Private Thomas Millar

Private Robert Hind Millar, 1st/9th ( Highland ) Battalion, Royal Scots. He was killed in action in France , aged 32, on the 23rd April 1917 during the battle of Arras. He had been born in Selkirk in 1885 and was the son of the late James Millar and Isabella Millar of 83 Buccleuch Street, Selkirk. He was buried in Level Crossing Cemetery, Fampoux, France. Before enlisting he had been employed as a machine cleaner in Peebles and Selkirk. He fell in a general Divisional attack on the notorious Chemical Woks near Roeux. In the face of intense opposition some of the day’s Objectives were secured at a cost of 5 Officers and 54 Other Ranks killed and 2 Officers and 115 Other Ranks wounded. In addition 55 Other Ranks were posted missing. The Battalion, known as “the Dandy Ninth, was in the 154th Brigade in the 51st ( Highland ) Division and after the War an impressive Memorial was raised in commemoration of its prowess during the War. It was erected in Newfoundland Park on the Somme overlooking “Y” Ravine which was taken when the Division stormed and captured the very strong German positions in Beaumont Hamel on 13th November 1916. A plaque on the Memorial reads in both English and Gaelic ” Friends Are Good On The Day Of Battle”.