Private James Turnbull

Private James Turnbull, 1st/4th ( Border ) Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers. He died in Palestine on 6th April 1917 of wounds received from the bursting of a shell, aged 20. He had been born in Greenlaw and was the son of  Elizabeth and the late James Turnbull of Upper Nisbet Farm, Crailing and Kerchesters, Kelso and is buried in Deir El Belah War Cemetery, Israel. His Headstone is inscribed ” His Kindly Smile is With Us Still Lingering, Loth To part”.  Before enlisting he had been employed at Mounthooley Farm, Crailing and joined the Battalion in Egypt. At the time of his death the Battalion were holding the line near Gaza in Palestine and were occasionally shelled by the Turks. The same shell killed Private James Dickson from Kelso. The photographs show Borderers in Palestine in 1917. The three men pictured are Alec Lawrie, Willie Cockburn and Jim Murray who all played football for Coldstream F.C. Jim Murray was in the team that won the Scottish Amateur Cup in 1925.

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