Private Thomas Russell

Private Thomas Russell, 1st/9th ( Highland ) Battalion, Royal Scots. He died in France on the 12th April 1918 , aged 19, of wounds sustained during the German Spring Offensives on the River Lys. He had been born in Shotts, Lanarkshire and was the son of the late Duncan Russell and Jane Russell of Shotts. His Aunt Janet Richard of 6 High St., Selkirk was named in his will. He is buried in Merville Communal Cemetery, Extension, Merville, France. He had enlisted in a training Battalion and posted to the Highland Light Infantry before being transferred into the Royal Scots. After the War an impressive Memorial was raised to commemorate the 51st ( Highland ) Division of which the Battalion was part. It was erected in Newfoundland Park on the Somme overlooking “Y” Ravine which was taken when the Division stormed the strong German positions in Beaumont Hamel on the 13th November 1916. A Plaque on the Memorial reads in both English and Gaelic ” Friends Are Good On The Day Of Battle “. The photos show Allied troops during the Offensives.