Lance Corporal John Ballantyne

Lance Corporal John Ballantyne, 1st/4th ( Border ) Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers. He was killed in action at Gallipoli, aged 35, on 12th July 1915 during the ” Charge ” on the Turkish trenches at Achi Baba Nullah and is commemorated on the Helles Memorial, Helles, Gallipoli, Turkey. He had been born in Crailing, and was the son of Thomas and Helen of Croft Street, Galashiels Before enlisting he had worked in Kelso as a tailor. That fateful day became known as the “Black Day of the Borders” as only 70 unwounded men answered evening roll call out of the over 700 Officers and Other Ranks who had begun the attack. Few Border towns and villages had not lost at least one of their sons that day. The author’s Great Uncle Corporal Jim Murray was wounded and spent six weeks in Hospital in Alexandria before returning to Gallipoli or ” the Pen” as he called it. The contemporary photograph shows Achi Baba marked with a cross. This “hill” dominated the battlefield and was never captured. The second photo shows the Borderers attacking at Gallipoli and the third shows the Battlefield in 1922.