Sergeant John Cochrane

Sergeant John Cochrane

18th (Service) Battalion (Glasgow Yeomanry) Highland Light Infantry
Service No: 37787 previously 8972

1694

2

4

1

48

Click here for a frameable A4 print

Personal details

Family Information

Eldest son of James (1861 - 1951) and Mary Ann Hastings Cochrane (1863 - ). Husband of Annie Cummings Cochrane (03/02/1887 - 1963) of 37d Whifflet St (Revie's Land), Coatbridge. Father of 5 children. John had 3 brothers. John's younger brother Private William Cochrane of the 1st Battalion Seaforth Highlanders was Killed in Action on the 05/11/1917 aged 28. His brother-in-law Private George Cummings of the 12th (Service) Battalion Highland Light Infantry Died of Wounds on the 20/05/1916 aged 27. Brothers - George Cochrane (1885 - ), Andrew Cochrane (1888 - ) and William Cochrane (1890 - 1917). Children - Alexander Cochrane (25/10/1904 - 27/09/1969), Jean Cochrane (02/01/1916 - ), Christina (Tinny) Cochrane (06/03/1912 - ), John Cochrane (14/08/1910 - ) and Annie Cochrane (07/04/1908 - ). John's Pension was awarded to his wife Annie on the 16/12/1918. Their 5 children are also listed.

Born / Resided

Bellshill / 37d Whifflet St (Revie's Land), Coatbridge.

Died

Killed in Action on the 25/03/1918 at the 1st Battle of Bapaume (part of the 1st Battles of the Somme 1918)

Enlisted

Coatbridge 1914 originally Glasgow 03/09/1900

Employed

Miner previously a Labourer

Age

35 / DOB - 26/11/1882

Buried / Remembered

Pozieres Memorial (Panel 72), Somme, France.

Cemetery / Memorial Information

The POZIERES MEMORIAL relates to the period of crisis in March and April 1918 when the Allied Fifth Army was driven back by overwhelming numbers across the former Somme battlefields, and the months that followed before the Advance to Victory, which began on 8 August 1918. The Memorial commemorates over 14,000 casualties of the United Kingdom and 300 of the South African Forces who have no known grave and who died on the Somme from 21 March to 7 August 1918.

Additional Information

ADDITIONAL FAMILY INFORMATION : From the 1891 Census - Address - 27 Watsons Land, Coatbridge - James Cochrane aged 30, Mary Ann Cochrane aged 26, John Cochrane aged 8, George Cochrane aged 6, Andrew Cochrane aged 3, William Cochrane aged 1. John (Service Number 8972) arrived in France on the 02/05/1915 with the 1st Battalion Highland Light Infantry. The 18th (Service) Battalion arrived in France on the 01/02/1916 and were part of the 106th Brigade, 35th Division when John fell at the 1st Battle of Bapaume. This was part of the 1st Battles of the Somme, 21st March - 5th April 1918 : After transferring very large forces from the now-collapsed Eastern Front, the German Army commits to a series of large-scale offensives. The first, Operation Michael, strikes the British Fifth and Third Armies. A deep advance is made and inflicts large losses, although the second phase, Operation Mars, at Arras on the 28th March, is soon held. In the crisis, the Allies decide at Doullens to appoint French General Foch as co-ordinator, and soon enough, as Generalissimo. Before enough French and British reserves are finally assembled to hold the German advance before it captures the critical railway junctions at Amiens. SEE PHOTOS x 6 FOR THE BATTALION WAR DIARY MARCH 1918. According to the 35th Division book the Battalion casualties for March 1918 were : 6 Officers Wounded, 54 Other Ranks Killed and 172 Wounded. John was sent home in September 1917 with smallpox. He re-joined 6 months later to be back with his comrades. He previously joined the 4th Battalion Highland Light Infantry on the 03/09/1900 until 1906 as a Private (1753). See Directory for John's brother Private William Cochrane and his brother-in-law Private George Cummings' pages. See photos for John's Medal Index Card, his CWGC Grave Registration, his name on the Pozieres Memorial Panel List, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls, another photo of John kindly sent by his Grandson John Miller, John's name on the Pozieres Memorial x 2, the Highland Light Infantry Cap Badge, John's Attestation Papers (1900-1906) x 4 and his Pension Records x 2. Finally, see photos for Poppy placed at Pozieres Memorial by myself in July 2023 x 2, Pozieres Cemetery and Memorial taken by myself in July 2023 x 2, PHOTOS x 16 FOR THE 35th DIVISION BOOK 21st - 25th MARCH 1918 and the 35th Division Order of Battle x 14 (the Division John was with when he died).

Photos

War Diaries

The battalion War Diary is available on the National Archives website.

Creative Commons License

We have made this information and the images available under a Creative Commons BY-NC license. This means you may reuse it for non-commercial purposes only and must attribute it to us using the following statement: © coatbridgeandthegreatwar.com

Comments

Heart of a lion
John cochrane Miller , Belfast , 22/11/2018 11:47AM

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