Sergeant Walter Thomson

Sergeant Walter Stevenson Thomson, 1st/4th ( Border ) Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers. He was killed in action at Gallipoli, aged 28, 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 was the son of Thomas and Jane Thomson of Sprouston Cottages, Newton St. Boswells. He had been a Territorial with the K.O.S.B and was mobilised with the Battalion in August 1914 landing on Gallipoli in June 1915 as part of the 52nd (Lowland) Division. On that fateful day out of over  700 attackers only 70 unwounded Men answered the evening roll call. 12th July became known as the “Black Day of the Borders” as nearly every town and village had lost at least one of their sons. The first photo shows Achi Baba, the ultimate objective, marked with a cross. This “hill” dominated the battlefield and was never captured. The second shows the Borderers attacking at Gallipoli and the third shows the Battlefield in 1922.