Private William Bookless

Private William Bookless, 1st/4th ( Border ) Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers. He was killed in action on Gallipoli, on 12th July 1915 during the “Charge”  on the Turkish trenches at Achi Baba Nullah and is commemorated on thr Helles Memorial, Helles, Gallipoli, Turkey. He was living in Auchencrow but was a native of Swinton where his mother and father still lived. Before enlisting in December 1914 he had been a rabbit catcher and mole trapper in the district and he left a widow, Lizzie and two daughters, Jean and Mary who lived in Auchencraw.  His brother John was serving in the 2nd/4th K.O.S.B at the time but later  died from wounds in 1918 serving with the Scottish Rifles. He is also commemorated on the Houndwood Memorial. That fateful day became known as the ” Black Day of the Borders” as out of the over 750 Officers and Other Ranks who began the attack only 70 unwounded men answered evening roll call. Few Border towns and villages had not lost one of their sons that day. The first picture shows Achi Baba, a “hill” marked with a cross which dominated the battlefield but was never captured. The second shows the Borderers going into the attack and the third shows the battlefield in 1922.