Captain Edward MacDougall

Captain Edward Greaves MacDougall, 6th ( service ) Battalion, Cameron Highlanders. He was killed in action in France, aged 38, on the 25th or 26th September 1915 during the Battle of Loos. He had been born in Jedburgh and was the son of the late Provost John MacDougall and Margaret MacDougall of Boundary Bank, Jedburgh. He had been educated at George Watson’s College, Edinburgh before joining the Glasgow office of the Scottish Provident Institute Assurance Co. where he became the Inspector of Agencies in the west of Scotland. In August 1914 he enlisted as a private in the Highland Light Infantry  but was commissioned into the 8th ( Reserve ) Battalion, Camerons. He landed in France with the 6th Battalion in July 1915. The Battalion was part of the 15th ( Scottish ) Division and took part in the advance to Hill 70 and captured the summit. A further advance was made over the summit over open ground into intense machine gun fire which caused heavy casualties. Further attempts were made on the 26th causing more casualties. The 2 days cost the Battalion 17 Officers and 400 Other Ranks. He is commemorated on the Loos Memorial, Dud Corner, Loos, France. The first photo shows an actual attack at Loos with the troops advancing into a ghostly cloud of gas and smoke. The second is an artist’s illustration of the Camerons attacking at Loos.