2nd Lieutenant
Edward Stanley STRACHAN
Infantry
Died: 14th October 1915 - Age: 36

Commemorated:

1. Memorial:Loos MemorialPanel 87 to 89. Loos
2. Book:The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918Pg.136
3. Memorial:The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour30A GQS
    

Awards & Titles:

 

Family :

Born on July 25th, 1879, eldest son of James Edward, a wine merchant and Elizabeth Strachan, of Kingswood, 14, Kings Avenue, Clapham Park, London. In Luton, he was was as a partner in the grocery and wines business of T. Forman & Co, of Market Hill, but he had previously worked in his father's business.

He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and Jesus College, Cambridge, where he joined the Cambridge University Volunteers and subsequently the Civil Service Rifles.

See also: Jesus College.

Service Life:

Campaigns:

Unit / Ship / Est.: 1/8 Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment) 

1/8th Battalion August 1914 : in Newark. 25 february 1915 : landed in France. 12 May 1915 : formation became the 139th Brigade in 46th (North Midland) Division.

Action : The Battle of Loos and associated actions 

"The Battle of Loos (25 September to 18 October 1915) was the major battle on the Western Front in 1915, surpassing in every respect all that had gone before in terms of numbers of men and materiel committed to battle. The preliminary bombardment was the most violent to date and the battle was charaterised by the committment of Regular and Territorial battalions on a large scale, in which the Territorials performed just as well as the Regulars. As the battles on the Western Front in 1915 increased in size and violence, so the casualties increased in proportion: Neuve Chapelle 12,000, Aubers Ridge/Festubert 29,000 , Loos 60,000. 1916 was to take the casualty cost to another level. Loos was intended as a minor role in support of French efforts around Arras but circumstances reduced the French effort. It marked the first use of poison gas by the British. Once the initial assualt had failed the battle continued in a series of actions mostly focused on the northern sector around the tactically important Hohenzollern Redoubt."

Detail :

Second Lieut Edward Stanley Strachan, 8th Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment), was killed in action on October 14th, 1915. A year later he was still reported "missing, believed killed".

He was gazetted on April 7th, 1915, and went to France on June 17th. He took part in several engagements before being reported missing, believed killed, in the attack on the Hohenzollern Redoubt on October 14th, 1915.

At 0415 hrs on 14 Oct 1915 the 8th Foresters (temporarily under command of 138 Brigade) attacked the approaches to the Hohenzollern Redoubt at Loos to take pressure off the rest of 46 Division who were under severe pressure in the redoubt itself from German counter attacks. The Battalion was relieved after 25 hours fighting having established a strongpoint 80 yds short of Point 60. On the same day Capt Charles Vickers of the 7th Foresters was winning a VC by his bombing exploits inside the redoubt itself. With 170 casualties the 8th Foresters had suffered more heavily than any other Battalion in the Forester Brigade. 2/Lt Edward STRACHAN was killed in this action on 14th October 1915 and has no known grave and is remembered on the Loos Memorial. In the same attack his fellow officer in the 1/8 Sherwood Foresters and Brother Mason 2/Lieutenant Ralph Eustace HEMINGWAY of NOTTINGHAMSHIRE LODGE No 1434 also fell. Source: John Cotterill

He is included on the Luton Roll of Honour and his name is a listed on the Jesus College, Cambridge Roll of Honour.

Masonic :

TypeLodge Name and No.Province/District :
Mother : Sir Thomas White No. 1820 E.C.London

Initiated
Passed
Raised
7th December 1906
4th January 1907
1st March 1907
 

Source :

The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:

Additional Source:

Last Updated: 2019-09-14 12:58:47