7440 Private
2nd Battalion Highland Light Infantry, 5th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Division
Age:
Date of Death: 31.10.14
Buried: Menin Gate Memorial Panel 38
Family history: Son of John and Marjorie Sinclair, Kilbirnie Close Stirling Street, Denny. He had two sisters and a brother. He had been a regular for twelve years and was in the reserve when war was declared. He had played football for Denny Athletic for a number of seasons.
The action leading to his death
The battalion was holding the line in front of Polygon Wood facing the Reutel Spur, with the Connaught Rangers on their left and the Coldstream Guards on their right, and kept up a continuous fire pinning down the Germans and all the time being under heavy artillery fire. They had been ordered to hold their position at all costs. The War Diary simply records that the HQ farm was shelled and that they had taken to dugouts. One officer had been wounded.
(Linesman Map)
The Falkirk Herald reported that his letters from the front were of a cheerful, optimistic tone and that he wrote of being at home for Christmas. They reported that one of his letters had been written on paper he had found and that it contained, on the reverse, some words in French that were from a French soldier to his sweetheart.
Medals Awarded:
1914 Star and Clasp, The British War Medal, Victory Medal
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