John Mulholland - Link to Bo'ness

Tyne Cot Memorial. Authors image

375043 Private, 11th Battalion Royal Scots, 27th Infantry Brigade, 9th (Scottish) Division.

Age: 31

Date of death: 12.10.17

Buried: Tyne Cot Memorial Panel 11 to 14

Family history: John married Rebecca Rodgers Mulholland, a domestic servant who lived in East Whitburn, on 2 January 1911 they had four children and lived in the miner’s cottages in East Whitburn. He had two brothers and seven sisters and the Mulholland family lived in Cumbernauld, John’s father was employed as a checkweighman at Kinneil Colliery, Bo’ness. John was employed as a miner at Whitecraig Colliery, East Whitburn. He was a long standing member of the County Battalion Territorials and held the long service medal, and was a Reservist. He joined the 11th Battalion Royal Scots on the outbreak of war and spent time on home service in Linlithgow and North Berwick before being sent to France in June 1917.

Action leading to his death

The 9th (Scottish) Division and the 11th Battalion Royal Scots were in the northern sector south of Poelcappelle for the attack on Passchendaele Ridge on 12 October 1917, and were preparing to take part in what the British titled in their Battle Nomenclature the ‘Battle of Passchendaele I’. The name 'dignifies a fiasco and is one of the lowest points in the British exercise of command during the Third Battle of Ypres'. (Prior & Wilson Passchendaele the Untold Story) The weather was abysmal and the artillery could not fulfil any of its roles with the supporting barrage thin and ineffective. Communication with the advancing infantry of the Battalion was to have been by telephone but the wires to Battalion HQ at Winchester Farm were cut early on and it was undertaken by runners and latter by

Trench map showing the location of the attack on 12 October 1917.

buzzer and signal lamp. For its part the 11th Battalion Royal Scots was to go forward in three waves and were in position 25 yards  behind the two supporting waves of the 5th Cameron Highlanders. At zero hour the whole line moved forward and the Battalion moved at a fairly rapid pace until they reached the old front line when they came under scattered machine gun fire and suffered a number of casualties. The ground was extremely heavy and the assaulting waves were now bogged down owing to the mud which was described in the Battalion War Diary as nothing less than a morass with men having to help one another as they became bogged down. It was due to the conditions that the Battalion began to take very heavy casualties from the German machine gun fire from the left and directly in front of the advance. The supporting waves of the 5th Cameron Highlanders came forward and were caught in the same trap of mud and flooded shell holes. A pill box that was not more than 300 yards from the original front line was causing a great deal casualties amongst the attacking troops and this was taken and 21 Germans killed and nine taken prisoner, 4 of whom were wounded. With the ground waterlogged, most of the men were over their knees in water and mud it was decided to consolidate however, effective consolidation could not be done due to the condition of the ground but connection was made with the 7th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders on the right with their left resting on Terrier Farm. On the casualties the War Diary records: ‘Owing to the conditions were heavy. Casualties chiefly caused by M.G. and snipers during the actual assault, very few casualties from shell fire. A number of wounded fell into shell holes and were drowned.’ It was also recorded in the Battalion report to Brigade HQ on the operation with regards to wounded that: ‘In the event of future operations in similar conditions I would suggest that stretcher bearers should be issued with a length of rope for the purpose of facilitating the extrication of wounded and unwounded men from morass and shell holes. As many cases occurred where it was only after a long period of hard work men were got out and in some cases were left owing to the difficulty and exposed position until a more favourable opportunity offered and in two cases the prolonged exposure proved fatal.’ Learn more about Evacuating and Treatment of the Wounded

Stretcher bearers at the Boesinghe, Pilckem Ridge sector Third Battle of Ypres.