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battle of arras
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Captain G.L. Pagan
(Church of Scotland minister)
15
th
Battalion Royal Scots
At the outbreak of war in 1914 Gavin Pagan preached
forcefully on the issues and supported the appeal for
recruits.
In pointing out to others their duty, he was compelled
by his own native honesty to ask himself if it was
not also his own duty.
Amongst the reasons for not enlisting were that
at 41 he was past military age and the claim of St
George’s (Edinburgh) on his ministry. However, unlike
the Church of England, the Church of Scotland had not
ruled that clergy could not enlist as combatants. As a
minister, Pagan had a benign influence in the trenches.
In the Arras offensive in April 1917, Pagan ably
led his men as Captain. They reached their objective
but then faced a strong counter-attack. One of his men
noted Pagan’s last ‘sermon’ before they went over the
parapet. “We don’t know, men, what will happen; but
take this with you: Lo! I am with you always, even unto
the end of the world.”
Pagan was killed in action on 28
th
April 1917.