William Lawrie likeness

William Lawrie cap badgePrivate William Lawrie

11th (Service) Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
Service No: S/14708

William Lawrie grave

1746

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Click here for a frameable A4 print
Personal details

Family Information

Son of William Morton Lawrie (22/07/1859-21/03/1928) and Agnes Alexander Lawrie ( /04/1861-1927) of 107 Alexander St, Coatbridge. William's father was an engine fitter and his mother was English and was born in Liverpool. William was the eldest of the 3 Lawrie brothers who fell. He also had 4 sisters one of whom Jeannie was a teacher in Coatdyke School. His brothers were Lance Corporal Alexander of the 9th Battalion Black Watch who was Killed in Action on the 31/07/1917 and Signalman John of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve who drowned on the 24/11/1916. From 1901 Census - Address - 30 Alexander St, Coatbridge - William Lawrie aged 40, Agnes Lawrie aged 39, Jane Lawrie aged 9 (03/10/1891-1983), William Lawrie aged 7, John Lawrie aged 5, Alexander Lawrie aged 3, Mary Lawrie aged 1 (03/09/1899-1988).

Born / Resided

Coatbridge / 107 Alexander St, Coatbridge.

Died

Died of Wounds on the 12/10/1916. Wounds received at the Battle of Le Transloy (part of the Battles of the Somme)

Enlisted

Glasgow /11/1915

Employed

The Co-operative Society.

Age

23 / DOB - 15/07/1893

Buried / Remembered

Dernancourt Communal Cemetery Extension (III. F. 5), Somme, France.

Cemetery / Memorial Information

Field ambulances used the Communal Cemetery for Commonwealth burials from September 1915 to August 1916, and again during the German advance of March 1918. It contains 127 Commonwealth burials of the First World War.

Additional Information

William Died of Wounds received in the latter stages of the Battle of the Somme. All 3 Lawrie brothers died within 9 months of each other. Also see Pension Records for all 3 brothers whose Pensions were awarded to their mother Agnes. I personally placed a Poppy at William's resting place in 2010 to all 3 brothers as William is the only one with a grave (see main grave photo and Cemetery photo). The Battalion arrived at Boulogne on the 09/07/1915 and were part of the 45th Brigade, 15th (Scottish) Division. William Died of Wounds received at the Battle of Le Transloy, 1st – 18th October 1916 : A period of fighting in terrible weather in which the heavy, clinging, chalky Somme mud and the freezing, flooded battlefield became as formidable an enemy as the Germans. The British gradually pressed forward, still fighting against numerous counter-attacks, in an effort to have the front line on higher ground from which the offensive could be renewed in 1917. This was part 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. 15 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. William is also remembered on the Coats Parish Church Roll of Honour and at the Family Plot in Old Monkland Cemetery x 2 (see photos). See photos for William's Medal Index Card, his Newspaper clipping, his CWGC Grave Registration x 2, his Headstone Report x 2, Dernancourt Communal Cemetery Extension, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Cap Badge and William's Pension Records x 3 (all 3 Lawrie brothers listed). William's grave inscription reads "FONDLY REMEMBERED BY THOSE WHO LOVED HIM BEST" (see photos).

Photos
William Lawrie Medal Index CardWilliam Lawrie newspaper clippingWilliam Lawrie remembered at homeWilliam Lawrie remembered at homeWilliam Lawrie remembered at homeWilliam Lawrie remembered at homeWilliam Lawrie additional photoWilliam Lawrie additional photoWilliam Lawrie additional photoWilliam Lawrie additional photoWilliam Lawrie additional photoWilliam Lawrie additional photoWilliam Lawrie additional photoWilliam Lawrie additional photoWilliam Lawrie additional photoWilliam Lawrie additional photoWilliam Lawrie additional photo

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