Private John Armstrong

Private John Currie Armstrong, 8th ( Service ) Battalion, Black Watch. He was killed in action in France on the first day of the Battle of Loos on 25th September 1915, aged 27. He had been born in Eyemouth and was the son of Richard and the late Jane Armstrong of  High Street, Eyemouth and is commemorated on the Loos Memorial, Dud Corner, Loos, France. He had served his apprenticeship as a baker in Eyemouth and was working in Fife when he enlisted.  He fell in the assault on the strongly fortified enemy positions in the Hohenzollern Redoubt. With great dash the positions were captured but the cost was high. After 3 days heavy fighting the Battalion was withdrawn into reserve in Bethune. 19 Officers and 492 Other Ranks had become casualties. The first photo shows an actual attack with the troops advancing into a ghostly cloud of gas and smoke. this was the day the British Army first used gas. The second photo shows the village of Loos after its capture and the third shows shells bursting on the Redoubt. The artist’s illustration depicts the Black Watch during the Battle. ( His brother Richard also fell – see above ).