17th H.L.I.
THE GIFT OF THE MEMBERS OF
THE GLASGOW CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
Image 1. British Highland regiments marching through Boulogne, France
In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
John McCrae, May 1915
A Soldier’s Cemetery
Behind that long and lonely trenched line
To which men come and go, where brave men die,
There is a yet unmarked and unknown shrine,
A broken plot, a soldier’s cemetery.
There lie the flower of youth, the men who scorn’d
To live (so died) when languished Liberty:
Across their graves flowerless and unadorned
Still scream the shells of each artillery.
When war shall cease this lonely unknown spot
Of many a pilgrimage will be the end,
And flowers will shine in this now barren plot
And fame upon it through the years descend:
But many a heart upon each simple cross
Will hang the grief, the memory of its loss.
by John William Streets (killed and missing in action on 1st July 1916 aged 31)
“The stern hand of fate has scourged us to an elevation where we can see the great everlasting things which matter for a nation—the great peaks we had forgotten, of Honour, Duty, Patriotism, and, clad in glittering white, the great pinnacle of Sacrifice pointing like a rugged finger to Heaven.”
David Lloyd George (1863–1945), British Liberal politician, Prime Minister. Speech, Sept. 19, 1914, Queen’s Hall, London. Quoted in Times (London, Sept. 20, 1914).
The Seventeenth Highland Light Infantry
EDITORS’ PREFACE.
In compiling and editing this history of the Chamber of Commerce Battalion, the aim of the editors has been to present such a narrative as will provide a detailed but not overburdened account of the Battalion’s movements and operations throughout the years of its existence, and at the same time give a representative impression of the various outstanding events which have built up the character and the traditions of the unit.
In accordance with the wishes of the History Committee, the narrative dealing with Field service has been kept within the limits of the Battalion’s share in the campaign, and accordingly no attempt has been made to give any picture of the relative positions of the various other units operating with the 17th, or of the general strategic import of the actions described.
The chapters dealing with the beginnings and home training, and those general items in Part III. are founded mainly upon matter supplied by officers of the unit and members of The Outpost staff. The Roll of original members in Part IV. has been gathered together by Lieut. and Quarter-Master Kelly. The material in the section dealing with the service of the Battalion overseas has been gathered from the following sources:—
For data—the Official War Diaries of the 17th Battalion H.L.I. preserved in the “Records” Office, Hamilton; supplementary notes supplied by Lieut.-Cols. Morton and Paul and Major Paterson, D.S.O., M.C.; Brigade and Battalion Operation Orders; Battalion Operation Reports.
For impressions, opinions, and descriptions—numerous and exceedingly helpful literary vignettes from members of The Outpost staff and others, and from interviews.
The Editors desire to record their appreciation of material contributed and help given by:—Lieut.-Col. Morton, Lieut.-Col.