what the battalion was doing around the time of Kyle's death.

 

The first document you posted shows his movements from enlistment onward, although it may not be complete if this is the only page remaining.

What battles he took part in will depend on which battalions he was in and when, so figuring out transfer dates based upon other soldiers in the same unit that moved to the same btn could help with that. Then it's a case of reading the relevant war diary or official history.

 

If you mean his initial burial, it will have been a brief affair, sometimes by his mates, or less often carried out behind the lines by an attached religious officer conducting a ceremony.
His grave will have been moved after the war to the cemetery it is now in. The CWGC will be able to furnish you with information on any ceremonies that marked the opening of the memorial cemetery.

 

Cheers,
Derek.

[Heid the Ba]

The 9th Battalion Gordon Highlanders was the Pioneer Battalion for the 15th (Scottish) Division.  The medal card says KiA 13/5/16 which suggests he was killed on that day rather than died of wounds inflicted earlier.  I have the divisional history at home and will check it tonight, though it may not contain much, if anything. 

 

Edit to add: The division were at Loos and fought an action over The Kink (part of the Hohenzollen Redoubt) on the 11th.

Edited 24 January , 2018 by Heid the Ba'

[Guest]

Hi Derek and Heid the Ba!,

Sorry so slow to respond..

Crazy surprise work schedule, then hard time finding my way back here.

 

Derek,

Thank you for the information.  I have access to Ancestry, so I will definitely download the War Diary.  Anxious to see what it says. 

I will check the CWGC to check his ceremony as suggested.  I wondered if his father attended from Scotland?

 

Heid the Ba :),

Thanks for reference to the 15th, I have read a little more and now see what you mean.

I did not notice the KIA and that it meant killed in action.

Thanks for details on the division at Loos and action over The Kink (part of the Hohenzollen Redoubt) on the 11th.  I read more about this, sounds awful.

 

Thanks you both for the clues, and for allowing me to learn more about my great Uncle.

I also shared this with some still living relatives, they never knew the details, and were interested to remember.

 

Thanks,  Sorry again for delayed response,

Bob