Black Watch Bravery

Wars in Iraq have claimed the lives of many young Black Watch soldiers. Among them is a legendary sergeant
whose name was inscribed on the famous Basra Memorial after he was killed in action in what was then still known as Mesopotamia. He was David Finlay, a ploughman
from Guardbridge in Fife, who had enlisted as an eager 18-year-old in 1910. Five years later, amidst the horror of the First World War, he was awarded the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest award for bravery.

In early 1915, the British troops in France were not having a good time of it. A gruelling winter in the trenches had left morale low and casualties were
mounting. However, victory at the battle of Neuve Chapelle on March 10 allowed the British Expeditionary Force to make a crucial advance. The Allied commanders decided to press home the advantage gained at Neuve Chapelle with plans for a joint Franco-Brjtish offensive.
Launching the northern half of the attack, the British were divided into two sectors, north and south. A mile ahead of Neuve Chapelle, to the east, was the strategic prize for the southern attack: Aubers Ridge. The ridge lay well behind German lines and was heavily defended. It was during the initial push for Aubers Ridge, on May 9, that Sergeant Finlay would win his VC while fighting with the 2nd Battalion Black Watch.

At 5am, the British artillery bombardment began. Initially, Sergeant Finlay and his comrades sat tight as they occupied the left flank as part of Bareilly Brigade in the
Meerut Division of the Indian Corps. After 30 minutes, the artillery increased its fire, with field guns focused on the enemy’s defences. While 1st Wing Royal Flying Corps
flew overhead and 173rd Tunnelling Company battled floodwater to get the 2000 lb mines delivered under the
German front line, the assault troops left their trenches, wriggled through gaps cut in their own wire and crossed bridges pre-laid over ditches.

After 10 minutes, the artillery lifted and the first wave of the Allied assault began. Disaster struck the Indian Corps
area immediately when it became obvious that the Germans had not only survived the bombardment almost unscathed, but had even manned machine-gun posts
forward of their own wire. The infantry of the Dehra
Dun Brigade, leading the Meerut Division, instantly suffered huge casualties but continued to rush forward. The bombardment had failed to punch lanes through the
barbed-wire and the troops were forced to take cover
about halfway across no man’s land.

By the time the attack was abandoned, nearly 900 men of the Dehra Dun Brigade lay dead or dying. Undeterred, British commanders ordered a repeat attack, which eventually got under way at 4pm to allow time for the Bareilly Brigade, including the 2nd Black Watch, to take over the lead. Losses were substantial but, having
inched forward under constant artillery fire through a hell of blocked trenches, 2nd Black Watch eventually relieved 2nd Gurkhas Just before zero hour.

By now, it was obvious that the Germans had found time to strengthen their defences since Neuve Chapelle.
However, despite protests that the enemy had been unaffected by the deluge, the corps commander decided to push on. After more than 30 minutes of fresh artillery bombardment, the 2nd Black Watch rose from their trenches and lay down in no man’s land. This was the moment Finlay secured the first of two rapid promotions and his VC. His skill and courage also played a key role in
German soldiers famously naming the kilted Black Watch troops “Ladies from Hell”.

Leading a party of 12 bombers, Finlay’s plan was to get as near to the enemy trenches as possible before the
bombardment subsided. As they crossed a bridge, two men were killed by German fire. Eight more fell on the other side, leaving only Finlay and two others to cover the 300 yards of open ground to the enemy front line.
They got about 80 yards before a shell exploded close to them, knocking Finlay unconscious for 10 minutes.

When he came round, Finlay saw one of his men lying wounded nearby. He ordered the other survivor to make his way back before crawling on his belly towards the injured man. The courageous soldier dressed his comrade’s wounds in full view of the enemy before dragging him across more than 100 yards of fire-swept ground to safety. The scene they left behind was
devastating: most of the attackers had not even made it to the ditch and the commanding officer ordered the reserve companies to remain in the trenches.

The battalion was eventually relieved and moved back to the reserve trenches later that night. After that deadly summer, the 2nd Battalion was merged with the 14th
Battalion in September. The two were prized apart again, though, in November. The following month, Finlay and his
comrades were sent to Mesopotamia, landing at Basra on 31 December 1915. After five years and 351 days’ service, Sergeant Finlay was killed in Hannah on 21 January. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Basra Memorial. His Victoria Cross now rests
in the Black Watch Museum, Perth.

The museum also houses the first of the regiment’s 14 VCs, won by Lieutenant Francis Farquharson. The 19-year-old Glaswegian claimed his gong for heroics on March 9, 1858, when he took part in one of the bloodiest
episodes in the history of the British Empire, the Indian rebellion. The uprising began in 1857 as a dispute between the Sepoys, or Indian soldiers, and their British commanders over a rifle. The gun’s cartridges were held together by a greased paper membrane, but the grease was made from animal fats that deeply offended Muslim and Hindu Sepoys. This was the spark that exploded a powder-keg of stored-up anger among Indians. The Sepoys rebelled and carnage ensued. Farquharson was part of the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot, which would later become the Black Watch. They were called in to help fight rebels in the streets of Lucknow, state capital of what is now Utter-Pradesh.

The Scots soldiers underwent several days of shelling from the rebels, who occupied a military college called La Martiniere. On March 9, the 42nd were ordered to lead an assault, using “nothing but the bayonet”. The 42nd advanced in two lines and the second of these was led up a parapet to the right of the building, where Farquharson spearheaded the attack which won him his VC. Bayonet in hand, he stormed a bastion mounting two guns and spiked them. This secured the advanced position gained during the night and was vital to the eventual capture of Lucknow. For their service in India in 1857 and 1858, Farquharson and his comrades won what would become the Black Watch’s regimental gong.

Farquharson rose in the ranks to Major before passing away in 1875.

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