Second Lieutenant John Watson

Second Lieutenant John Watson, 17th ( Service ) Battalion, Royal Scots. He was killed in action in France, aged 30, on the 27th April 1918 during the German offensive on the River Lys. In 1901 he was living in Tweedmouth with his adoptive parents Agnes and Alexander Watson who later moved to Branxton, Northumberland. He was married to Jessie Watson of St. Regulus, Church Street, Haddington. He had been employed in London with the British Linen Bank when he enlisted in the 9th Seaforth Highlanders in September 1914 being promoted to Colour Sergeant and going to France with the Battalion in May 1915. He was commissioned into the Royal Scots in May 1917 and joined the 17th Battalion in France later that year. He is buried in Harponville Communal Cemetery, France. The photos show Allied troops in defensive positions.