Information about birth

Date of birth:
29/12/1895
Place of birth:
Dallas, Moray, Scotland, United Kingdom

Army information

Country:
Scotland, United Kingdom
Force:
British Expeditionary Force
Rank:
Private
Service number:
265123
Enlistment place:
Garmouth, Moray, Scotland, United Kingdom
Units:
 —  Seaforth Highlanders, 1/6th Bn. (Morayshire)  (Last known unit)

Information about death

Date of death:
31/07/1917
Place of death:
No Man's Cot, Belgium
Cause of death:
Killed in action (K.I.A.)
Age:
21

Cemetery

No Man's Cot Cemetery
Plot: /
Row: A
Grave: 1

Distinctions and medals 3

Points of interest 2

#1 Place of birth
#2 Enlistment place

My story

Pte. Joseph French was part of the 6th Bn. Seaforth Highlanders (152nd Brigade, 51st Division) and took part in the opening battle on 31 July 1917 of the Battle of Passchendaele. The Battalion frontage stretched from the Lekkerboterbeek on the right to White House on the left (Poelcapelle Area), in the extreme left of the Corps frontage. The 6th Bn. Seaforths were responsible for taking the 2nd and 3rd objective on the left (McDonald Wood to Hurst Wood) and the 4th objective (area of Ferdinand Farm). Jumping off at zero hour, 3.50 AM, the objectives Maison Du Rasta and Maison Bulgare were reached as outposts to the newly gained frontline.
Medical arrangements were made. The Aid-Post of the Battalion would move forward after capturing the Black Outpost Line to the neighborhood of road junction at C.15.b.3.4., not too far from No Man’s Cot. After capturing the Green Line (4th objective), the Aid-Post would again move forward. Pte. Joseph French lost his life during this attack and was buried at No Man’s Cot, were he is still remembered today.
After the war his mother Elizabeth French went on a pilgrimage to find the grave of here son. Her search was documented as a column in The Northern Scot in 1922, starting with ‘Visit to a Seaforth Grave at Ypres’ till ‘Standing by the side of a little wooden cross’.

Files 1

Sources 5

Ancestry
https://www.ancestry.com/
Sources used
CWGC
https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/447453/j-french/
Sources used
Documentatiemap Joseph French, In Flanders Fields Museum
Sources used
The Long Long Trail
https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/
Sources used
War Diary 6th Bn. Seaforth Highlanders, 152th Brigade
http://www.nmarchive.com/
Sources used