James Gordon Milne

Student

James Gordon Milne was born in 1893 in Oporto, Portugal. He was the son James Gordon Milne Senior (1855-1922), a Merchant, and Georgina Elizabeth Milne (nÃ©e McGeoch) (1858-1934), who had married on the 11th December 1883, in Hamilton, Lanarkshire. James had just completed his first year studying Law at the University of Glasgow in 1913-1914 when war broke out. His older brother, University of Glasgow graduate Lieutenant George Stanley Milne, also served, with the 6th Bn. The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), and survived the war.

Memorial chapel at the University of Glasgow — The Memorial Chapel at the University of Glasgow

Milne embarked for service in the Mediterranean in early May 1915, serving as Lieutenant in No. 4 Platoon, "A" Company of the 5th Bn. Highland Light Infantry.

Milne served in the 5th Highland Light Infantry with a number of other University of Glasgow graduates, including fellow officers 2nd Lieutenant Ralph Edward May, 2nd Lieutenant Allan Macfarlane Turner, Lieutenant George A Sillars, Major Andrew Marshall Downie, and battalion Commanding Officer Colonel Frederick Lansdowne Morrison.

Milne was wounded on the afternoon of the 13th July along with his company commander Major Downie. Milne's comrades received a letter from him on the 29th July from hospital in Alexandria in which Milne regretfully reported the death of Downie.

Milne recovered from his wounds and rejoined the battalion. In December 1915 Milne again sustained wounds while in the frontline trenches between the East and West Krithia nullahs. He yet again recovered and continued to serve with the battalion in Egypt and Palestine until the 10th August 1917, when he was lost during a raid into No Man's Land in Gaza. He was 24.

Colonel Morrison, Commanding Officer of the battalion, published an account of the 5th Bn. HLI's service in the Mediterranean. He relates Milne's death as follows:

...[T]he two companies missed the flank of the enemy's advanced force, getting into the gap behind it and just in front of the enemy's reserve line which was also advancing. Thus they found themselves with no one in front of them, but with a bomb and rifle attack on both flanks. With some difficulty they were withdrawn. Our own patrol got home safely but Lieut. Milne and Pte. Graham were lost in the retiral. No one had seen Lieut. Milne fall, but months later we heard that he had died of wounds in a Turkish hospital. He was a great loss, as his bright and cheery nature helped all ranks.

Captain James Gordon Milne is commemorated on the Jerusalem Memorial in the Jerusalem War Cemetery with the names of over 3,000 other casualties of the Egypt and Palestine campaigns with no known graves.