Private John Scott

Private John Crawford Scott, 8th ( Service ) Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders. He was killed in action in France, aged 22, on the 25th September 1915 on the first day of the Battle of Loos. He had been born in Selkirk in 1892 and was the son of Andrew and Eleanor Scott of 25 Heatherlie Terrace, Selkirk and he is commemorated on the Loos Memorial, Dud Corner, Loos, France. His Battalion was part of the 44th Brigade in the 15th ( Scottish ) Division and he fell in the attack towards the village of Loos and Hill 70. Loos was captured and Hill 70 attacked but the attackers went too far forward and suffered heavy casualties before retiring to consolidate their gains. The Battalion suffered 23 Officer and 479 Other Rank Casualties. This was the first time the British Army had used gas in the War. The first photo shows Highlanders marching up to the line before the battle and  the second photograph shows troops advancing in a ghostly cloud of gas and smoke . The third shows the village of loos after its capture and the fourth shows Hill 70 beyond Loos.