Second Lieutenant Nigel Boyd

Second Lieutenant Nigel John Lawson Boyd, ” C ” Coy. 1st Battalion, Black Watch. He died at Home on 12th October 1914, aged 20, and is buried in Edinburgh ( Dean or Western ) Cemetery. He was the son of William Boyd, The King’s Body Guard for Scotland ( Royal Company of Archers ) and Mrs Laura Boyd. He was a Regular Soldier, born in Edinburgh and educated at Winchester College and Sandhurst. He excelled in such sports as cricket and golf and was an excellent shot. He was wounded in action on 14th September near Vendresse on the Chemin Des Dames Ridge during the Battle of the Aisne. It was a day of attack and counter attack where all the Battalions in the Brigade lost heavily. 4 Officers were killed including Colonel Grant-Duff and 7 Officers were wounded. Boyd and his platoon were holding a forward position when faced with overwhelming numbers of Germans it was forced to withdraw. He had just drawn his claymore to give the order when a bullet deflected from the scabbard into his abdomen.  He pretended to be dead until he was rescued by a Captain Cameron of the Cameron Highlanders. He was hospitalised in Rouen where he was expected to recover. It was here that he wrote to his father outlining his experiences. Unfortunately on 12th October he suffered a fatal blood clot.( The Battalion was part of the 1st Guards Brigade along with 1st Coldstream Guards, 1st Scots Guards and 1st Cameron Highlanders ). The photographs show British troops on the Aisne.