Private John Robertson

Private John H. Robertson, 2nd Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers. He was killed in action in Flanders on 4th October 1917 during the battle of Third Ypres and is buried in Hooge Crater Cemetery, Menin Road, Flanders, Belgium. He had been born in Duns, lived in Ayton and had enlisted in Galashiels. On that date the Battalion together with the 1st Royal West Kents were involved in the assault on Polderhoek Chateau near Gheluvelt.  Some of the objectives were taken despite the flooded ground and the barrage not being very effective. Casualties as ever were high with 11 Officers and 438 Other Ranks. It was here that Captain Machin from Coldstream won his M.C. The photographs show the desolation of the Flanders battlefields where the incessant shelling had destroyed the drainage systems.

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