The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
New Black Watch book heroes who served with
Tens of thousands of Black Wat c h soldiers would test their own capacity for courage during the First World War.
The Black Watch raised 25 battalions that served in Europe, the Middle East and Asia as part of the British forces fight against Germany.
More than 8,000 men were killed.
A new book shines a light on the lesser-known stories of the unsung heroes who went beyond the call of duty.
The Black Watch And The Great War was written by members of the regimental family – those who have worn the Red Hackle, descendants of The Black Watch soldiers of 1914-18, and close associates of the regiment.
Some of the stories include the Black Watch men who hailed from Latin America and the ministers of the Kirk who set aside their non-combatant status and took up arms.
Highlights also include the enterprising escape from German captivity of men of the 7 th ( Fife) Battalion which had taken over the front line at Louverval, northern France, on March 1 1918.
At the time there had been rumours of an imminent German offensive reinforced by increased activity behind enemy lines.
The battalion anticipated action and, according to its official historian, “all ranks were now eager for a fight and it was in that spirit that the 7 th me t the German offensive”.
The in ten se bombardment all but destroyed the frontline trenches and only a few survivors of C and D companies were able to withdraw to battalion headquarters.
The Black Wa t c h “resisted gallantly” but o u t f l a n ke d and under increasing pressure, the survivors were compelled to withdraw to the of its
Beaumetz-morchies road, which was held by A company, approximately 60 strong, and by the remainder of the battalion – some 30 men.
In the coming days the battalion, with what remained of the rest of the 51st (Highland) Division, would fight a series of actions as the German army continued to advance.
The losses sustained were estimated to be 23 officers and 627 other ranks out of a strength of some 39 officers and 941 men.
Lance Corporal Andrew Harrower from Cowdenbeath, Corporal David Mills from Kirkcaldy and Private William Moyes from Tayport were listed as missing.
Harrower, Mills and Moyes had been captured and were taken to Villersles- Cagnicourt with some 600 prisoners of war.
On the evening of April 18, accompanied by Corporal Charles Mottershead, 9 th Royal Welsh Fusiliers, the four men made their escape, reaching their own lines the following morning.
Exchanging their kilts for French civilian clothes they covered a distance of some 20 miles, guided by the sound of the guns.
Harrower, Mills and Moyes each received the Military Medal.
Another story of incredible bravery in the book highlights the men of the 6th (Perthshire) and 7 th (Fife) Te r r i t o r i a l Battalions, who were preparing for an assault on High Wood, the heavily fortified German position that dominated the Bazentin Ridge in July 1916.
Since the beginning of the Battle of the Somme, there had been several unsuccessful attempts to capture High Wood.
The Black Watch were now tasked with taking its western and eastern corners. However, the ar tiller y barrage failed to destroy the German trenches.
The leading companies of 6th Black Watch were subjected to heavy fire almost immediately.
Despite mounting losses, the battalion managed to reach the German barbed wire some 25 or 30 yards from the enemy trench.
Captain Edgar Leslie Boase, a well-known figure in Fife and Dundee, gave his life at High Wood in an effort to save his men.
Boase was an experienced Territorial Army officer, having served in France with the 4th Black Watch in early 1915.
A prospective Unionist candidate for Dundee, his death was described as “an extremely gallant one, occurring during a more than p l u c ky e ff o r t to prevent the instant death of the men under his command, and involving almost certain death to himself, of which he was fully aware”.
Captain James Gillespie, C Company, an architect from St Andrews, was killed while crossing the parapet of the British trench.
Boase took his place and led Gillespie’s company toward the German positions in High Wood.
He volunteered to go forward and extinguish a fire that had broken out beside a stock of abandoned German ammunition which, had it exploded, would have inflicted heavy casualties on his men.
He was warned that he would be hit, but still went on to put out the fire.
Boase was shot by a sniper having accomplished his objective, one of nine officers of the 7 th Black Watch killed on July 30 1916.
A very popular figure, his death was the cause of much regret in Dundee.
His mother later donated 1,000 guineas to Dundee Royal Infirmary to endow a bed in his memory.
The Black Watch was awarded 69 battle honours during the First World War and four Black Watch men received the Victoria Cross.