Cameronians

“For Services Rendered…” 31st July 1917

“For Services Rendered…” 31st July 1917

Today marks the anniversary of the opening of the Third Battle of Ypres, 31st July 1917, also known as the Battle of Passchendaele. This was the start of a British-led campaign that would continue into November of that year, and result in almost half a million casualties from both sides. Even at the time, the decision to launch the offensive met with controversy, and its objectives, successes and failures are subjects that will continue to be debated for many years to come. While the merits of this particular campaign, and indeed the events and circumstances surrounding the First World War itself, are continuingly being scrutinised, these anniversaries can provide an opportunity to look back and take a moment to remember the individuals who took part.

This fragment of a cigarette packet is probably one of the smaller, more fragile objects that make up The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) regimental museum collection. It is the type of thing that, under normal circumstances, might have easily been discarded by its owner without much thought. So why should such an item have been kept, and ultimately deposited in a museum? A look at the scribbled message on the reverse of the packet reveals the significance of such an everyday item.

The message reads: “For services rendered, and seeing me safely into the dressing station 31-7-17, signed R. A. Anderson, 2/Lt, 2nd Scot. Rif.”

This was the dictated message from 2nd Lieutenant Roderick Andrew Anderson, of the 2nd Battalion The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), to Private George Gould from Edinburgh. Lieutenant Anderson was just one of many of the 2nd Scottish Rifles who was wounded on 31st July 1917, and Private Gould was the man who helped the wounded officer to the Battalion dressing station, quite possibly saving his life. The men were of similar age, around 20 years old. Anderson’s wounds were serious enough that he was evacuated from the Front, and he would not return to the 2nd Battalion until 25th June 1918, almost a year later. Before leaving the Battalion area, Anderson asks for the above message to be written on his cigarette packet, and that it be passed to Private Gould as a small token of his thanks. Whether Private Gould was a smoker or not, we do not know. Perhaps he shared the cigarettes with his friends, or traded them for sweets or other useful items. What we do know is that he kept the packet with its message of thanks until the day he died. George Gould was killed on 6th January 1918, still serving with the 2nd Scottish Rifles. The cigarette packet was returned to his family with his personal effects; years later it, along with some photographs and his Memorial Death Plaque, was donated to the regimental museum collection.

Private George Gould

This photograph of George was probably taken during a visit home. It was taken at Colin Campbell’s studio on 39 South Bridge, Edinburgh, not far from where George and his family lived, at number 63. The gold stripe worn on his lower left sleeve indicates he had been wounded on service. George had been recorded in a list of wounded soldiers sent to Stobhill Hospital on 8th May 1916, published in The Scotsman newspaper. At the time, George was serving with the 1st Battalion King’s Own Scottish Borderers – he subsequently transferred to the 2nd Scottish Rifles. The Wound Stripe alone is evidence that George had served at the Front by the time this photograph was taken. The patch worn on the right sleeve, below the shoulder seam, is that of the 8th Division, in which the 2nd Scottish Rifles served for most of the War’s duration. You can see an original example of this badge on our Online Collections browser – http://www.sllcmuseumscollections.co.uk/search.do?id=147158&db=object&page=1&view=detail

By the time Roderick Anderson returned to the 2nd Scottish Rifles, George had been killed and buried in Passchendaele New British Cemetery. Anderson would survive the First World War, finishing the War with the rank of Captain. In June 1919 he was awarded the Military Cross for his services in the First World War – the original citation for which reads:

“This officer has served with the Bttn since 1916 except when he was wounded.  He took part in many engagements as a platoon commander and in the Battle of Ypres 31/7/1917 led his platoon with skill and determination. He takes a keen cheerful and intelligent interest in his work and has been at all times a conscientious hard working officer.  Lately he has been performing the duties of Asst. Adjutant during whose absence he has done his work with considerable credit, both in action and out of the line.  He is an exceptionally keen soldier.”

Roderick remained in The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) after the First World War, serving with the 2nd Battalion in India and Kurdistan. He married in 1931, and had two children. In April 1935, Roderick resigned his commission from the British Army; he returned to his native New Zealand with his family to work in his father’s engineering business. Civilian employment didn’t quite agree with Roderick, and he joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1937. During the Second World War, Roderick volunteered to serve once again with The Cameronians, and he duly joined the 1st Battalion in 1941, serving with them in Burma. He was wounded near Pegu in March 1942, by which point his age and the physically gruelling conditions of active service were taking it’s toll. He was posted to a Staff position and remained in service until the end of the Second World War, retiring with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Roderick’s health never quite recovered from his service in the Second World War, and he died in 1958 aged 60. Brigadier W. B. Thomas, an old comrade of Roderick’s since the two were at Sandhurst together in 1915, wrote of him:

“Roderick Anderson and I joined the Regiment from Sandhurst on the same day in April, 1916. We served together almost continuously until he retired and went to New Zealand in 1935. As he was employed with the New Zealand Air Force he need not have come back during the war, but such was his love for the Regiment that he was determined to serve with it. He rejoined the 1st Battalion in Secunderabad in 1941. Unfortunately there was not time for him to get as fit as the rest of us before he went to Burma. The arduous retreat inflicted a strain on his health from which he never fully recovered. Nethertheless he always pulled his weight and set an inspiring example. He was a wonderful friend and companion.”

 

Roderick Andrew Anderson, seated cross-legged, right of front row. This photograph was taken shortly after the Armistice in November 1918, and shows Officers, Warrant Officers and Non Commissioned Officers of the 2nd Scottish Rifles.

The War Diary for the 2nd Scottish Rifles records that 38 officers and men of the Battalion were killed on 31st July 1917, and a further 146 wounded, while 19 men were reported missing in action. Roderick Anderson was among those wounded; perhaps his fate might have been different had it not been for George Gould.

 

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Posted: 31/07/2017 by BarrieDuncan in Collections, First World War


“The Four Youngest Cameronians” 1891

“The Four Youngest Cameronians” 1891

A recent enquiry concerning a photograph on display in Low Parks Museum prompted me to look into the photograph in more detail, and see what information, if any, we could learn about “The Four Youngest Cameronians”. The original photograph is contained within a regimental photograph album; a check of the album page showed that the surnames of the boys had been written in pen, underneath the photograph. Sadly, many of the photographs in the regimental collection fail to record the names of those shown, so it was fortunate in this case that the boys had been named, and the date on which the photograph was taken had also been recorded.

“The Four Youngest Cameronians” 1891

The image has been captioned as “The Four Youngest Cameronians” and the individuals are named, left to right, as Boys ‘Banks’, ‘Baldock’, ‘Banks’, and ‘Chamberlain’. The photograph was taken on 8th July 1891. ‘Boy’ was the rank used by the Army for young soldiers under the age of 18.

The photograph is interesting as the Boys are wearing Government Tartan trews as opposed to the Douglas Tartan that we generally associate with The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). Permission was granted by Queen Victoria in May 1891 for the Regiment to adopt the use of Douglas Tartan, but this did not come into effect until 1st April 1892.

Looking at the names, the somewhat unusual name of Baldock jumped out as familiar, and doing a quick check of our other collections I found that he was named in another image in the museum collection. Amazingly, I also found a record in our Regimental Enlistment Registers (1919-1934) for a William J H Baldock, who had enlisted at Cork on 11th December 1890, aged 14. The entry would suggest that William Baldock had served in the Regiment continuously from December 1890 until his retirement as Regimental Sergeant Major in January 1922. He had served in the Boer War, and the First World War, and had been awarded the Queen’s and King’s South Africa Medals, the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal, and also the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.

There were no obvious matches for the other names in the Enlistment Registers, so I assumed that both Banks Boys and Boy Chamberlain had left the Regiment before the enlistment books commenced in 1919. Time to go to the local library to see what information I could find on Ancestry.com (if you don’t have a membership for Ancestry it is worth checking with your local library as many provide free access).

Working on the assumption that all the boys were around the same age as William Baldock, I was able to find service records for an Alfred Ernest Banks, an Edward William Banks, and a Charles Alfred Chamberlain. Alfred Banks joined the 1st Battalion at Cork on 9th January 1891, aged 14 years and two months. Edward Banks joined at Aldershot on 30th June 1891, aged 14 years. Charles Chamberlain also joined at Aldershot, on 1st July 1891, aged 14 years. The 1st Battalion The Cameronians had been stationed in Cork until 28th January 1891 when it embarked on HMS Assistance en route for Aldershot. Charles Chamberlain joined just in time to have his photograph taken 7 days later!

The Banks Boys appear to be brothers; both listed their mother as next of kin – Alice Banks of 1, The Crescent, Sandgate. Interestingly, Alfred was born in Richmond Barracks, Dublin, and his father is listed as ‘Joseph Banks – address unknown’, so it is possible that Alfred’s father was a soldier. Edward was born in Dover, and there are no details of his father recorded. Given the stated ages of Alfred and Edward and their places of birth, I think we must assume that one of them (or possibly both) provided false information as to their true age. The service records helpfully provide physical descriptions of each recruit – including height. Alfred (4′ 8″) was the taller of the two Banks Boys, so we might assume that he is shown second from the right in the photograph above, and that Edward (4′ 7″) is first from the left.

Charles Chamberlain served for four years with The Cameronians. He remained with the 1st Battalion for all of his service. On 27th June 1895 he was attested as a Private soldier, presumably on his 18th birthday. Charles found himself in a spot of bother in December 1895 which cost him the forfeiture of his Good Conduct pay. Whatever happened was serious enough to warrant a trial, and in January 1896 Charles was convicted and sentenced to 14 Days imprisonment with Hard Labour for “absence from Defaulter’s parade”. Charles was discharged on 18th January 1896 “in consequence of his services being no longer required”.

The Banks boys both went on to serve in India with the 2nd Scottish Rifles. Edward also saw service in South Africa in the Boer War and was awarded the Queen’s and King’s South Africa Medals. Alfred left the Regiment on 2nd January 1903, after 12 years service. Edward left on 7th June 1904, just short of completing 13 years service.

Ironically, we have less information available to us concerning William Baldock’s 30 plus years of military service than we do for the other three Boys in the photograph. This is because records relating to soldiers still serving after 1921 are currently not publicly available; William’s military records are still be held by the Ministry of Defence.

Colour Serjeant William Baldock, centre, 1908

We do know from William’s entry in the Enlistment Register that he served in South Africa from 1900 – 1904. William features in a group photograph of the 2nd Battalion in 1908, so it is possible that he remained with the 2nd after serving with them in South Africa. In this photograph William wears the rank of Colour Serjeant, a senior non-commissioned rank. The medal ribbons for his Boer War campaign medals can be seen worn above his left-chest pocket.

Since starting this research I have identified William Baldock in a photograph of the Serjeants of the 6th Scottish Rifles, which must date from between 1908 and 1914. The 6th Scottish Rifles was a Territorial Force battalion of The Cameronians, with headquarters in Hamilton.

Colour Serjeant Instructor of Musketry Baldock

It was common procedure for senior figures from the Regular battalions of a regiment (the 1st and 2nd Battalions of The Cameronians) to serve on secondment to the Regiment’s Militia and Territorial Force battalions to assist in training and maintaining high standards of discipline. From the rank insignia displayed on William’s right sleeve, he is serving as the 6th Battalion’s Colour Serjeant Instructor of Musketry at the time this photograph was taken. William’s medal ribbons are also clearly visible in this photograph, consisting of the Queen’s and King’s South Africa Medals, and the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.

William must have been still serving with the 6th Scottish Rifles when the First World War broke out in August 1914, and it was with this Battalion that he served with overseas in France. By the time of the Battle of Festubert in June 1915, William is the Regimental Serjeant Major of the 6th Scottish Rifles, the highest rank attainable by an enlisted soldier in an infantry battalion. William’s entry in the Enlistment Register records that he was discharged on 31st January 1922, with ‘Exemplary’ character. His address on discharge was given as 261 West Princes Street, Glasgow, then headquarters of the 5th/8th Territorial Battalion of The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), which had only recently come into being following the amalgamation of the 5th and 8th Battalions. The regimental magazine for The Cameronians, called The Covenanter, records the occasion of RSM Baldock’s retirement in the March 1922 issue:

5/8th Battalion The Cameronians

The Warrant Officers and Sergeants of the Battalion had a very successful evening on Saturday, 28th January, which took the form of a Supper followed by a Smoking Concert. Major J. Murray Grierson represented the Commanding Officer who was unavoidably absent, and other officers were present. After the supper the chairman (C.S.M. Markwell) presented Sgt.-Major Baldock with a gold watch from the W.Os. and Sergeants as a token of their esteem and regard on his retiral from the regiment. C.S.M. Markwell in his speech before presenting the watch referred to R.S.M. Baldock as the perfect type of Sergeant Major – one who knew both office and parade sides of his work; one whose policy was that of the iron hand in the velvet glove, one who was ever courteous and helpful, yet “regimental” withal. These sentiments were loudly applauded. The watch, a fine enclosed hunter with the regimental crest on the front and in inscription inside the back cover, was then presented. In his reply, R.S.M. Baldock said he was particularly sorry to leave the battalion at the present time when two battalions were being amalgamated, but unfortunately it must be and all he could do was to wish all success to the new battalion…

It’s amazing to think that a simple photograph of four young soldiers, kept for posterity in a regimental photograph album, can provide such a fascinating glimpse into the lives of those shown, and the history of the Regiment in which they served.

 

 

 

 

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Posted: 21/07/2017 by BarrieDuncan in Collections, Victorian Period



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