Sergeant William Allan

Sergeant William Watson Allan, 1st/4th ( Border ) Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers. He was killed in action in France, aged 39, on 4th October 1918 during the “Advance to Victory”.  He had been born in Westruther and was the son of Jane and the late John Allan of 11 North Street, Duns and is buried in Cantaing British Cemetery, France. He fell in an abortive attempt to capture Faubourg de Paris near Cambrai. The Battalion lost 150 men with 5 Officers and 30 Other Ranks killed. One of the Officers killed was Lieutenant Fair also from Duns. He had served as a volunteer in the Boer War and had already served at Gallipoli and Palestine. Before the War he had a tailoring business in Duns and he left a widow and two children. As a well known sportsman he had played football for Duns F.C. The photograph shows author Gavin Richardson standing over Sergeant Allan’s Headstone. ( Taken from his excellent book ” After Gallipoli” which details the Battalions movements after the Gallipoli campaign ). The rest of the photos show Allied troops during the advance against the retreating German army in the final 100 days of the War.