Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Pair: Second Lieutenant W. Arnott, 2nd Battalion Scottish Rifles, wounded in action, battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916, who died on 15 August 1920

British War and Victory Medals (2 Lieut.) mounted court style for wear; Silver War Badge (382819) nearly extremely fine (3) £140-180

William Arnott was born in Scotland on 23 January 1888. He was educated at Broughton School and was then employed for 10 years at Alex. Morison & Co., solicitors, of 33 Queen Street, Edinburgh. In March 1906 he joined the Queen’s Edinburgh Rifle Volunteers, being discharged in 1908 on appointment to the 4th Battalion Royal Scots, with whom he served until 1911.

In March 1915 Arnott applied for a temporary commission in the infantry, having just recovered from an operation for varicose veins. Arnott was commissioned into the 11th Battalion Scottish Rifles (Cameronians) but never served with the battalion. He completed his training with the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion and then, on 21 May 1916, he was posted to the 2nd Battalion in France. He disembarked at Boulogne and joined his battalion at Albert on 3 June 1916. The 2nd Scottish Rifles formed part of the 23rd Brigade, 8th Division of the Fourth Army. At the time, the Fourth Army was preparing for the attack on the Somme, the 8th Division being allocated the sector around Ovillers.

On 1 July 1916, the 2nd Battalion Scottish Rifles was a reserve battalion and did not attack until later in the day. On that day Arnott was wounded by shellfire. On 2 August 1916 he was discharged from the Base Hospital at St. Omer and rejoined his unit, but after only a week he lost vision in his left eye - suffering from retro-bulbar neuritis, and was returned to the U.K. for further treatment. After a month in hospital, a medical board found him unfit for active service but suitable for light duty. On 25 October 1916 he was appointed a recruiting officer at Edinburgh, and from 11 December, at the barracks at Ayr. He applied for promotion to Lieutenant in January 1917 but his condition deteriorated and on 21 June 1917 he was admitted to Craiglockhart War Hospital, paralysed from the waist down. Craiglockhart, on the outskirts of Edinburgh, was a hospital set up in October 1916 to treat officers for neurasthenia (shellshock). Several ‘war poets’ were treated there, including Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen and Robert Graves. On 4 December 1917 a medical board found Arnott to be permanently unfit for any form of duty, and the following month he relinquished his commission whilst retaining the rank of Lieutenant. On 4 May 1918 another medical board examined him and the report lists an horrific number of problems: - disseminated (multiple) sclerosis caused by the shock of the shell explosion on 1 July 1916, paralysis of the legs, optic atrophy in both eyes, intensive tremors, screaming speech and occasional bladder trouble.

William Arnott died on 15 August 1920 undoubtedly as a result of his wounds and was buried in Morningside Cemetery, Edinburgh.

With copied service papers, S.W.B. roll extract and other research.