Robert Weir

Robert arrived in France on the 03/06/1916 as a Corporal in the 1/7th Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. The 15th (Service) Battalion Durham Light Infantry arrived at Boulogne on the 11/09/1915 and were part of the 64th Brigade, 21st Division when Robert was Killed in Action on the opening day of the 1st Battle of the Scarpe, 9 - 14 April 1917. He was shot through the heart as he led his platoon in an attack on the Hindenburg Line. A comrade wrote that Robert "did his duty like a man and a hero". The Battle was part of the Arras offensive (Battle of Arras), 9th April -16th June 1917 : Once again the British are called upon to launch an attack in support to a larger French offensive: the battles of the Chemin des Dames and the hills of Champagne. The opening Battle of Vimy and the First Battle of the Scarpe are very encouraging, but once again the offensive - often known as the Battle of Arras - bogs down into an attritional slog. Final attempts to outflank the German lines at Bullecourt prove terribly costly. Robert tried to join the Army in September 1915 but was rejected. He had an operation and enlisted as a Corporal in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (5378, 277185). He was involved in the Battle of the Somme and was sent back from the firing line with a poisoned foot in December 1916. Treatment in a Rouen Hospital lasted over 1 month. Early in 1917 Robert attended Cadet School and was transferred to the 15th (Service) Battalion Durham Light Infantry. Robert was a graduate of Glasgow University. He took his theological training at Glasgow United Free College and was an Assistant Minister in Selkirk when he enlisted as a Private in the 1/7th (Service) Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (5378). Robert is listed as LIEUTENANT on the Coatbridge Memorial. On the 14/10/1917 a baptismal font was presented to Dunbeth United Free Church by the Reverend and Mrs Weir. It was in memory of Robert and his brother John who had died in 1905. The font is still in use in St. Andrews Church, Coatbridge. Robert is also remembered on the Dunbeth Parish Church Roll of Honour and at the Family Plot in Old Monkland Cemetery (see photos). See photos for Robert's Medal Index Card, his Newspaper clipping, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his name in the Scotland National Probate Index 1917, the University of Glasgow with the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) Memorial in the foreground, the University of Glasgow Chapel Roll of Honour, Robert's name on the University of Glasgow's Chapel Roll of Honour, the University of Glasgow's photo of Robert, his CWGC Grave Registration x 2, his Headstone Report x 2, his previous Regiment the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Cap Badge and the Durham Light Infantry Cap Badge. Robert's grave inscription reads "A GOOD SOLDIER OF JESUS CHRIST".