James McKellar likeness

James McKellar cap badgePrivate James McKellar

10th (Service) Battalion Highland Light Infantry
Service No: 12468

James McKellar grave

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Click here for a frameable A4 print
Personal details

Family Information

Son of Neil and Charlotte Dalling McKellar (mother listed as Flora on the 1881 Census). Husband of Ellen McKellar (30/09/1884 - ) of 469 Main St, Coatbridge. From the 1891 Census - Address - 3 Stewart Street 91 Cliftonhill Bldgs, Coatbridge - Jane Brown aged 55, Mary Brown aged 21, Alexander Brown aged 18, boarders Neil McKellar aged 40, James McKellar aged 13. James' Pension was awarded to his wife on the 05/06/1916.

Born / Resided

Coatbridge / 469 Main St, Coatbridge

Died

Killed in Action on the 25/09/1915 near Cambrin on the opening day of the Battle of Loos

Enlisted

Hamilton 1914

Employed

Union Tube Works

Age

35

Buried / Remembered

Loos Memorial (Panel 108 to 112), Pas de Calais, France

Cemetery / Memorial Information

The Loos Memorial commemorates over 20,000 officers and men who have no known grave, who fell in the area from the River Lys to the old southern boundary of the First Army, east and west of Grenay, from the first day of the Battle of Loos to the end of the war. On either side of the cemetery is a wall 15 feet high, to which are fixed tablets on which are carved the names of those commemorated. At the back are four small circular courts, open to the sky, in which the lines of tablets are continued, and between these courts are three semicircular walls or apses, two of which carry tablets, while on the centre apse is erected the Cross of Sacrifice.

Additional Information

James and the Battalion arrived at Boulogne on the 12/05/1915 and were part of the 28th Brigade, 9th (Scottish Division). On the 14/05/1916 they transferred to the 46th Brigade, 15th (Scottish) Division and amalgamated with 11th (Service) Battalion to form the 10/11th Battalion. The Battle of Loos, 25th September to the 15th October 1915 : The first genuinely large scale British offensive action but once again only in a supporting role to a larger French attack in the Third Battle of Artois. British appeals that the ground over which they were being called upon to advance was wholly unsuitable were rejected. The battle is historically noteworthy for the first British use of poison gas. The opening day of The Battle of Loos : Zero hour was fixed for 05.50 a.m. On the left of the Division were the 10th Highland Light Infantry and the 6th King's Own Scottish Borderers were on the right. At 06.30 they advanced in 3 lines against the German trenches. The 10th Highland Light Infantry : As the wind was too weak to carry the gas forward from the trenches many of the men were suffering from the effects of it when they left the front line. At the very start the ranks of the Battalion were thinned by a storm of shell, rifle and machine-gun fire, a considerable amount being killed or wounded. The men pushed on but were unable to penetrate the enemy's wire. Before vicious machine-gun fire from Madagascar Trench, Railway Work and Mad Point the attack melted away and most of the survivors struggled back to the trenches none of whom had broken through the German wire. SEE PHOTOS x 6 FOR THE 10th (SERVICE) BATTALION WAR DIARY ON THE 25/09/1915. THE BATTALION CASUALTIES ON THE 25/09/1915 (NON COMMISSIONED OFFICERS + MEN) - "A" COMPANY : 29 KILLED, 66 MISSING, 45 WOUNDED, 22 GASSED (TOTAL = 162), "B" COMPANY : 66 KILLED, 70 MISSING, 33 WOUNDED, 6 GASSED (TOTAL = 175), "C" COMPANY : 28 KILLED, 46 MISSING, 46 WOUNDED, 7 GASSED (TOTAL = 127), "D" COMPANY : 37 KILLED, 17 MISSING, 50 WOUNDED, 9 GASSED (TOTAL = 113). TOTAL : 160 KILLED, 199 MISSING, 174 WOUNDED, 49 GASSED = 577. OFFICERS - HQ : 1 KILLED, 1 WOUNDED, 1 GASSED, "A" COMPANY : 4 KILLED, "B" COMPANY : 3 KILLED, "C" COMPANY : 2 WOUNDED, "D" COMPANY : 1 KILLED, 2 WOUNDED. TOTAL : 9 KILLED, 5 WOUNDED, 1 GASSED = 15. Scottish Regiments lost a huge amount of brave men at Loos. Here is a list of Infantry Battalions who lost more than 500 men at the Battle of Loos from 25/09/1915 to 16/10/1915 - 7th Cameron Highlanders 687, of which 19 Officers, 9th Black Watch 680, of which 20 Officers, 6th King's Own Scottish Borderers 650, of which 20 Officers, 10TH HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY 648, of which 20 Officers, 7th King's Own Scottish Borderers 631, of which 20 Officers, 8th Devons 619, of which 19 Officers, 8th Royal West Kents 580, of which 24 Officers, 8th Buffs 558, of which 24 Officers, 12th Highland Light Infantry 553, of which 23 Officers, 8th Black Watch 511, of which 19 Officers, 5th North Staffordshire 505, of which 20 Officers, 8th Seaforth Highlanders 502, of which 23 Officers. James was Killed in Action on the opening day of the Battle of Loos. He was 1 of the many Coatbridge Memorial men to fall on this disastrous day. James was 1 of 99 men from the Coatbridge Memorial who fell during and from injuries from the Battle of Loos. He was originally posted as missing and his death was not confirmed until September 1916. The Battalion history states - "the 10th Highland Light Infantry suffered from our own gas before the attack, at the very start the ranks of the Battalion were thinned by a storm of shell, rifle and machine-gun fire, a considerable number being killed on the parapet". See photos for James' Medal Index Card, his Newspaper clipping, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls, his CWGC Grave Registration, his name on the Loos Memorial Panel List, James' Pension Record, his name on the Loos Memorial and the Highland Light Infantry Cap Badge.

Photos
James McKellar Medal Index CardJames McKellar newspaper clippingJames McKellar newspaper clippingJames McKellar newspaper clippingJames McKellar remembered at homeJames McKellar remembered at homeJames McKellar remembered at homeJames McKellar remembered at homeJames McKellar additional photoJames McKellar additional photoJames McKellar additional photoJames McKellar additional photoJames McKellar additional photoJames McKellar additional photoJames McKellar additional photoJames McKellar additional photoJames McKellar additional photoJames McKellar additional photoJames McKellar additional photoJames McKellar additional photoJames McKellar additional photoJames McKellar additional photoJames McKellar additional photoJames McKellar additional photoJames McKellar additional photo

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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