17 / 44
battle of loos
15
Some few days later
Private James McMinn, 6th King’s Own Scottish Borderers, wrote
to his parents in Dumfries from hospital in Norwich, describing
his experiences.
‘I was shot three times, twice in the left leg and through
the left shoulder. I had a very trying time of it. It was
a pure hell. I thought my time had come... There were
dead men everywhere, and the groans of the wounded were
pitiful’.
16
Private McMinn served alongside his brother, Corporal Charles
McMinn, who was to become one of the many hundreds reported
missing after the battle.
‘I have been asking all the wounded men of our battalion
if they knew anything about Charlie, but I have not heard
anything yet. He might be all right. It is to be hoped so.
You will all have to keep your hearts up and look for
the best’.
17
Despite his brother’s optimism, Corporal Charles McMinn would
be numbered with over two hundred men of the 6th King’s Own
Scottish Borderers killed in action on 25 September 1915.
16 Dumfries and Galloway Standard and Advertiser, Wednesday, 6 October 1915, 3.
17 Ibid