Robertson, William James 315431 (1897 - 1918)

Private, 13th (Scottish Horse) Bn. Black Watch (Royal Highlanders)

Buried at Fontaine-au-Bois Communal Cemetery

Commemorated at Hillhead High School

William J. Robertson was the eldest son of James and Elizabeth Robertson, 21 Partickhill Road, Glasgow. He received all his education at Hillhead High School, where the memory of his high spirits, cheery disposition, and loyal nature is still fragrant. Without attaining any special distinction in School work, he took a creditable place in his classes, and gained the Intermediate Certificate.

On leaving School in 1912 he entered an office for a time, but his real bent was towards engineering, and ultimately he became an apprentice with Messrs. Rowan & Co., marine engineers. In 1915, though still well under eighteen years of age, he applied for enlistment in the Scottish Horse. The recruiting sergeants in those critical days when the need for men was great did not trouble about birth certificates, and William Robertson, tall, straight, strong, with open countenance, ready smile, had no difficulty in securing acceptance.

In the autumn of 1915 he went with his unit to Gallipoli, and came through the horrors of that campaign unscathed. After a term in Egypt he was sent to the Balkans, but in February, 1918, he was invalided home with malaria. His friends noticed that the privations and sickness through which he had passed had damped the old exuberance of spirits, and made him serious and thoughtful beyond his years.

In October, 1918, he was again passed fit for general service, and proceeded to France, where he was attached to The Black
Watch. There he fell in action on the 4th November while in the act of assisting a wounded comrade back to the dressing station. His company commander writing home said, "I cannot speak too highly of the work done by your son all the time he was with the company. He never had a thought for himself."

With these words as epitaph, his family and friends should feel that his life has been rounded off in perfect measure.