Private Henry "Harry" John MCDONALD ( S/21472)
8th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders

Date of birth: 27th June 1887
Date of death: 22nd August 1917

Killed in action aged 30
Commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial Panels 132 to 135 and 162A
He was born at Nether Borlum, Knockando on the 27th of June 1887 the son of Alexander, a farmer, and Isabella Jane McDonald.

He worked as a farmer on the family farm at Cardnach Knockando before enlisting into the army at Cromarty on the 2nd of April 1917.

On the 22nd of August 1917 the 8th Battalion Seaforths were part of a major attack as part of the Third Battle of Ypres.
For the previous five days the enemy positions were fired upon by artillery and machine guns with particular emphasis on the enemy strong points in preparation for the attack.

At 4.45am the battalion advanced under a creeping barrage and within minutes they came under machine gun fire as the German defenders recovered. It is thought that the right assaulting company mistook the Steenbeke stream for the Zonnebeke brook but there can be no confirmation as this as none of the men of this company survived. It also appears that they reached the strong point known as Beck House and were annihilated by machine gun fire.

The left company attacked Iberian Farm losing heavily in the process. They advanced in small groups rushing from shell hole to shell hole and were able to link up with the 7th Camerons on their left.

The situation by 7am was that almost no progress had been made on the right of the attack and the battalion had only advanced a few yards at great cost. Between 1pm and 3pm the Germans mounted two small counterattacks but these were beaten back.

All through the day attempts were made to get forward but these were frustrated by a determined German defence.

It was decided to rush the strong points after dark and the Seaforths were allotted Iberian Farm again, but all the these local attacks failed with more casualties

Henry McDonald was reported missing on the 22nd of August 1917 and it was later assumed that he died on that date.
Cardnach

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