British and World Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Three: Private W. Reid, Scottish Rifles, who was killed in action in Gallipoli in June 1915

1914-15 Star (9562 Pte. W. Reid, Sco. Rif.); British War and Victory Medals (9562 Pte. W. Reid, Sco. Rif.), together with original Infantry Record Office transmittal letter for the 1914-15 Star, dated 7 April 1920, good very fine (3) £180-220

William Reid was born in Townhead, Glasgow and pre-war was employed in the North British Locomotive Works at Cowlairs. Enlisting in the Scottish Rifles, he was drafted to the 8th Battalion, which unit landed at V Beach, Cape Helles on the night of 13 June 1915 but, a little over a fortnight later, he was among those killed in an attack on enemy trenches on the 28th, Colonel J.M. Findlay reporting that his men were wiped out within about five minutes. Interestingly, in his subsequent history of the 8th Battalion, the Colonel refers to a ‘boy called Reid’ who lay near him in a sap, mortally wounded - two men from the unit with this surname died that day:

‘By this time it cannot have been more than 11.30, though an age seemed to have passed. Perforce I remained where I was; my senses were quite alert. It was insufferably hot, and I recollect having a drink of water, and giving one to a boy called Reid, who lay mortally wounded alongside me. Perhaps about an hour afterwards, I was aroused by a young officer of the 7th Scottish Rifles (which battalion had been in reserve), who came along and asked me what to do. I asked how many men he had got and he replied “only my platoon.” I told him to go back and get his Commanding Officer to push on with his whole battalion. He went away, and we all remained lying there in that sap, sometimes conscious, sometimes blessedly unconscious.

The heat as we lay there was appalling, but things were gradually getting quieter; what we longed for was coolness. Reid, poor lad, was by this time in agony, he had been shot in the stomach, and all I could do for him was to give him a little more water. Sometime during that afternoon, I heard afterwards, a scrub fire was kindled between the enemy lines and ours; it was never known whether the fire was caused accidentally or designedly, its awful results were, however, the same - a terrible culmination of the morning’s tragedy.’

In total, the Battalion sustained casualties of 14 officers and 334 other ranks killed, wounded, missing or mortally wounded, and another 11 officers and 114 other ranks wounded.

Aged 26 years, Reid has no know grave and is commemorated on the Helles Memorial, Gallipoli; sold with research including copied local newspaper obituary with portrait photograph.