Sergeant John Drummond

Sergeant John Drummond, 2nd Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers. He was killed in action in France on 3rd September 1916, aged 21, during the Battle of the Somme and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France.  He had been born in Dundee and before going to France he had served at the Battalion Depot in Berwick. He fell in the attack on German positions at Falfemont Farm which cost the Battalion heavily. A promised French bombardment failed to materialise as did their supporting attack . Thus the Battalion attacked unsupported in broad daylight into enemy trenches untouched by artillery. ( It makes one wonder why the attack went ahead at all ! ). 8 Officers and 146 Other Ranks were killed and 3 Officers and 137 Other Ranks were wounded. It was a disaster which could and should have been avoided. The autumn rains had turned the ground into a glutinous quagmire making movement very difficult as can be seen from the photographs. The colour image shows a peaceful Somme landscape today ” with no gas, no barbed wire, no guns firing now”.