Private Robert SMITH (S/12645)
8th (Service) Battalion Seaforth Highlanders

Date of birth: Unknown
Date of death: 23rd April 1917

Killed in action aged 1916
Buried at Guemappe British Cemetery Wancourt Plot I Row C Grave 3
He was born at Newlands Knockando on the 22nd of April 1886 the son of William and Isabella Smith of Newlands, Konckando.

He was educated at Knockando Public School following which he worked as a distillery worker for the Cardow Distillery.

He enlisted at Elgin in April 1916 and served at the front from July 1916.

At 2.15am on the morning of the 23rd of April 1917 the assaulting companies of the 8th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders moved to the jumping off positions in preparation for an attack on the German positions at Guemappe.

They went into the attack at 4.45am and at 5.05am the commanding officer of B Company, on the right of the attack, reported that his advance was being held up by heavy machine gun fire some 300 yards into their advance. D Company, on their left reported the same. Shortly afterwards it was reported that C Company, on the left of the attack, had also been checked and that they had lost all their officers. At 5.15am, A Company, who were in reserve, was ordered to send a platoon forward to reinforce B Company but these men were also halted by heavy machine gun fire. After heavy fighting progress was made on the left of the attack as the enemy began falling back at 7.30am, many of them being shot down my rifle and Lewis gun fire as they retreated. This enabled the men C Company to bring the rest of the German line under enfilade fire and the enemy resistance crumbled with thirty to forty prisoners being taken. This cleared the way for a general advance and the Seaforths surged forward at 9.05am, and captured the village and began consolidating their gains on the eastern side of the village. At 9.15am A Company moved forward to assist in the digging in. As they consolidated their line the Germans commenced an artillery bombardment on this new front line and the men also came under machine gun and rifle fire. At this time there were only two officers left alive and unwounded from the entire attacking force. At 11am one of those officers, the commanding officer of A Company, who had by now also been wounded, returned to Battalion Headquarters to report that the consolidation on the eastern side of Guemappe had failed as the supporting units on the left of the battalion had fallen back due to the weight of the enemy fire and that the Seaforths were now doing the same. By 1pm the surviving officer led his men back through the village and the men entrenched themselves behind a bank on the western side of the village.

A further small attack was mounted on the village by other units at 6pm but this also failed to gain any ground. By this time the battalion numbered five officers and one hundred and thirty eight men.
Newlands

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