2nd Lt
Iain Rose Paterson
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 23/04/1898 |
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Place of birth: Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom |
General information
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Profession: Medical Student |
Army information
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Country: Scotland, United Kingdom |
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Force: British Expeditionary Force |
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Rank: Second Lieutenant |
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Service number: / |
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Enlistment date: 03/11/1916 |
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Enlistment place: Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom |
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Units: — Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, 3rd Bn, attd. 5th Bn. (Attached) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 12/10/1917 |
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Place of death: Burns House, Wallemolen, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 19 |
Memorial
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Tyne Cot Memorial Panel: 136 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal — 22/06/1922 |
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Victory Medal Medal — 22/06/1922 |
Points of interest 3
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place | ||
| #3 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Second Lieutenant Iain Rose Paterson served in the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders 3rd Battalion, a training unit of the Special Reserve which was based in the United-Kingdom. During the Third Battle of Ypres he was attached to the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders 5th Battalion, part of the 26th Brigade, of the 9th (Scottish) Division.
The 9th Division participated in the First Battle of Passchendaele on the 12th of October 1917. This battle was part of the Third Battle of Ypres and was aimed at capturing the Passchendaele Ridge. The 9th Division operated near Poelkapelle, on the northern flank of the attack. The Division advanced with the 26th Brigade.
The 26th Brigade advanced at 5.25 a.m. with the 8th Black Watch and the 10th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, the 7th Seaforths and the 5th Cameron Highlanders were in support. Owing to the terrible state of the ground and the enormous frontage over which the men had to advance, the attack seemed to lose direction. The 18th Division on the left of the 9th Division was making no progress at all. Their attack had been checked directly by German shelling. With their left flank up in the air the men of the 9th were badly enfiladed by machine-gun fire coming from Beek Houses and Meunier House, both in the sector of the 18th Division.
After the 8th Black Watch and the 10th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders had captured the first objective, the 7th Seaforths, on the left, and the 5th Cameron Highlanders, on the right, pushed on. When the 5th Cameron Highlanders moved up, they were immediately held up near Burns House. The Battalion got pinned down by machine-gun fire coming from a pill-box in a small copse at V.26.b.7.1.
Several attempts to capture the pill-box failed. The concrete position subsequently held up the whole advance on the right and troops of the 27th Brigade had to come up to support the attack. The German position at V.26.b.7.1. was eventually silenced after the German defenders had ran out of ammunition. After the pill-box was captured, the 5th Cameron Highlanders advanced till contact was made with both flanks. The Battalion eventually consolidated a line of shell holes.
The attack had been an utter disaster. The advance had come to a halt roughly 100 yards from the start line. Most of the officers had become casualties, due to machine-gun fire, at the very beginning of the attack. Arrangements for removing the wounded were very bad. Stretcher bearers were scarce and many wounded kept lying in the field.
Second Lieutenant Iain Rose Paterson was killed in action near Burns House on the 12th of October 1917. His remains were not recovered or were never identified. Second Lieutenant Iain Rose Paterson is remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial.
The 9th Division participated in the First Battle of Passchendaele on the 12th of October 1917. This battle was part of the Third Battle of Ypres and was aimed at capturing the Passchendaele Ridge. The 9th Division operated near Poelkapelle, on the northern flank of the attack. The Division advanced with the 26th Brigade.
The 26th Brigade advanced at 5.25 a.m. with the 8th Black Watch and the 10th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, the 7th Seaforths and the 5th Cameron Highlanders were in support. Owing to the terrible state of the ground and the enormous frontage over which the men had to advance, the attack seemed to lose direction. The 18th Division on the left of the 9th Division was making no progress at all. Their attack had been checked directly by German shelling. With their left flank up in the air the men of the 9th were badly enfiladed by machine-gun fire coming from Beek Houses and Meunier House, both in the sector of the 18th Division.
After the 8th Black Watch and the 10th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders had captured the first objective, the 7th Seaforths, on the left, and the 5th Cameron Highlanders, on the right, pushed on. When the 5th Cameron Highlanders moved up, they were immediately held up near Burns House. The Battalion got pinned down by machine-gun fire coming from a pill-box in a small copse at V.26.b.7.1.
Several attempts to capture the pill-box failed. The concrete position subsequently held up the whole advance on the right and troops of the 27th Brigade had to come up to support the attack. The German position at V.26.b.7.1. was eventually silenced after the German defenders had ran out of ammunition. After the pill-box was captured, the 5th Cameron Highlanders advanced till contact was made with both flanks. The Battalion eventually consolidated a line of shell holes.
The attack had been an utter disaster. The advance had come to a halt roughly 100 yards from the start line. Most of the officers had become casualties, due to machine-gun fire, at the very beginning of the attack. Arrangements for removing the wounded were very bad. Stretcher bearers were scarce and many wounded kept lying in the field.
Second Lieutenant Iain Rose Paterson was killed in action near Burns House on the 12th of October 1917. His remains were not recovered or were never identified. Second Lieutenant Iain Rose Paterson is remembered on the Tyne Cot Memorial.
Sources 2
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5 Battalion Cameron Highlanders , (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/1767/1). https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14303 Further reference |
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McCarthy C., The Third Ypres Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account, (London, Arms & Armour Press, 1995), pg. 116. Sources used |
More information 3
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1636256 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=9dc2d08f-93b9-4668-9800-32584a8251a0 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/3420819 |