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First World War Burials

The 1st Garrison Battalion Royal Scots

There are 20 First World War graves maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in this

cemetery, all dating between 1917 and 1920.

Ten of these graves are of soldiers from the 1st Garrison Battalion Royal Scots, who died here between
March 1917 and June 1919. Most if not all of these soldiers died of influenza (‘Spanish flu’, which killed

more people in 1918 – 1921 than were killed in the war itself ).

The 1st Garrison Battalion of the Royal Scots had been formed at Redford Barracks in Edinburgh in

August 1915, and was mainly made up of men unfit for active military service, but fit enough to perform
garrison duties abroad, so relieving fit men for the front line. Half the Battalion (about 600 men) were

between 40 and 60 years old, some of whom had already completed 21 years service, while the other half
were mainly invalided soldiers who had earlier served in France. In February 1916 the Battalion arrived

in Egypt, with a company deployed to Cyprus. Following the Dardanelles campaign some 1300 Turkish
prisoners of war were detained in Cyprus, mainly in detention camps in Famagusta, and in October 1916

the Battalion was tasked with guarding them. Eventually three companies were employed in this task.
Following the end of hostilities the Battalion stayed in Cyprus till it was relieved by another unit in mid-

1919, when it went home and was disbanded.4

44 year old Private T Lawley Royal Scots (on right) (died 1 June 1919 of influenza)

and the other Royal Scots in background

4 Anderson, Forrest (2004), in: Scottish Military History Forum

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