Private William Pringle

Private William Pringle, 1st/4th ( Territorial ) Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders. He was killed in action, aged 19, in France on 21st March 1918 on the first day of the German March Offensive ( Operation Michael ). He had been born in Selkirk in 1898 and was the son of John and Helen Pringle of St Mary’s Mill Lodge, Selkirk. He is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, Arras, France. The Battalion was part of the 154th ( Highland Brigade) in the 51st (Highland) Division and after the War a very impressive Memorial was raised in it’s commemoration. It was erected in Newfoundland Park on the Somme overlooking “Y” Ravine where on the 13th November 1916 the Division had stormed the very strong German positions in Beaumont Hamel. A plaque on the Memoria reads in both English and Gaelic ” Friends Are Good On The day Of battle “. The photos show Allied troops in defensive positions.