Peter Loughan likeness

Peter Loughan cap badgePrivate Peter Loughan

8th (Service) Battalion Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) "B" Company
Service No: S/6457

Peter Loughan grave

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Click here for a frameable A4 print
Personal details

Family Information

Son of the late Robert and Victoria Loughan (Grant) of 67a Dundyvan Rd, Coatbridge. Brother of Lance Corporal Charles Loughan of the 1st Battalion Leinster Regiment who was Killed in Action on the 30/01/1915. From the 1901 Ireland Census - Address - 31 Little Georges, Dock Ward, Antrim, Ireland - Robert Loughan aged 60, Victoria Loughan aged 40, Robert Loughan aged 20, Annie Loughan aged 16, Nathaniel Loughan aged 15, Charles Loughan aged 10, Margaret Ann Loughan aged 8, Patrick Loughan aged 6, Peter Loughan aged 4, Sarah Loughan aged 2. Peter's Pension was awarded to his mother Victoria on the 31/03/1917.

Born / Resided

31 Little Georges St, Belfast / 67a Dundyvan Rd, Coatbridge.

Died

Killed in Action on the 14/07/1916 at Longueval during the Battle of Bazentin (part of the Battles of the Somme)

Enlisted

Coatbridge

Employed

Tinsmith in the Tinplate Iron Works.

Age

19

Buried / Remembered

Thiepval Memorial (Pier and Face 10 A), Somme, France.

Cemetery / Memorial Information

The memorial commemorates more than 72,000 men of British and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave, the majority of whom died during the Somme offensive of 1916. On the high ground overlooking the Somme River in France, where some of the heaviest fighting of the First World War took place, stands the Thiepval Memorial. Towering over 45 metres in height, it dominates the landscape for miles around. It is the largest Commonwealth memorial to the missing in the world. On 1 July 1916, supported by a French attack to the south, 13 divisions of Commonwealth forces launched an offensive on a line from north of Gommecourt to Maricourt. Despite a preliminary bombardment lasting seven days, the German defences were barely touched and the attack met unexpectedly fierce resistance. Losses were catastrophic and with only minimal advances on the southern flank, the initial attack was a failure. In the following weeks, huge resources of manpower and equipment were deployed in an attempt to exploit the modest successes of the first day. However, the German Army resisted tenaciously and repeated attacks and counter attacks meant a major battle for every village, copse and farmhouse gained. At the end of September, Thiepval was finally captured. The village had been an original objective of 1 July.

Additional Information

The Battalion arrived at Boulogne on the 10/03/1915 and were part of the 26th Brigade, 9th (Scottish) Division. Peter arrived exactly 2 months later and was Killed in Action at Longueval during the Battles of the Somme. The 9th (Scottish) Division captured Longueval on the 18th July. The Battle of Bazentin (or the Bazentin Ridge), 14th - 17th July 1916 : By the 13th of July the British advance had taken it to a point where it was now facing the second German defensive system. A well planned and novel night attack on the 14th July took British troops through that system in the area of Bazentin. There was a fleeting but lost opportunity to capture High Wood beyond it. 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. The 15th 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. The 9th (Scottish) Division casualties at the Somme (Longueval, Delville Wood) for the 01/07/1916 to the 20/07/1916 - Officers killed 82, wounded 214, missing 18. Other ranks killed 1148, wounded 5091, missing 964. Total Officers killed, wounded or missing 314. Other ranks killed, wounded or missing 7203. See Directory for Peter's elder brother Charles' page. See Newspaper clipping for letter sent to Peter's mother from the Lieutenant Colonel commanding the Black Watch. Peter is also remembered on the St. Augustine's Church Roll of Honour (see photos). See photos for Peter's Medal Index Card, his Newspaper clippings x 3, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls x 2, his name on the Ireland Casualties WW1, his name on the Thiepval Memorial, his CWGC grave Registration, his name on the Thiepval Memorial Panel List, the Black Watch Cap Badge and Peter's Pension Records x 2.

Photos
Peter Loughan Medal Index CardPeter Loughan newspaper clippingPeter Loughan newspaper clippingPeter Loughan newspaper clippingPeter Loughan remembered at homePeter Loughan remembered at homePeter Loughan remembered at homePeter Loughan remembered at homePeter Loughan additional photoPeter Loughan additional photoPeter Loughan additional photoPeter Loughan additional photoPeter Loughan additional photoPeter Loughan additional photo

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