Private John Oliver, 50th ( Calgary ) Battalion, Canadian Infantry. He was killed in action in France, aged 39, on the 18th November 1916 during the Battle of the Ancre. He had been born in Jedburgh and was the son of Margaret and the late Alexander Oliver of 3 Queen Street, Jedburgh. He had served his apprenticeship as a joiner in Jedburgh before emigrating to Canada and was working as a joiner in Calgary when he enlisted in May 1915. He was posted to his Battalion in France in August 1916. He is buried in Adanac Military Cemetery, Miraumont, Somme, France. He fell in an attack on “Regina Trench” where some of the objectives were taken but the attack stalled due to enfilade machine gun fire. Private Oliver had led some stretcher bearers to a wounded comrade in no mans land and was returning when he was struck by a shell. Casualties were 5 Officers and 29 Other Ranks killed and 7 Officers and 91 Other Ranks were wounded. In addition 82 Other Ranks were posted missing. By this time conditions on the Somme were very bad with atrocious ground conditions and the photos try to show this in part. The colour image shows a peaceful Somme landscape today ” with no gas, no barbed wire, no guns firing now”.
