Private George Brown Anderson
2nd Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
Died 20 June 1917
George Brown Anderson was born on 15 December 1897 at 21 Harbour Rd, Wigtown, the son of Andrew Anderson, a sewing machine agent, and his wife, Agnes Brown. The family soon left Wigtown and were living in Lockerbie at the time of the 1901 census. The return shows George living at 6 Brewery Yard with his parents, brother and no fewer than seven sisters.
Shortly after the outbreak of war, George enlisted with the 2/5th Battalion, King’s Own Scottish Borderers. At the time of his enlistment he was working as a farm servant at Collin, near Dumfries. It wasn’t until the end of August 1916 that Private 2234 George Anderson and his Battalion went to France. At some point he was re-assigned to the Cameronians and served with their 2nd Battalion.
George Anderson was killed in action on 20th June 1917 near to Ypres. He was only 19 years old and is interred in the Perth Cemetery (China Wall). The cemetery was begun by French troops in November 1914 (the French graves were removed after the Armistice) and adopted by George’s Battalion in June 1917, so he may have been among the first burials there. It was called Perth (as the predecessors of the 2nd Scottish Rifles were raised in Perth), China Wall (from the communication trench known as the Great Wall of China), or Halfway House Cemetery. The cemetery was used for front line burials until October 1917 when it occupied about half of the present Plot I and contained 130 graves.
His outstanding pay of £15 8s 11d was paid to his mother on 14/11/1917 and a War Gratuity of £12 on 29/11/1919.