Private James Burns

Private James Burns, 1st Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers. He was killed in action in France on 1st July 1916 on the first day of the Battle of the Somme and is buried in Knightsbridge Cemetery, Mesnil-Martinsart, Somme, France. He had been born in Berwick and had enlisted in Newcastle. He fell in the attack to capture Beaumont Hamel and Beaucourt. It was a disaster with the Germans well warned and waiting. 548 Officers and men became casualties with 153 fatalities and no ground gained. Beaumont Hamel remained in German hands until captured by the 51st ( Highland ) Division on the 13th of November of that year. The photo shows troops attacking on the 1st July over a very wide “no mans land” with little or no cover.