Current Information:

Age-24

Born-Durham

Enlisted-Chatham

7th Division, which included the the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers Battalion of 21 Brigade landed at Zeebrugge on the Belgian coast on 6th October with the intention of supporting the Belgian army in the defence of Antwerp. But the city fell to the Germans before they could reach it so they assisted in the evacuation of the Belgian army to the west before moving westwards themselves to join the British Expeditionary Force at Ypres.

2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers reached Ypres on 14th October and over the next three days pushed out to make contact with the enemy. By 18th October, the day on which John Caird was killed the battalion was occupying a spur running south-west from Ternand where they came under rifle and artillery fire.