John Douglas Masterton

Corporal John Douglas Masterton

S/11489 2nd Battalion, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

died 21st June 1918


aged 24


Nine Elms British Cemetery



Son of Charles Masterton and Douglas Livingstone
Dundee, Scotland

Genealogy

John Douglas Masterton was born in St Mary, Angus in 1893, the second of six children born to Charles Smith Masterton, a railway porter who later became a journeyman plasterer, and Douglas Livingstone who had married in 1891 in Dundee. His mother Douglas died in 1901. His younger brother, Douglas Masterton, was also destined to die in the war just a few months later.

Further details of John, and the extended family of Mastertons from the Forfar branch can be found at the following link.

His War

John Douglas Masterton was recruited into the 2nd Battalion, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders.

The 2nd Battalion was sent to France on 14th August 1914, and after various transfers between Divisions, settled into the 98th Brigade of the 33rd Division from 25th November 1915.

The 33rd Division fought at the Somme, Arras, Third Ypres, the German Spring Offensive, the Hindenburg Line, and the Final Advance in Picardy. In June 1918, they were in the latter stages of resisting the main thrust of the German Spring Offensive in Flanders, and John died on 21st June 1918 and was buried in Nine Elms British Cemetery. The cemetery was begun and used by the 3rd Australian and 44th Casualty Clearing Stations when they moved to Poperinghe (now Poperinge), from Brandhoek and Lijssenthoek respectively, in September 1917. Nearly all the burials in Plots I to IX came from these Casualty Clearing Stations, whilst they operated in this area during the 1917 Battle of Ypres, up until December 1917. Plots X, XI, XIII, XIV and XV cover the dates between the beginning of March, 1918 and the 12th October, 1918, the period of the German offensive in Flanders, the British counter attacks and the final advance of August-September. John is in Plot XIV.

Presuming that John died in a Casualty Clearing Station, the action in which he received his wounds cannot be accurately identified. The month of June 1918 was fairly quiet for the battalion. On the night of 15/16th June the battalion relieved the 4th Kings (Liverpool Regiment), always a risky exercise if the enemy became aware, since the men were more exposed in the communications trenches. But the war diary states that the 20 casualties received that night were "light" except 2 OR's killed, neither of which would match John's death from wounds 5 days later. However, the day-to-day exchanges of gunfire and shells were not necessarily recorded in the War Diary, and we do know that during June, Other Ranks were sent to hospital on the 2nd (2 no), 8th, 11th, 14th (2), 18th (2), 22nd and 23rd. Any one of these could have been John.

In the month of May the battalion suffered greater numbers of casualties, especially on the 8th/9th May when 7 OR's were killed and 76 wounded in an intense gas shell bombardment near Ridge Wood. If John had inhaled gas, it is possible that he could have lingered until the 21st June.

The beneficiary of his will was his aunt Betsy Masterton, suggesting his father had died by then as well as his mother. She was living with the family in the 1911 census. His Medal Roll Index Card indicates he reached the rank of Sergeant, but other sources, including the Medal Roll, have Corporal.

The Thirty-Third Division in France and Flanders 1915-1919

On the 8th of May, at 3.30 a.m., a very heavy enemy bombardment began, particularly with high explosive and gas. At 5.30 a.m. the 98th Brigade captured some prisoners who stated it was the intention of the enemy to attack at 7.30 a.m. that morning. At the same time, General Daydrein's 32nd Division counter-attacked on our right. The French did not, apparently, get very far, and the Boche, in a further counter-attack, succeeded in effecting a lodgment behind the French left and our right, where lay the 30th Composite Brigade. At 10 a.m. the 19th Brigade reached the Vlamartinghe line to restore the situation. At the same time, the right of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, under Major Colquhoun, which Regiment had fought with the greatest heroism, undergoing a gas bombardment for many hours, were driven back from Ridge Wood into the Western side of Scottish Wood, whilst the enemy succeeded in driving a wedge between the Cameronians and the former Regiment. On the right of the Cameronians, in the 30th Composite Brigade, only a few remaining of the 2nd Bedfordshire Regiment, who had been continually in action for many days, held out. The remainder of the Brigade was thrown back and intermixed with the Cameronians, whose commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Draffin was captured. Into this breach the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were rushed forward with a section of the Machine Gun Corps, and not only inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy but effectively checked his advance.

The Cameronians, in particular, had suffered very heavy casualties - for a time their whereabouts was a complete mystery - as had also the French on the right of the 33rd Division. A second enemy attack was delivered about 2 p.m. but broke down before our lines. The French wished to make a counter-attack at 4 p.m. but postponed this so as to join hands with us in our counter-attack at 7 p.m. Whilst the second German attack was developing, the Divisional Commander had already decided to make an immediate counter-attack and recapture Ridge Wood and restore the line, not only between the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and the Cameronians, but between the right of his Division and the left of the French.

The 5th Scottish Rifles were moved from the extreme right of the Divisional front round the back of Dickenbusch Lake, where they were well screened from observation by trees surrounding the Lake. They were then most carefully deployed by Lieutenant-Colonel H. B. Spens, who launched a most energetic counter-attack, carried out with outstanding valour and enterprise, which rewon the whole of the ground lost.

The Thirty-Third Division in France and Flanders 1915-1919
Graham Seton Hutchinson
1921
pp 112-113

John Douglas Masterton's grave at XIV. D. 20., Nine Elms British Cemetery, Belgium

with thanks to Iain Finch for the photograph

Other Sources

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