Private William Johnston

Private William Johnston, 15th Battalion, ( Glasgow Tramways ), Highland Light Infantry. He was killed in action in France on 3rd July 1916, aged 29, on the third day of the Battle of the Somme and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Thiepval, Somme, France. He was the son of John and Jane  Johnston, surfaceman, of Sandholm, Newcastleton and before enlisting in August 1914 he was living in Glasgow and was employed by the Glasgow Tramways Co. as a conductor. He had been a Territorial with the 5th K.O.S.B before moving to Glasgow. He was survived by his widow and one child. The 15th H.L.I. was a ” Pals ” Battalion and originally was formed from employees of Glasgow Tramways. The photographs show Scottish troops on the Somme with the colour image showing a peaceful Somme landscape today with ” no gas, no barbed wire, no guns firing now”.

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