Private Robert Mason

Private Robert Mason, 1st/4th ( Border ) Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers. He was killed at Gallipoli, aged 20, on 12th July 1915 during the “Charge” on the Turkish trenches at Achi Baba Nullah. He was the son of Andrew and Marjory Mason of Larachbeg, Morvern, Oban Argyll and is commemorated on the Helles Memorial, Helles, Gallipoli, Turkey. He is not on Coldstream War Memorial but we feel he should be included as he had lived in Coldstream and enlisted in the Town. The Battalion took 550 casualties that day which became known as the “Black Day of the Borders”. The contemporary photograph shows Achi Baba marked with a cross. This “hill” was the ultimate objective, it dominated the battlefield and was never captured. The second photograph shows the Borderers going over the top at Gallipoli.