Private William Hill

Private William Hill, 1st/4th ( Border ) Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers. He was killed in action at Gallipoli, aged 18, on the 12th July 1915 during the ” Charge” on the Turkish trenches at Gallipoli and is commemorated on the Helles Memorial, Helles, Gallipoli, Turkey. He was born in Selkirk and was brought up in Selkirk by his uncle and aunt David and Isabella Hill of Bridge Street, Selkirk and was employed as a mill worker. He had enlisted in the Territorial K.O.S.B. in March 1913 and went with them to Gallipoli in June 1915 as part of the 52nd (Lowland Division). The 12th July became known as the “Black Day of the Borders” as evening roll call saw only 70 unwounded men answer out of the over 700 Officers and Other Ranks who had begun the attack. Few indeed were the Border towns and villages who had not lost at least one of their sons. The ultimate objective of the attack was Achi Baba and the second photo shows the Borderers ” going over the top” at Gallipoli. The third shows the battlefield in 1922.