| Thousands of Scots soldiers perished in the Battle of the Somme between July and November 1916. One of these was Private John Campbell of H Company, 1st Battalion, Royal
Scots Fusiliers, who died on 14 July 1916 at the start of the
second phase of the battle. He was one of sixty men who were
killed when the 8th Brigade's attack on the German lines
north of Montauban was held up by uncut barbed wire.
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Campbell, who hailed from Dundee, wrote his will in his army pay
book, leaving all his possessions to his mother Agnes. Of the sixty
Fusiliers killed on 14 July, the NAS holds wills written by eleven
men in their pay books or on army forms. They are just a handful
of more than 25,000 ordinary soldiers from World War One represented
in the special series of soldiers'
wills.
Many of those who fell at the Somme have no known grave and are
commemorated on the Thiepval memorial, but Private Campbell was
buried in Flatiron Copse Cemetery.
Private John Campbell's will:
Transcription
Will
In the envent of my Death
I leave all my belonging and
effects two my Mother Agnes
Campbell Signature
Pte John Campbell
N20325H Coy
Royal Scots Fusilers
May 25 1916
Mother Address 19 Cobden
Street Lochee by Dundee
Scotland
The images of the wills
of soldiers and airmen such as Campbell can be viewed
in our search
rooms. If you are not able to visit Edinburgh, please
read the information on our remote
research page to find out how you can get access to these
records.
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