Private William Steel

Private William Milne Steel, 6th ( Service ) Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers. He was killed in action in France on 9th April 1917. aged 24, on the opening day of the Battle of Arras. He was the son of Mrs Sarah Steel of 25 Horsemarket, Kelso and is buried in Tilloy British Cemetery, Tilloy-Les-Mofflaines, Arras, France. The Battalion took their objectives that day and whilst the casualty figures for the Other Ranks are not given the Regimental history states ” they do not seem to have been out of the way”  Will Steel was a vital component of the Kelso Rugby club pre war team and he helped his team win the Jedburgh Sevens in 1913 and retain it in 1914. He was also selected to play for the South of Scotland that year.  The  photographs show British troops with a tank in the main street of a captured village near Arras. The second shows Memorial to the the 9th ( Scottish) Division of which the 6th K.O.S.B. was part. In 2006 due to the heavy traffic it was moved to near the Pointe De Jour Military Cemetery where it now stands.

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