Fighting on the front line claims lives of servicemen from Stirling

Fresh fighting at the Front claimed the lives of several Stirling area soldiers, the Observer reported.

L/Cpl Francis Coleman, A&SH, suffered fatal wounds in exchanges on September 20, 1917. His last letter home arrived at the home of his parents, who lived at 2 Queen Street, Stirling, only a day earlier. His father, Mr Francis Coleman, master tailor at Stirling Castle, was an Army veteran having served 21 years with the Argylls. L/Cpl Coleman had a brother with the Army Ordnance Corps.

A second soldier to die was Driver Arthur Slorance who was serving in motor transport with the Army Service Corp sand suffered fatal wounds on September 30, 1917. News of his death was received by his wife who lived in Abbey Road, Stirling.

The 35 year-old, who enlisted on August 17, 1914, was a native of Hawick but had long been a resident of Stirling and before the war worked as a motor haulage man at Fallin Colliery.

He left a wife and three children. Mrs Slorance was the daughter of Mr John Oliver, clerk, Abbey Road.

And Mrs McNaught, 44 Cowane Street, Stirling learned her eldest son, James, a sergeant in the Black Watch, died of wounds received in action on September 25, 1917.

He joined the A&SH a few months after the start of war and received early promotion. He transferred to the Black Watch and was in Mesopotamia for 18 months but contracted fever there and was sent home where he was treated in hospital in Liverpool before being stationed in Denby.

A member of 1st St Ninians Boys’ Brigade, the sergeant acted as Scoutmaster of the Boy Scouts troop in Denby while based there. He later served as a drill instructor but was sent over to France on September 12, 1917, and had been there for little over a fortnight when he was killed. The 21 year-old worked at Stirling Station in a number of jobs, but was a ticket collector before joining up.

A bomb dropped from a German plane caused an explosion which killed Pte George Steel who had links to Cowie. He enlisted a month after war started and had been in France for two years.

After being wounded in the ankle, he was invalided home for a few weeks but later sent back to France.

There was much sympathy extended to the 22 year-old’s parents who had just moved from Cowie to Alloa.