Rifleman Robert Alexander

Rifleman Robert Johnstone Alexander, 1st/8th London Regiment ( Post Office Rifles ). He was killed in France during the Battle of Arras on 21st May 1916, aged 37.  He was the son of Frances and the late William Alexander of Rose Cottage, Kelso and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, Arras, France.  He had been a rural postman based in Kelso since 1898 and had enlisted in April 1915. The Battalion suffered a very heavy bombardment before their trenches were attacked. The artillery bombardment had destroyed most of the defences and heavy casualties resulted before the German attack was checked. The photograph shows British troops in a captured village near Arras.