Andrew and the Battalion (often known as the Glasgow Boys Brigade Battalion) arrived at Boulogne on the 23/11/1915 and were part of the 97th Brigade, 32nd Division. Andrew was reported as 'wounded and missing' and 'hospital and wounded' when his father tried to find out what happened to his son. It was over a year later that it was stated that he 'most probably' died on that fateful opening day of the Battles of the Somme. He fell at the Battle of Albert, 1st - 13th July 1916 : In this opening phase, the French and British assault broke into and gradually moved beyond the first of the German defensive systems. For the British, the attack on the 1st July proved to be the worst day in the nation's military history in terms of casualties sustained. It is the aspect of the battle that is most remembered and most written about, and for good reason, but to concentrate on the failures is to entirely miss the point of the Somme and why the battle developed into an epic period of the Great War. On the first day, British forces at the southern end of the British line made an impressive advance alongside the French Sixth Army, capturing the villages of Montauban and Mametz and breaking through the enemy's defensive system. North of Mametz the attack was an almost unmitigated failure. The situation led to a redirection of effort, with the offensive north of the River Ancre effectively being closed down and all future focus being on the line south of Thiepval. There was a stiff fight for Trones Wood and costly, hastily planned and piecemeal attacks that eventually took La Boisselle, Contalmaison and Mametz Wood during the rest of the period up to the 13th July. Andrew's body was eventually recovered and he was reburied in Lonsdale Cemetery (see photos). He was 1 of 15 to fall on this day. SEE PHOTOS x 8 FOR THE BATTALION WAR DIARY 1st JUNE - 7th JULY 1916 and PHOTOS x 22 FOR THE BATTALION WAR DIARY APPENDICES 1, 2 AND 3. The Battle of Albert was the opening phase of the Battles of the Somme, 1st July - 18th November 1916 : A Franco-British offensive that was undertaken after Allied strategic conferences in late 1915, but which changed its nature due to the German attack against the French in the epic Battle of Verdun, which lasted from late February to November. Huge British losses on the first day and a series of fiercely-contested steps that became attritional in nature. For all armies on the Western Front it was becoming what the Germans would call "materialschlacht" : a war not of morale, will or even manpower, but of sheer industrial material might. The 15th September 1916 saw the first-ever use of tanks in the step known as the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. The British army in France is now approaching its maximum strength in numbers but is still developing in terms of tactics, technology, command and control. Andrew's Grave photo donated by Mick McCann at the British War Graves website who supply photos FREE OF CHARGE
here. Andrew is also remembered on the Coatbridge Technical College Roll of Honour (see photos) and in the St. Augustine's Parish (book) Roll of Honour. See photos for Andrew's Medal Index Card, his Newspaper clippings x 2, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls x 2, Lonsdale Cemetery, his CWGC Grave Registration x 2, his Headstone Report x 2, Andrew's Pension Records x 3 and the Highland Light Infantry Cap Badge. Andrew's grave inscription reads "THOUGH GONE FROM SIGHT TO MEMORY DEAR". Finally, see photo for Newspaper clipping x 5 (Coatbridge Express x 1, Coatbridge Leader x 1 and Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser x 3) and the 32nd Division Order of Battle x 14 (the Division who he was with when he died). For the Battalions WW1 History this book is the History of the 17th (Service) Battalion (same record as the 16th) - https://ia800306.us.archive.org/29/items/17thHLI00glasuoft/17thHLI00glasuoft.pdf
