Peter Fawcett likeness

Peter Fawcett cap badgePrivate Peter Fawcett

1/9th (Glasgow Highland) Battalion Highland Light Infantry attached to the 18th (Glasgow Yeomanry) Battalion Highland Light Infantry
Service No: 333022 - 6292

Peter Fawcett grave

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Personal details

Family Information

Son of John and Bridget Bonner Fawcett of 17g Kildonan St, Coatbridge then 38 Riddell Street, Coatbridge. Peter's uncle James Bonner was the Headmaster of St. Patrick's School and his mother taught here too. His father John enlisted in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and was sent to India. Peter also studied at St. Aloysius and St. Mungo Schools. From the 1901 Census - Address - 88 Mack St, New Monkland - John Fawcett aged 38, Bridget Fawcett aged 32, Peter Fawcett aged 5, Bridget Fawcett aged 1. Peter had another sister called Patricia (1905-1987). Peter's Pension was awarded to his mother Bridget and then to his father John of 38 Riddell St, Coatbridge. The Pension was awarded on the 31/01/1919.

Born / Resided

Coatbridge / 17g Kildonan St, Coatbridge.

Died

Killed in Action on the 20/05/1918 by the bursting of a shell at Aveluy Wood near Albert

Enlisted

Glasgow /06/1916 with the Lanarkshire Yeomanry

Employed

Student (received his full teaching certificates).

Age

22

Buried / Remembered

Martinsart British Cemetery (I. F. 62 Coll.), Somme, France.

Cemetery / Memorial Information

Martinsart was close to the Allied front line until September 1916, and again from March to August 1918. Martinsart British Cemetery was begun at the end of June 1916, when 14 men of the 13th Royal Irish Rifles, killed by a shell, were buried in what is now Plot I, Row A. It was used as a front-line cemetery until October 1916 and again in September 1918, when bodies were brought in from the battlefields for burial by V Corps. After the Armistice, the cemetery was enlarged when more graves were brought in from the area north, east and south of the village. There are 488 First World War servicemen buried or commemorated in the cemetery. 155 of the burials are unidentified but special memorials commemorate six casualties believed to be buried among them. The cemetery is unusual in that the graves are marked by stones made from red Corsehill or Locharbriggs sandstone, rather than the more usual Portland stone.

Additional Information

The 18th (Glasgow Yeomanry) Battalion were part of the 106th Brigade, 35th Division. The Division was largely comprised of locally raised units known as 'Bantams', manned by troops who were under the normal regulation minimum height of 5 feet 3 inches. Peter was formerly with the Lanarkshire Yeomanry (1812). Peter was wounded previously in France. SEE PHOTOS x 12 FOR THE 18th (GLASGOW YEOMANRY) BATTALION WAR DIARY APRIL - MAY 1918. The War Diary states - "VARENNES 19/05/1918 : Battalion moved to the line relieving 16th ROYAL WELSH FUSILIERS on Left Battalion Front of AVELUY WOOD near ALBERT. Casualties - 1 Officer and 2 Other Ranks Killed and 6 Other Ranks Wounded. AVELUY WOOD 20/05/1918 : Battalion in the Line. Enemy artillery was very active in the earlier part of the night 19/20 and our artillery replied with very harassing fire practically all night. Patrols out during night, but saw no signs of enemy". ALSO SEE PHOTOS x 16 FOR THE 35th DIVISION BOOK 21st - 25th MARCH 1918 and PHOTOS x 24 FOR THE DIVISION BOOK 26th MARCH - 20th MAY 1918. The Division book states casualties for the 18th (Glasgow Yeomanry) Battalion May 1918 were - "Officers - 2 Killed, 1 Wounded. Other Ranks - 9 Killed, 15 Wounded". Peter's Grave photo kindly donated by Mick McCann at britishwargraves.co.uk. The Cemetery is unusual in that the graves are marked by stones made from red Corsehill or Locharbriggs sandstone, rather than the more usual Portland stone. See photos for Peter's Medal Index Card, his Newspaper clipping, the North Lanarkshire Electoral Register 1935 (listing his parents and sister Patricia), his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls, his CWGC Grave Registration x 2, his Headstone Report x 4, Martinsart British Cemetery, his Pension Records x 4, Peter's former Regiment the Lanarkshire Yeomanry Cap Badge and the Highland Light Infantry Cap Badge. Peter's grave inscription reads "SOLDIER REST. THY WARFARE O'ER. DREAM OF BATTLE FIELDS NO MORE". Finally, see photos for the 35th Division Order of Battle x 14 (the Division Peter was with when he died) and Newspaper clippings x 2 (Coatbridge Express x 1 and Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser x 1).

Photos
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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

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