Private James Pearson

Private James Pearson, 1st/4th ( Territorial ) Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders. He was killed in action, aged 20, on the 23rd March 1918 on the third day of the the German March Offensives ( Operation Michael ). He had been born in Selkirk in 1898 and was the son of the late James and Elizabeth Pearson of 96 Back Row, Selkirk. He is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, Arras, France. The Battalion was in the 154th ( Highland ) Brigade Brigade in the 51st ( Highland ) Division and after the War a very impressive Memorial was raised in its commemoration. It was erected overlooking “Y” Ravine in Newfoundland Park on the Somme where on 13th November 1916 the Division stormed and took the strong German positions in Beaumont Hamel. A plaque on the Memorial reads in both English and Gaelic ” Friends Are Good On the day Of Battle “. The photos show Allied troops in defensive positions.