Private Alexander Coull

Private Alexander S. Coull, 16th ( Service ) Battalion, Royal Scots. He was killed in action on 9th April 1917 in the Battalion’s very successful attack on the German Blue Line  on the first day of the Battle of Arras. He was the son of Robert and Annie Coull of Redford Lodge, Colinton, Edinburgh and was a native of Berwick-Upon-Tweed. He is buried in Bailleul Road East Cemetery, St. Laurent-Blangy, Arras, France. His Headstone is inscribed ” May He Wear A Crown Of Victory In That Far Off Better Land “. Until the Battalion was withdrawn into reserve on the 15th April casualties were 310 Officers and Other Ranks. The Battalion was known as ” McRae’s Battalion” after the its founding in Edinburgh in November 1914 by Sir George McRae ( pictured below ).  It was originally drawn from professional footballers and their fans from Hearts, Hibs, Dunfermline, Raith Rovers and Falkirk. The artist’s illustration depicts the nature of the fighting during the Battle and the photograph shows British troops accompanied by a ” Wee Pal ” in the main street of a captured village near Arras.

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