Sergeant George Wright M.M.

Sergeant George Wright, M.M., 9th ( Service ) Battalion, Black Watch. He was killed in action, aged 35, in France on the 28th March 1918 during the German March Offensive. He had been born in Eccles, Berwickshire in 1882 and was the son of the late Elizabeth Wright of High Street, Greenlaw. He was the husband of Cartherine Wright of Edinburgh whom he had married in Duns in 1907. He had served his apprenticeship as a grocer in Greenlaw before moving to Edinburgh to work as a shopman. He is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, Arras, France. The Battalion was part of the 15th ( Scottish ) Division and he fell in the severe fighting in front of Arras which finally brought the German advance in that sector permanently to a halt. The three days fighting had cost the Battalion 3 Officers and 19 Other Ranks killed and 3 Officers and122 Other Ranks wounded. In addition 3 Officers and 76 Other Ranks were reported missing. The photos show Allied troops in defensive positions awaiting the German advances.