Second Lieutenant John McCaskie

Second Lieutenant John McCaskie. 6th ( Service ) Battalion, Dorset Regiment. He was killed in action in France, aged 24, on 23rd March 1918 on the third day of the German March Offensive ( Operation Michael ). He had been born on Kilmore & Kilbride, Argyll and was the son of Mr William and Mrs Alison McCaskie of Dovecot Cottages, Coldstream and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial. William was a head gardener at Carham Hall. In 1893 the family were living at  Benvoulin Lodge, Oban, Argyll but by 1901 they had moved to Carham. He had originally enlisted in the Durham Light Infantry but on receiving his commission he had been posted into the Dorsets in 1917. Before enlisting in 1914 he had been employed as a seedsman with Hogg and Wood, Coldstream. The plaque in the Parish Church shows the award of the Military Medal .There is no such award shown on the War Memorial nor on the C.W.G.C. site. His brother Thomas who survived the War was awarded the medal in 1918 and this may have been mistakenly credited to John. His brother James also fell (see above). The photos show Allied troops in makeshift defences preparing to resist the German advance.