Corporal Charles Yule

Corporal Charles Yule, 1st/4th ( Border ) Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers. He was killed in action at Gallipoli, aged 23, on the 12th July 1915 during the ” Charge” on the Turkish trenches at Achi baba Nullah. He was born in 1874 in Galashiels and was the son of Charlotte ( Yule )Amos and the stepson of Walter Amos of 4a Curror Street, Selkirk. He had served in the Territoral 4th K.O.S.B. until 1909 and was working as a spinner at Yarrow Mill, Selkirk when he re-enlisted in May 1914 being promoted Corporal in May 1915. He landed on Gallipoli on the 15th June 1915 with his Battalion and the rest of the 52nd ( Lowland ) Division. He is commemorated on the Helles Memorial, Gallipoli, Turkey. 12th July 1915 became known as the ” Black Day of the Borders” as out of the over 700 Officers and Other Ranks who had begun the attack only 70 unwounded men answered evening roll call. Few Border towns and villages had not lost at least one of their sons that fateful day. (The author’s Great Uncle Corporal James Murray was wounded during the attack and spent six weeks in Hospital in Alexandria before returning to Gallipoli or “the Pen” as he called it. He finally returned home to Coldstream in December 1918 ). The first photo shows Achi Baba, the objective of the attack. This ” hill” dominated the battlefield and was never captured. The second photograph shows the Borderers going ” over the top” at Gallipoli and the third shows the battlefield in 1922.