Private John Gerrard, 7th ( Service ) Battalion, Cameron Highlanders. ( Possibly ). He died from wounds in France, aged 18, on the 29th September 1915 during the Battle of Loos. He had been born in Ratho, Midlothian and was the son of the late David and Christina Gerrard of Edinburgh. He had enlisted in Galashiels in November 1914 and landed with his Battalion in France in July 1915. He was wounded and made prisoner during the Battle of Loos and died in a German Field Hospital at Pont de Courrieres. He is now buried at Cabaret-Rouge, British Cemetery, Souchez, France. The Battalion was part of the 44th Brigade in the 15th ( Scottish ) Division. The first photo shows Highlanders marching up to the line at Loos and the second shows an actual attack at Loos with the troops disappearing into a ghostly cloud of gas and smoke. The first day of the Battle saw the British Army use gas for the first time in the War. The third shows the village of Loos after its capture by the 44th Brigade. The artist’s illustration depicts the Camerons during the battle.
