William arrived in France as part of the 43rd Battery Royal Field Artillery on the 16/08/1914. He fell when part of the 57th Battery who were part of the 43rd Brigade, 1st Division and went to France in August 1914. The Battery moved to 8th Division on 23/06/1915 and was soon placed into that Division's 128 (Howitzer) Brigade Royal Field Artillery. The 57th Battery joined 45th Brigade, 8th Division on the 18/05/1916. William was killed when in action with the 57th Battery. By 9.55 pm his Battery had fired off a good many shells when 1 burst prematurely just outside his gun wounding him just under the heart. He was injured severely and never regained consciousness. See Newspaper clippings for letter to William's mother from Major Sherlock and from the Chaplain of his Regiment. See photos (x5) for the 45th Brigade's War Diary on the day William fell. This was 6 days after the Division took part in the Battle of Albert, 1st - 13th July 1916 : In this opening phase of the Battles of the Somme, 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. William is listed as THOMSON on the Coatbridge Memorial and the 1901 Census. Grave photo kindly donated by Mick McCann at the British War Graves website who supply photos FREE OF CHARGE
here. William is also remembered on the Gartsherrie Works and Middle United Free Church Rolls of Honour (as THOMSON see photos) and in the St. Augustine's Parish (book) Roll of Honour. See photos for William's Medal Index Card, his Newspaper clippings x 3, the Gartsherrie Works Roll of Honour x 3, William's name on the Gartsherrie Works Roll of Honour, his CWGC Grave Registration, his Headstone Report x 2, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls x 2, his Pension Records x 5, Laventie Military Cemetery and the Royal Field Artillery Cap Badge.
