Corporal John Cairns

Corporal John Cairns, 1st Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers. He was killed in action on the 13th November 1916, aged 31, during the Battle of the Somme. He is buried in Serre No. 1 Cemetery, Serre, Somme, France where his Headstone is inscribed ” Dearly Loved Husband Of Jessie Victoria Noble”. He had been born in Bowden and was the son of George and Annie Cairns of Holydean, Bowden and the husband of Jessie Cairns of Monksford Lodge, Newtown St Boswells. He had originally joined the 9th ( Highland ) Battalion, Royal Scots but had been posted to the 1st R.S.F. in France in 1916. He fell in an attack on the strong German positions in the village of Serre. The attack penetrated into the second line of defences but finding uncut wire was compelled to withdraw to the original lines with 201 casualties. By this stage of the Battle the rains had turned the battlefields into a glutinous quagmire making movement very difficult as can be seen from the photos. The colour image shows a peaceful Somme landscape today with ” no gas, no barbed wire, no guns firing now”.

Scroll to Top