Lance Corporal William Halliday

Lance Corporal William Halliday, 17th (3rd Glasgow) Battalion, Highland Light Infantry. He was killed in action in France, aged 22, on 7th August 1916 during the Battle of the Somme and is buried in Cambrin Churchyard Extension, Cambrin, France. He had been born in Lauder and was the son of Thomas and Helen Halliday of Loan Park, Lauder. Before enlisting he had been employed as a draper in Glasgow having served his apprenticeship in Lauder. His Battalion was a “Pals” Battalion and known as the ” Glasgow Chamber of Commerce Battalion. Pals Battalions were a phenomenon which was unique to the Great War and was mostly to be found in the North and Midlands of England. Scotland raised few such Battalions but this was one of them. They were raised by volunteers who worked together, played together or belonged to the same organisation. They would work together, fight together and often die together. The photograph shows a recently captured trench on the Somme with the chalk soil of the Region very evident and much battered by artillery. The other photos show Scottish troops on the Somme.