Person:Eric Milroy (1)

was living 16Abbotsford Park Edinburgh A Chartered Accountant. Captain of the Scottish Rugby Football Team of 1914. Lieutenant 8th Bn., Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) On 1 July 1916, supported by a French attack to the south, thirteendivisions of Commonwealth forces launched an offensive on a line fromnorth of Gommecourt to Maricourt. Despite a preliminary bombardmentlasting seven days, the German defences were barely touched and theattack met unexpectedly fierce resistance. Losses were catastrophic andwith only minimal advances on the southern flank, the initial attack wasa failure. In the following weeks, huge resources of manpower andequipment were deployed in an attempt to exploit the modest successes ofthe first day. However, the German Army resisted tenaciously and repeatedattacks and counter attacks meant a major battle for every village, copseand farmhouse gained. At the end of September, Thiepval was finallycaptured. The village had been an original objective of 1 July. Attacksnorth and east continued throughout October and into November inincreasingly difficult weather conditions. The Battle of the Sommefinally ended on 18 November with the onset of winter. In the spring of1917, the German forces fell back to their newly prepared defences, theHindenburg Line, and there were no further significant engagements in theSomme sector until the Germans mounted their major offensive in March1918. The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme,bears the names of more than 72,000 officers and men of the UnitedKingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20March 1918 and have no known grave. Over 90% of those commemorated diedbetween July and November 1916. The memorial also serves as anAnglo-French Battle Memorial in recognition of the joint nature of the1916 offensive and a small cemetery containing equal numbers ofCommonwealth and French graves lies at the foot of the memorial. Thememorial, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, was built between 1928 and 1932and unveiled by the Prince of Wales, in the presence of the President ofFrance, on 31 July 1932. The dead of other Commonwealth countries whodied on the Somme and have no known graves are commemorated on national memorials elsewhere.

(Research):Source: Statistics.scrum.com Name: Eric Milroy Initials: E. Known as: Puss Date of birth: 04 December 1887 Place of birth: Edinburgh Country of birth: Scotland Country played for: Scotland Date of death: 18/07/1916 Place of death: Delville Wood Country of death: Position: Unknown Height: Not recorded Weight: Not recorded

Team Caps On the bench Scotland 12

21 March 1914 Scotland v England Captain 28 February 1914 Scotland v Ireland Captain 15 March 1913 Scotland v England In starting line up22 February 1913 Scotland v Ireland In starting line up01 February 1913 Scotland v Wales In starting line up01 January 1913 Scotland v France In starting line up23 November 1912 Scotland v South Africa In starting line up 16 March 1912 Scotland v England In starting line up24 February 1912 Scotland v Ireland In starting line up03 February 1912 Scotland v Wales In starting line up 18 March 1911 Scotland v England In starting line up05 February 1910 Scotland v Wales In starting line up

E. (Puss) Milroy scoring record

Has scored in one match.Team Tries Conv Pens Drop G. Mrks Points Scotland 1 0 0 0 0 3 Match Date Tries Conv Pens Drop G. Mrks PointsScotland v Wales 03 February 1912 1 0 0 0 0 3

1. ↑ Mrs. James A. Hughes. Joyce Hughes. ([email protected])
   Recorded 14 Jun 2002.
2. ↑ Mrs. James A. Hughes. Joyce Hughes. ([email protected])
   Recorded 14 Jun 2002.
3. ↑ Mrs. James A. Hughes. Joyce Hughes. ([email protected])
   Recorded 14 Jun 2002.
4. ↑ 1891 Scottish Census.
5. ↑ 1901 Scottish Census.
6. ↑ The Scotsman. The Scotsman.
7. ↑ The Scotsman. The Scotsman.
8. ↑ The Scotsman. The Scotsman.