Private James Affleck

Private James Affleck, 12th ( Service ) Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers. He was killed in action in France on 17th September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Thiepval, France. He was the only son of Mrs Affleck of West Heaton Farm, Cornhill-on-Tweed and had served in France for over a year. The autumn rains would soon turn the battlefield into a glutinous quagmire making it difficult for men and guns to move as can be seen from the photographs. The colour photo shows the peaceful Somme countryside today with ” no gas no barbed wire no guns firing now”.

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