Battle of Arras

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20 battle of arras
ONE OF 159,000: A PERSON NOT A NUMBER
Alastair Buchan, brother of the famous Scottish novelist
John Buchan, was one of the many casualties of Arras. He
was a Lieutenant in the 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers and lost
his life on the first day of the battle, 9th April 1917. He
was only 22. John, who was Director of Information for the
Lloyd George Government, was deeply affected and below is a
poignant verse from the elegy he wrote.
You scarce had shed your boyhood’s years,
In every vein the blood ran young,
Your soul uncramped by ageing fears,
Your tales untold, your songs unsung.
To add to the poignancy, Alastair actually sent a message
home in the form of a restricted army note (right) on the day
he was killed. Other items here include his sister Anne’s
telegram to John, informing him of their brother’s death, an
extract of the letter the nurse who comforted Alastair in his
dying hours sent to his mother Helen, and Helen looking for
Alastair’s war grave once the peace treaty had been signed.
John Buchan also lost his friend and publishing business
partner Tommy Nelson on the same day. Countless families were
touched by the tragedy. The only consolation for a writer
being affected is that he or she can write about it and from
that maybe we can learn. Buchan included powerful impressions
of trench warfare in his book Mr Standfast (1919).