George Brown Wilson           Age 35

Regimental No. 371202         Rifleman         2/8 Battalion (Post Office Rifles) London Regiment,    

                                                                          74Brigade, 58th (2/1st London Division

Killed in Action                                              20 September 1917

Commemorated                                             Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium

 

Personal Background

Youngest son of James and Abigail Brown Wilson of Innerleithen, George left a wife, Mary Gray Wilson, and four children, at Meadow View, St. Boswells.  He had been a postman for 21 years, spending some time as a young man working and boarding at Cramond on the outskirts of Edinburgh.   Before enlistment he had carried out this job at Selkirk and it is interesting that he chose to join this particular regiment, along with others who followed the same career path, rather than a local one.  He had been 2 years and 9 months on active service before being killed, north of St. Julien, during the 3rd Battle of Ypres.

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Military Background

It was with difficulty that the 58th (London) Division assembled east of the Steenbeek between St. Julien and Langemarck, the low ground being not only muddy but also pitted with shell holes filled with water from the obstructed channels of the Steenbeek and its tributaries.  The Division had to advance about half a mile to gain the strong points on the western extremity of Gravenstavel Spur.

 

As a previous frontal attack had failed, chiefly owing to the state of the ground, the main attack was now to be made with the left Brigade (174th) from that flank, moving eastwards up the rising ground of the spur, while the right Brigade (173rd) on the lower ground limited its action to attracting the enemy's attention.

 

The 17th Brigade delivered the main thrust with the three London Battalions following one another on a Battalion frontage, just behind the artillery barrage.  The strong points ahead, in front of Vancouver Farm and Keerselaere, were overrun by the 2/8 Post Office Rifles.  The two rear battalions, 2/5 London Rifle Brigade and the 2/6, passed through, swinging half right up the rise of the spur.  Keeping to the high ground they took in reverse several strong points along the spur and reached the dominating area about Wurst Farm, their objective, close behind the barrage.  A definite objective, pillbox or emplacement had been allotted to each platoon to clear and occupy, and once outflanked, a strong point was as good as taken.  Outpost groups then fanned out to the left to the divisional boundary across the Stroombeek valley.  There were a number of casualties, including Rifleman Wilson, who was among those whose bodies were unidentifiable and whose memorial is the Menin Gate at Ypres.