Private Alexander Bell

Private Alexander Bell, 1st/4th ( Territorial ) Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders. He was killed in action in France, aged 19, on the 20th November 1917 on the first day of the Battle of Cambrai. he had been born in Jedburgh and was the son of James and Agnes Bell of Richmond Row, Jedburgh. He had served his apprenticeship as a baker in Jedburgh before enlisting in August 1916, joining his battalion in France in September 1917. He is commemorated on the Cambrai Memorial, Louveral, France. This Battle saw the first mass tank attack on good ground and initially great gains were made. The photos were taken before and during the Battle. The Battalion was part of the 154th Brigade in the 51st ( Highland ) Division and after the War an impressive Memorial was raised in commemoration. It was erected overlooking “Y” Ravine in Newfoundland Park on the Somme where on the 13thy November 1916 the Division had captured it and the strong German positions in Beaumont Hamel. A Plaque on the Memorial reads in both English and Gaelic ” Friends Are Good On The Day Of Battle”. ( Image by courtesy of J.D. Smith ).