William Buchanan

 

William was born on 14th December 1893 at 123 Blythswood Drive, Glasgow.  (At least one of his army documents says he was born at St Andrews in Fife, but this is incorrect.)

His father, also William, was a "Registrar of Births, etc" according the record of his marriage to Margaret (Maggie) Lochhead Loudon in 1891.  He had one sister, May, who was a year older.

William was educated at Bearsden Public School (now the primary school at Bearsden Cross), then Glasgow High School.  He was in the Scouts and the Boys Brigade.

When he left school he initially went to work as a mercantile clerk for James Morton and Sons.  They were iron merchants, meaning they bought iron from makers and sold it (or stored until prices improved) before selling to the highest bidder.  Their office was at 8 Prince's Square, Glasgow, prior to its metamorphosis into a centre for eating and shopping in the late 1980s.  The approximate site of number 8 is the poster of the woman's face to the left:

If you want to see the pre-1988 Prince's Square please see this post.

William then went to work for a large engineering firm, P&W McLellan, in the shipping department.  In the 1911 Census William and his family live at Enderley, Erskine Park, Bearsden, which is now number 6 South Erskine Park.  They moved soon after because in William's army documents his address is given as Leabank in Bearsden.  I can track this to Chapelton Avenue, but which modern house number is unclear:

He seems to have enrolled quickly when war broke out and may have been a volunteer before 1914, because by July 1915 he was a private in the 6th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry sailing from Plymouth.  His battalion was aboard the Anchor Line ship 'Transylvania', newly completed and on her first voyage, and carrying the 5th and 6th HLI to Alexandria in Egypt where, after a stay of a few days, other ships took them to Gallipoli where they went ashore at Lancashire Landing on 2nd July.

The objective was the Gallipoli peninsula to attack Germany's ally, Turkey (then the Ottoman Empire).

The initial landings had taken place over two months earlier and progress had been limited.  Tactics of the day seem to have been confined to attrition, an artillery barrage followed by a sudden rush of our infantry towards their trenches.  Battles were of attrition with heavy casualties on both sides and as a result many of the battalions who landed already were physically and mentally exhausted.  The newly arrived and fresh Scottish battalions offered the chance to launch a fresh attack.

A 'bird's eye view' of the Cape Helles peninsula, the site of the fighting on 12th July is indicated in the centre of the photo towards the top.

William wrote a letter home:

Trenches

9/7/15

Dear Folks,

Here we are at last after many days [referring to the sea voyage to reach Gallipoli].  I don't know if you would be able to make any sense out of my last letter, as it must have been all blue marks together.  You see, we had such short notice that I simply shoved in anything, and handed it in. [Officers read and censored men's letters home in blue ink when they made reference to information that could help the enemy.]  However, you must not expect any lurid descriptions, and therefore my notes will be considerably shorter than heretofore.

After lying in the 'dug-outs' for two or three days, we received orders to move up to the first line fire trench.  Naturally we were all very excited, and scurried about making everything ready for moving, but the orders were altered and we did not move until the following day.  As usual, it was terribly hot and we were 'all out' by the time we arrived at our destination.  It was an awful journey up through (seemingly) miles of trenches, which twisted and turned like The Maze.  The Turks must have worked for a long time on those trenches, for they were splendidly made.  Of course, our engineers have worked on them and the result is really fine.  

When our company went into the fire trench for the first time, naturally we felt jumpy, and banged away quite a lot of ammunition before we began to realise it was merely waste.  The most exciting time is at night, when the look-out have to out their heads over, but, like everything else, we got used to the bullets whizzing past, and found out that as long as we remained absolutely still very few shots came near.  'A' and 'B' were the first two Companies in the first trenches, and the 'C' and 'D' boys took their place the following night.  We went back to the support trenches, and came up here again yesterday.  This time, however, our lot are in 'B' Company's old trench and they are in ours, so it is still another new experience, as this one is quite close to the enemy trenches. There are some very fine shots among the Turks, but I am glad to say they have not done much damage to the 6th so far.  [One man died on the 8th and one on the 9th from rifle fire, attributed to snipers.]

We are being relieved to-day some time, so that surely means a few hours' sleep, and that is what we require mostly.  The grub is really good, and we have not much to complain of in that line.  I hope we are going back to our own 'dug-outs', for we have a rare wee stove made that goes like Billy-O!  My cooking is coming on rapidly, and I rather pride myself on being a coming 'chef'.  Unfortunately I was greedy this morning, and took a small piece of ham just off the pan.  I tell you my tongue is still sore and 'I don't suppose I'll do it again for months and months and months'.

10th July.  Had to stop and get ready for moving, so here is the continuation.  We got down after a great deal of delay owing to some stretcher parties getting in front of us, but not to our old places.  This is a new spot, quite near to 'B' Company's lines, so it is nice and handy for Ronnie [his friend, Lance Corporal Ronnie MacLaren] and me.

We have been out all morning digging new trenches for some troops or other, and now I hope we will get a decent rest.

I have received your second parcel and letters up to 17th June, so that is not bad at all.  I enjoyed the biscuits awfully and also the mixed toffies.  The little jar of ointment will be handy for any sore.  The parcels on the road sound tempting.  Only hope I get them.  The thick socks will come in useful as we may not have much time later on in which to wash things, and the old ones will just be left.

The letter finishes on the 10th.  The 6th went back into the line on the evening of the 11th July but the handover was delayed by Turkish shelling and there was little sleep.  

On the morning of the 12th, another Scottish brigade attacked to the right; the plan was to wait until the afternoon for William's battalion (and the others in the brigade) to attack because there was not enough artillery to support two attacks at the same time.  The result was that William and his pals would have been in the front line, hot, thirsty, hungry and drooping by the afternoon and the Turkish defences were thoroughly alerted.  There was doubt whether the afternoon attack should be made as the morning attack had ended in confusion and limited progress.

The trenches occupied by the HLI are in the lower half of the map.  6th HLI were attacking from where Nelson Avenue met Trotman Road, to the left and attacking Turkish trenches E and F 11 and 12 up the gully.

The attack was confirmed and at 4.50pm the first wave of 6th HLI, men of A Company, climbed out of the trenches William had described and advanced towards the Turkish lines.  William was hit and killed very quickly, possibly by a bullet but there are reports of Turkish artillery firing shrapnel.  A letter home from one of the men in his company said, "We buried him where we found him, just twenty yards from the trench, and put a rough cross over his grave."

Illustrative of the type of ground where the fighting took place (not HLI soldiers)

I am indebted to Andy Crooks for this modern view, from up the hill (so behind the Turkish lines.  The Trotman Road and Parsons Road trenches would have been where the trees now grow just above the silver car (centre-right).

Lieutenant G Patrick Speirs, the officer commanding A Company wrote to William's parents on 16th July: "It is with deepest regret I have to inform you of the death of your son.  He was killed during a charge of the 6th H.L.I. on 12th July.  His body has been buried near the spot where he fell.  Knowing him by name, through the Antiquity Society, I took a personal interest in your son..  He was a splendid fellow, and had the makings of a good NCO, and I was indeed sorry to learn he had fallen.  Our casualties were very heavy, and Lce-Corpl. Buchanan, like many other brave men, fell doing their duty.

Sympathising with you in your great loss, I am, yours faithfully .."

The battalion war diary says 36 were killed, 167 wounded, 72 missing.  CWGC records 95 dead in 6th HLI that day and 13 in the rest of July which would have included several who died from wounds received on the 12th.  This included William's friend, Ronnie, who was on a ship being taken to a hospital in Malta.  He was buried at sea.

William is commemorated on the Helles Memorial (photos from this website):

While he was buried at the time, the location was lost and so he has no known grave.  (The monument was designed by Glasgow architect John James Burnet.)

Ronald George Maclaren, 'Ronnie' in William's letter home, was born in 1893 at 6 Wilton Gardens, Kelvinbridge.  His father died when he was 5 and the family seem to have moved about, the 1911 census entry having proven especially difficult to find.  A newspaper report says he lived in Bearsden but I cannot find any evidence of this - it's also possible he knew William through school or work, and they may well have joined-up together.  Ronnie was in B company, and wrote home from Gallipoli that it was all 'a glorified picnic', but also that some of the men had not had a drink in 16 hours (some picnic).  He was wounded in the same attack as described above, made it to an aid station and thence to the hospital ship Asturias, but died on the voyage to a hospital Malta and was buried at sea.

George Patrick Speirs, the officer who wrote to William's parents, knew him through the Antiquity Society.  This is The Grand Antiquity Society, part of the Trades House of Glasgow, an association of prominent citizens to carry out educational and charitable works.  Speirs was from Dennistoun, a pre-war rugby player of some renown, who continued to serve with 6th HLI in France after Gallipoli was evacuated.  By 1st October 1918 he was a major but was wounded and as he was carried to an aid post, the party was hit by  shell and he was killed.  He made it to seven weeks from the end of the war.

William's sister, May Margaret Buchanan was an arts student and when married in 1918, aged 25, she was described as "Mistress of Languages".  Her husband was Alexander Ferguson of Lothian Gardens, a lieutenant in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlander.  We have a glimpse of them in 1936 as they return by ship into Liverpool from Montreal - Alexander was a United Free Church minister and they lived at St Andrews Manse in Falkirk.