William Marshall Harley

Private William Marshall Harley

2188 Private

‘A’ Company, 1/7th Battalion, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, 10th Infantry Brigade, 4th Division

Age: 20

Date of Death: Killed in Action 25.4.15

Buried: Menin Gate Memorial Panels 42 and 44

Family history: Son of Margaret Harley of 15 Victoria Road, Falkirk. He enlisted in the Territorials on 8 April 1914, and was employed at Laurieston Iron Works as a constructional fitter. His sister Williamina Fleming (nee Harley) married Alexander Fleming, a draper salesman from Glasgow and a reservist, on 18 June 1913 and the place of marriage was at number 15 Victoria Road. They married according to the forms of the Baptist Church. They had a daughter, Margaret Marshall Fleming, born on 15 November 1913. Alexander died of wounds received at Inverness Copse on 9 November 1914 and is buried in Vlamertinghe Military Cemetery. His brother Private Charles Harley, serving with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in Salonika, was awarded the Military Medal in 1918 and was Mentioned in Despatches three times. A third brother Private James Harley, was discharged from the 7th Battalion Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders on 15 December 1914, the day the battalion sailed for France, under Paragraph 392 xvi of the 1912 edition of King's Regulations. It states that a soldier can be discharged from military service if they are no longer physically fit for war. He later joined the Royal Field Artillery and was serving in France.

The action leading to his death

See the article in the General section 25 April 1915 - A Bloody Day at St Julien

Medals Awarded:

1915 Star, The British War Medal, Victory Medal

Private William Marshall Harley. Medal Index Card