Private Joseph Purves

Private Joseph Henry Purves, 2nd Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers. He was killed in action in France on 30th July 1916  during the Battle of the Somme and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Thiepval, Somme, France. He had been born in Newcastle and was the son of the late John and Annie Purves of 7 High Street, Coldstream. He had originally enlisted in the 1st Battalion and had joined them at Gallipoli in September 1915 but at some point had been transferred into the 2nd Battalion in France.  At that time the Battalion went into the front line at Longueval. This was a perilous and exposed position and many casualties were suffered by artillery and machine gun fire. He fell in an attack on an orchard  west of Delville Wood. The attack without artillery support was not successful with total Battalion casualties in the attack of 15 Officers ( 6 killed) and 244 Other Ranks. The photos show Scottish troops on the Somme and the colour photo shows part of the peaceful Somme landscape as it looks today. ” no gas, no barbed wire, no guns firing now”.