The history of the 9th (Scottish) Division, 1914-1919

by M.C. John Ewing

THE CEREMONY.

Shortly before 2.30 the Ninth Division procession moved up from the point of assembly and took station immediately in front of the French troops, facing the Memorial, the inscription upon which was veiled by the Union Jack, the Flag of France, and the Royal Standard of Scotland. General Furse, accompanied by General Tudor, then took his stand at the foot of the cairn and greeted the representatives of France, namely: General Huguenot, representing General Lacapelle, G.O.C., the First Corps of the French Army; M. Delatouche, representing M. le Prefet; M. Doutremepuich, Councillor-General; M. Leroy, Mayor of Arras; M. Dupage, Mayor of St Laurent-Blangy; the Curé of Athies-Feuchy, and other officials representing: Les Mutilés et Souvenir Français, La Chambre de Commerce, La Société de gymnastique d’Arras, Les Sapeurs-Pompiers, Le Bulletin des Eglises Devastées, Les Ecoles d’Athies-Feuchy, Officers of the Garrison of Arras.

The service of dedication followed, the Rev. Dr Wallace Williamson, ex-Moderator of the Church of Scotland, and the Rev. C. N. de Vine, M.C., officiating. The ceremony concluded with the Lord’s Prayer, in which all joined.

The Memorial was then unveiled by General Furse, who proceeded to deliver the following speech of dedication:—

“When the Ninth Scottish Division formed part of the victorious British Garrison on the Rhine, General Tudor, knowing it would shortly be demobilised, called together a representative conference to decide the most fitting manner of memorialising the service of the Division in the Great War. That conference decided—most wisely in my opinion—that we should have two memorials—first, a History of the Division; second, a Battlefield Monument.

“The History was completed and published fifteen months ago, and we are indebted to Major Ewing, of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, for the admirable book he has given us.

“As to the Battlefield Monument, you have only to turn your eyes to the battle honours recorded on this cairn to realise that the site was not too easy to choose. We considered the claims of many places. Loos, where the Division—its three Infantry Brigades composed of the flower of Scottish manhood, who had left their Highland or Lowland homes in instant response to the call to arms—first experienced the shocking, awful realities, to units as well as to individuals, of a crashing battle, but proved to themselves and through themselves the amazing power of disciplined courage over terrifying opposition. Longueval and Delville Wood—that prolonged three weeks of the fiercest fighting, taking terrible toll daily—bodies mutilated and dying, but spirit ever alive and showing its noble endurance hour after hour and day after day—in the repeated attacks of the Lowlanders, in that glorious culminating counter-attack of the Highlanders, and in the hanging on of the unconquerable remnant of the splendid South African Brigade. In those three weeks we lost 7500 officers and men in the Division, and fully 60 per cent. of our Infantry. This again was a site peculiarly difficult to discard as the most appropriate for a monument to our beloved Division.

“It would take too long to recall other than very briefly the numerous exploits of the Division on other fields of France and Flanders—the disheartening but doughty struggles with mud and misadventure near the Butte de Warlencourt; the share taken by the Division in the heroic attacks towards Passchendaele under similarly ghastly conditions; the dogged ten days’ opposition to the great German advance in March 1918, where the Division had the supremely difficult task of linking the Fifth with the Third Army from Gauche Wood back to Albert; the stubborn defence and brilliant counter-attacks at Wytschaete and Messines during the following month; the capture of Meteren in July 1918 before the tide of war had begun to turn in our favour; and finally the succession of hard-fought victories in the open warfare of October 1918 from Ypres to the Scheldt. All these names are recorded on this cairn, that those who pass by may not think that the Ninth Division’s service was confined to this particular neighbourhood.

“The reason why we finally settled on this spot was that five years ago to-day the Ninth Division covered itself with conspicuous glory over the battle-ground we see to the west of us. Its success on that day was complete and convincing. This was indeed its Point du Jour! It was its third and final objective. It was won on the hour ordered. The Division on that day made a further advance, took more prisoners and at a comparatively smaller loss to itself than had fallen to the lot of any single Division in any single day up to that date in the War.

“Knowing that a special monument to the South African Brigade is to be set up at Delville Wood, and after balancing up all the comparative claims of this and other sites, we came to the conclusion that this one was the best. I can only trust that the majority of our comrades are satisfied with that decision. I believe them to be so satisfied with the form of the monument. For myself I am convinced that a Scottish cairn built of rough-hewn stones, such as these, is a more fitting monument to the rugged, simple, and enduring war service of soldiers than sculptured group or elaborate architecture. And though the Division embraced men of England, the Channel Islands, South Africa, and Newfoundland, and was therefore more truly Imperial in its composition than any other Division in the British Army, it must be remembered that it was born in Scotland, it was named after Scotland, it was fed throughout the four years of its active life in the main from Scotland; its symbol was the thistle of Scotland; and it is but right, therefore, that its monument should be fashioned in the form beloved of Scotland.