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Wisharts Who Served Lance Corporal William Wishart on 1 December

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Wisharts Who Served Lance Corporal William Wishart on 1 December Wisharts Who Served Lance Corporal William Wishart On 1 December 1915 William enlisted at 261 West Princes Street in Glasgow with the 3rd/5th Battalion Scottish Rifles (Cameronians) which had been formed as a depot training unit in November 1914 and were stationed in Yorkshire at the time. On enlistment Private William Wishart (297) was recorded as being 5ft 7in and weighing 123 lbs, fit for duty and was immediately embodied for service and sent south by train to Ripon. The 3rd/5th battalion became the 5th Reserve Battalion on 8 April 1916, and was garrisoned four days later at Catterick. By early summer 1916, William was transferred to the 4th (Reserve) Battalion Royal Scots and left Southampton for Le Havre on 3 June (arriving on 4 June) then proceeding to number 5 Infantry Base Depot in Rouen. A month later on 10 July Private William Wishart (43760) was one of 298 men drafted to the 16th Battalion Royal Scots and arrived at the Front in Hennecourt Wood a day later on 11 July. By the end of July the battalion was in the front line trenches to the left of High Wood and it is possible William saw his first action of the war in the early hours of 4 August when the battalion unsuccessfully attacked German front lines. They were subsequently relieved by the 15th Royal Scots and proceeded to battalion HQ in Mametz Wood. Much of August was spent on rotation between the front line and the rear and by early September they were in the line at La Rolanderie which on 6 September was described as having ‘little activity in this part of the line’. On 12 September they were again relieved by the 15th Royal Scots and returned to billets at Fort Rompu and then Erquinghem. A night raid was made on German trenches at Bois Grenier in the small hours of 17/18 September, however the battalion (which came under heavy machine gun fire) was not able to proceed past the German wire and was forced to retreat. Much of the remainder of 1916 was spent between the front line trenches and billets where the men were assigned to working parties. Several raids and patrols occurred, however evidence that William was involved with any of these cannot be substantiated. New Year 1917 saw the Royal Scots back in the trenches on 11 January, enemy artillery and trench mortars rained down on the front line periodically for the next three days, although only a few casualties were sustained. On 19 January William was appointed Lance Corporal (unpaid) whilst billeted at St Hilaire Dieval. By early February the battalion was at Meteren and then Berthen by 5 February. A month later, whilst billeted at Chelers, the 16th Royal Scots were inspected by Field Marshall Haig, who commented on the smart appearance a good marching of the battalion. All companies were out on working parties throughout much of March but were back in the trenches North East of Arras on 20 March for several days before returning to billets in Arras, St Nicholas and St Catherine. The Arras offensive began on the morning of 9 April. William was almost certainly involved and had become a ‘paid’ Lance Corporal the same day. The battalion suffered 318 casualties by the day’s end, a situation that was more or less replicated for the remainder of the month. The quietness during the early hours of 28 April were broken at dawn by an artillery barrage, and at 4:25am all companies of the 16th battalion left the trenches and moved forward towards the enemy lines under machine gun and rifle fire from the Roeux agricultural Chemical Works, Wood and Roeux itself (a small village beside the Arras–Douai railway line). The battalion reached the German positions and considerable hand-to-hand combat was recorded as having occurred at the chemical works whilst other men established themselves in shell holes and about the works buildings. Another group of troops moved forward behind a barrage into Roeux itself and were also engaged in hand-to-hand fighting with the enemy. Troops who had entered the Wood were compelled to withdraw for fear of being cut-off, however those who were in the village were not so fortunate and found themselves separated as the Germans counter-attacked through the Wood towards the allied lines. By the day’s end, 170 men from the battalion were recorded as ‘missing’. William was one of those and as his fate became apparent several months later, it seems likely that he was amongst the men who remained behind in the village and taken prisoner. In total the battalion suffered just over 50% casualties during the attack. The Scotsman first listed William as ‘Missing in Action’ on 14 June 1917, whilst the German Red Cross eventually supplied a list dated 18 July that William had died on 2 May at Kriegs Laz Gef Lag, St Clotilde, Douai. It seems likely that William had been admitted to a war prisoner military hospital, possibly suffering from wounds received on 28 April, and died as a result. The Scotsman eventually reported as such several months later on 25 October, although it had already been accepted by the military that he had died in a document dated 24 August. What remained of William’s possessions had been organized to be sent back to his wife at the start of November whilst she was then living at 8 Machieson Road in Glasgow, and on 31 December she was awarded a war widow's pension of 22/11 a week for herself and two sons. William was awarded the British War and Victory medals and is buried in Joint Grave H.14. at Douai Communal Cemetery. Sapper James Wishart James Wishart was born about 1880 in West Calder, Midlothian. He was the son of Janie Wishart (his father is unknown) and had three siblings – Thomas, David and a sister Christine. On 1 June 1911 James married Elizabeth Brown by declaration in Glasgow and was working as a Bricklayer in Denbeath when he enlisted at Methil on 29 March 1915. No. 89126 Sapper James Wishart of the 16th Corps Royal Engineers was given the role of Skilled Bricklayer and assigned to the 137th Corps Royal Engineers a week later on 7 April. Less than four months after enlisting, James embarked for France on 24 July and was eventually transferred to Salonika in the Balkans. During the summer of 1916 he caught malaria and was sent to 21 Stationary Hospital at Karaissi before being transported to the hospital ship Carisbrooke Castle on 11 August. From there he was sent to Malta and then Mudros where he boarded HMHS Britannic (sister ship to the Titanic) for Southampton. James arrived back on British soil on 11 October and was admitted to hospital in Aberdeen (subsequently the Scottish General Hospital in Edinburgh on 18 December), after which he was discharged to Royal Engineers No. 2 Depot Company in Newark on 2 February 1917. The day after arriving in Newark James went absent without leave for almost five days and forfeited six days pay as punishment. On 7 June he overstayed his pass for over nine hours and was deprived of a further two days pay. Between 7 and 8 August 1917 James went absent without leave again and was put under close arrest between 9 and 23 August when he was tried and sentenced to 56 days detention at Derby Detention Barracks. The details of the case were: 1. Charges brought forward: When on Active Service deserting his Majesty’s Service in that he at Newark on 7th July, 1917 absented himself from No. 2 D/C of RE Newark until apprehended by the Civil Police at Denbeath on August 8th, 1917. 2. Losing by neglect his clothing and regimental necessaries in that he at Newark on 12.8.17 was deficient of one pair of drawers (woollen). James was released from detention on 10 October, returning to duty 18 October and on arrival back in France on 15 January 1918, sent to the 237th Field Company Royal Engineers (part of the 41st Division). Several days after the German Spring Offensive began on 21 March, the 237th Field Company was involved in the First Battle of Bapaume and James was reported as missing on 25 March. On receiving notification a month later, Elizabeth wrote to the War Office on 8 May asking if any further information had been received, in the hope that he had been found in a hospital. A week later she received a reply stating that the situation had not changed and that she would be informed should there be any further news. The uncertainty was prolonged until the following year when on 23 January 1919 James was recorded as officially considered as having died on 25 March. He was buried in the Adanac Military Cemetery in Miraumont, Somme (Grave no II.I 5.) Private John Wishart Private No. 1496 John Wishart had spent the best part of a month cooped up aboard troopships when he disembarked in the heat of a Mediterranean summer at Cape Helles on the Gallipoli peninsular. He had enlisted with the 6th Battalion Royal Scots in Edinburgh and had been attached to the 1st/4th Battalion (who were part of the 52nd (Lowland) Division) before leaving for overseas service. The conditions on board must have been uncomfortable at the very least, and so it would have been with a sense of relief and trepidation that the battalion finally left the confines of the ship.
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