L Penniman Posted 18 September Share Posted 18 September I have reviewed the War Diaries of the 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders for July 1916. My Great Uncle Daniel Watson was killed in action on July 18, 1916. For that date the War Diaries have considerable detail of the movements of the 1st Battalion. Movements are identified for Company A, B, C and D. I am going to the Somme Valley for a visit in the very near future and would like to retrace my Great Uncle's movements on the day of his death. However, I do not know which Company he was assigned to. Is there a way to find out that information? Much appreciate any assistance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted 21 September Share Posted 21 September only one Daniel Watson , Gordon Highlanders recorded. S/3426 . unfortunately the S/ only signifies war time numbering BWM Vic roll has 2nd Gordon Hdrs. as well. maybe the regimental museum may know but they charge https://www.gordonhighlanders.com/research/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mancpal Posted 21 September Share Posted 21 September Hello, on your proposed trip to the Somme be sure to visit the Gordon Highlanders Cemetery at Mametz. The small embankment/ridge to the rear left of the cemetery was the front line for the Gordons on the 1/7/16 though I couldn’t say which battalion. Enjoy your trip. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Penniman Posted 23 September Author Share Posted 23 September Thanks for your help mancpal and Chaz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmorris547 Posted 23 September Share Posted 23 September The Service Medal and Award Rolls show 2 Gordons and 1 Gordons. The Register of Soldiers Effects confirm 1 Bn Gordons In Action 18/07/1916. I had a quick look at the local papers, one or two mentions including this from the North East Lanark Gazette, 11/08/1916. Company not identified however. Might there be a Roll of Honour for Holytown Colliery. Courtesy BNL/FMP. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmorris547 Posted 24 September Share Posted 24 September (edited) I had a look in the 1915 papers for the previous wounds. There are lots of mentions. It would appear that both wounds were sustained serving with 2 Gordon Highlanders. The Motherwell Times 30/07/1915 and the Hamilton Advertiser 31/07/1915 both give his address as 5 Nimmo's Rows, New Stevenston. He received a shrapnel wound to the right knee. The North East Lanark Gazette 0/10/1915, Hamilton Advertiser 02/10/1915 and Motherwell Times 08/10/1915 all report another wound, again with 2 Gordons. It looks like the second wound was at Loos on or about 25/09/1915. 2 Gordons were 20 Infantry Brigade of 7 Div. Brian EDIT. The second wound was with D Co, 2 Bn at Loos. The Unit War Diary for September 1915 has lists of casualties by Company. Courtesy TNA/Ancestry WO 95/1656 Edited 24 September by brianmorris547 additional info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Penniman Posted 25 September Author Share Posted 25 September Thanks Brian. No one in the current family has any knowledge of those two previous woundings. I guess they just kept patching those young men up and sent them back out again. I noticed when he was wounded both times Daniel was with 2 Gordons. When he was killed in action, he was with 1 Gordons. Was it common for soldiers to be moved from one battalion to another? Thanks again. Lynn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmorris547 Posted 25 September Share Posted 25 September Lynn It was common to be moved after a wound or a spell in hospital. The first wound was probably at Festubert in May 1915 but the Battle of Loos was a major British event on the Western Front in September 1915. You can read about it on The Long Long Trail under Battles. With regard to July 1916 you might be interested in this map which is from the War Diary of 3 Div HQ General Staff. Courtesy TNA/Ancestry WO 95/1377. Also read the War Diary of 76 Infantry Brigade of 3 Div. Have a good trip. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Penniman Posted 26 September Author Share Posted 26 September Thanks again Brian for the information and the map. The more I read the more I am appreciating the serious challenges those young men faced. My great uncle was just a lad from a small coal mining village. Probably started working at the colliery at age 12 and probably never had been further than Glasgow (maybe). Off to war and experiencing things he never could have thought of. My Aunt says her Mother, (Daniel's younger sister) talked about the family sending regular packages to him during the War. Always with a bottle of whiskey. I hope the whiskey got to him! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmorris547 Posted 26 September Share Posted 26 September Lynn I have just been on Google maps to find New Stevenston. Nimmo's Rows is no longer there. Holytown is shown. I pass Hamilton/Motherwell on my way to Aberdeen on my yearly trip. The locations in the War Diary are shown on the map. Hope you had a good trip. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Penniman Posted 27 September Author Share Posted 27 September Brian I have found some old photos of Nimmo's Rows on the internet. Looks like typical old Scottish mining village housing. Too many people in too little space. I am planning to use the map you provided and my War Diary to go to the locations that the Gordon Highlanders were at on July 18, 1916. Will be there early next week. Thanks Lynn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmorris547 Posted 27 September Share Posted 27 September Lynn You need to arm yourself with the IGN 1:25 000 Bray-Sur-Somme map 2408 E. This covers the area you want. There is a good map store at the Thiepval Memorial Museum. Please feel free to contact me here if you need anything looking up next week. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mancpal Posted 27 September Share Posted 27 September (edited) Lynn, the Gordons cemetery I mentioned previously is on the following photo (courtesy of Google Earth). The frontline trench on the 1/7/16 is the line running to the left from the top of Google’s red marker. Although your focus is later in July it’s worth noting that he could well have served here also, the war diary may indicate this. I’m not a Gordons researcher, it just that my grandad was further along the same front (facing Mametz)with the 7th Manchester Pals on the 1/7/16. I am quite envious of your trip as I haven’t been back to this sector for around 10yrs! Edited 27 September by mancpal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Penniman Posted 28 September Author Share Posted 28 September Thanks Simon and Brian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Penniman Posted 28 September Author Share Posted 28 September Maybe you can help with something else. I have another Great Uncle Robert McGowan. He also served in WWI. He had emigrated from Scotland and was living in Nova Scotia in 1914. He must have either volunteered or was "drafted" into the British Army, because he went back to the UK on the Lusitania in February 1915. He served in the Seaforth Highlanders (S7484). I have a copy of his medal index card but not really any other information. He survived the war and returned to live in Detroit Michigan for the remainder of his life. His US Army draft registration card for WWII (he was too old to be drafted) indicated a gunshot wound to the jaw. I am assuming he sustained that injury in WWI. Can you provide any advice on how I can follow up on additional information about his service time? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmorris547 Posted 28 September Share Posted 28 September Lynn S/7484 Cpl R McGowan was awarded the Military Medal in 1917. His MM Card shows 8 Bn Seaforths. I will find out more. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Penniman Posted 28 September Author Share Posted 28 September Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmorris547 Posted 28 September Share Posted 28 September Lynn The MM is in the London Gazette 30340 dated 16/10/1917. It shows Robert's nok address as Larkhall (but it could be where he enlisted). This long list of Awards is in the Routine Orders dated 23/08/1917 in the WD of 15 Div Adjutant and Quarter-Master General. I have only included the page showing Robert and the other Seaforth MMs. It must be for the action on 31/07/1917 in Belgium. The WDs of 8 Bn Seaforths, 44 Infantry Brigade and 15 Div HQ have more information. Routine Order TNA/Ancestry WO 95/1918. This map is from the WD of 44 Infantry Brigade and the Seaforths were attacking in squares C 30 d and I 6 b Map TNA/Ancestry WO 95/1935. (You will need the Belgian IGN maps 1:20 000 Poperinge-Ieper sheet 28 1-2 and Zonnebeke-Moorslede Sheet 28 3-4 if you go there as well) I will check The Scotsman for July - October 1917. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmorris547 Posted 28 September Share Posted 28 September Lynn He is named in a list of MMs in The Scotsman 20/10/1917 (p9). It is the men from Scottish Regiments that were in the London Gazette 30340. I checked the Motherwell Times and other local papers with no result. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Penniman Posted 29 September Author Share Posted 29 September Thanks Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Penniman Posted 9 October Author Share Posted 9 October Thanks Brian and Simon for all the information provided to assist with our visit to the Somme Valley last week. The maps were especially helpful. Found my great uncle's name on the Thiepval Memorial and really lucked out as he is listed near the bottom of one of the panels, so I was able to readily see the name. I didn't realize how many cemeteries that are scattered all over that area. Simon, I did go to the Gordon Highlanders cemetery. Your Google map was useful because there is no posted sign out on the road for this cemetery and currently there is a healthy tall crop of corn along the roadside which is shielding the entrance. It is easier to spot coming down the road from the east side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mancpal Posted 9 October Share Posted 9 October Glad you had a fruitful trip. Feel free to post any photos, Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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