Sergeant Andrew Smith

Sergeant Andrew Smith, 1st/9th ( Highland ) Battalion, Royal Scots. He was killed in action in France , aged 21, on the 31st March 1918 during the German March Offensive ( Operation Michael ). He had been born in Selkirk in 1896 and was the son of Elizabeth and the late John Smith of 14 Kirk Wynd, Selkirk. Before enlisting he had been employed in the pattern room of George Roberts & Co. in Selkirk and he is buried in Toronto Cemetery, Demuin, France. At that time the Battalion having conducted a fighting retreat since the beginning of the Offensive on the 21st March were in the vicinity of Villers-Bretonneux. Between the 21st and 31st March the Battalion lost 3 Officers and 45 Other Ranks killed and 15 Officers and 287 Other Ranks wounded. In addition 138 Other Ranks were posted missing, some of whom would have been captured. The Battalion was part of the 154th Brigade in the 51st ( Highland ) Division and after the War an impressive Memorial was raised in its commemoration. It was erected overlooking “Y” Ravine in Newfoundland Park on the Somme which was taken when the Division stormed 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 during the Offensive.