Private John Darrie

Private John Darrie, 1st/4th ( Border ) Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers. He was killed at Gallipoli, aged 20, on 12th July 1915 during ” The Charge ” on the Turkish trenches at Achi Baba Nullah and is commemorated on the Helles Memorial, Gallipoli, Turkey. He had been born in Hume, Berwickshire and was the son of Anthony and Jane Darrie of Hoselaw Mains, Linton and of the Broom, Ancrum. That fateful day became known as the “Black Day of the Borders” as at evening roll call only 70 unwounded men answered out of the 700 Officers and Other Ranks who had begun the “Charge”. Few Border towns and villages had not lost at least one of their sons. The contemporary photograph shows Achi Baba, the objective, marked with a cross. This “Hill” dominated the battlefield and was never captured. The second photo shows the Borderers going over the top at Gallipoli and the third shows the battlefield in 1922.