Private James Hogg

Private James Crosbie Hogg, 16th ( 2nd Edinburgh ) Service Battalion, Royal Scots. He was killed in action in France, aged 29, in the 1st July 1916 on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. He had been born in Galashiels and was the son of Marion and the late Robert Hogg of 41 Lintburn Street, Galashiels. He had been employed as a tailor when he enlisted in November 1914 going to France in January 1916. He is buried in Gordon Dump Cemetery, Ovillers-La_Boiselle, Somme, France. The Battalion was formed in November 1914 by Colonel George McRae and was made up from professional footballers from Heart of Midlothian, Hibernian, Dunfermline, Falkirk and Raith Rovers together with their fans. Casualties in the attack on La Boiselle in the face of intense machine gun fire were very severe. 21 Officers and 793 Other Ranks had begun the attack and at evening roll call 12 Officers and 624 Other Ranks were posted killed wounded and missing although some of the missing turned up later having been mixed up with other attacking Battalions. The first photo shows troops attacking on the 1st July over a wide open no mans land with very little cover. The other photos show Scots troops on the Somme and the colour image shows a peaceful Somme landscape today with “no guns, no barbed wire, no guns firing now”.