Private Andrew Oliver, 2nd Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers. He was killed in action in Belgium. aged 29, on the 4th October 1917 during the Third Battle of Ypres. He had been born in Bonkle and was the son of the late Andrew Oliver and the stepson of Isabella Oliver. He was the brother of Walter and Janet Oliver of Brockholes, Grantshouse and Cairncross Reston. He had joined his battalion in France in March 1915. He fell in the attack on the strong German positions cat Poelderhoek Chateau. The attack took place in appalling conditions of mud and heavy rain and little progress could be made. Casualties were heavy with 11 Officers and 438 Other Ranks, one quarter of which were fatal. He is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, Zonnebeke, Flanders, Belgium. The photos show the dreadful condition of the battlefield where the incessant shelling had destroyed the fragile Flanders drainage systems.
