Lance Corporal William Baillie

Lance Corporal William Baillie, 6th (Service) Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers. He was killed in action in France, aged 29, on the 17th July 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. He had been born in Galashiels and was the son of Margaret and the late William Baillie of 181 Galapark Road. He is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France. He had served as a Regular soldier in the K.O.S.B. before emigrating to Australia in 1912 but as a Reservist he was recalled to the Colours and sailed with other Imperial Reservists from Sydney in October 1914. He joined the 2nd Battalion in France in January 1915 but was wounded in march. Upon recovery he was posted to the 6th Battalion. He fell in a forlorn attack near Delville Wood which caused heavy casualties from unsuppressed German positions nearby. Between 17th-19th July the Battalion was reduced to 3 Officers and 100 Other Ranks. ( His brother Charles also fell – see above ). The photos show Scots troops on the Somme and the colour image shows a peaceful Somme landscape today with ” no gas, no barbed wire, no guns firing now”.