Private Robert Hume

Private Robert Thomson Hume, 12th ( Service ) Battalion, Royal Scots. He was killed in action in Belgium, aged 23, on the 25th April 1918 during the German offensive on the River Lys. He had been born in Jedburgh and was the son of Arthur and Margaret Hume of 3 Duck Row, Jedburgh. He had served his apprenticeship as a grocer in Jedburgh before taking up a position in Tarbrax, Lanarkshire. He enlisted in the 13th R.S. in January 1915 and was wounded in August 1917. Upon recovery he was posted to the 12th Battalion in March 1918. He fell during the German assault in the Kemmel sector of the front. The enemy were repulsed to the Battalion front  but the French troops on the left flank were pushed back allowing the Germans to cut off the whole Battalion and part of the 6th K.O.S.B. who were in support. The Battalion fought on heroically but was practically wiped out on this disastrous battlefield. Casualties thus were very heavy. Between 21st-27th April 1 Officer and 3 Other Ranks were killed and 3 Officers and 54 Other Ranks were wounded. In addition 14 Officers and 502 Other Ranks were posted missing. ( some of the missing would probably have been prisoners). He is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, Zonnebeke, Flanders, Belgium. The photos show Allied troops in defensive positions. ( Photo of Private Hume is courtesy of J. D. Smith ).