Private Charles Scott

Private Charles Scott, 43rd Battalion ( The Cameron Highlanders of Canada ), Canadian Infantry. He was killed in action in Belgium on 26th October 1917, aged 22, during the Battle of Third Ypres. He had been born in Hawick and was the son of John and Mary Scott of Falnash Cottage, Teviothead, Hawick and is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium. He had emigrated to Canada and had been farming near Regina, Saskatchewan when he enlisted in April 1917. He had also been a member of the local militia, the 79th Cameron Highlanders of Canada. The photograph shows the typical Flanders conditions the troops had to fight in. Wet weather and drainage systems smashed by the incessant shelling  mainly contributed to the atrocious conditions.