Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Pair: Private M. Wallace, Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment), who was killed in action on 23 April 1917 during the Second Battle of the Scarpe

British War and Victory Medals (38750 Pte. M. Wallace, R. Scots.) in original small paper envelopes with lengths of ribbon; Memorial Plaque (Malcolm Wallace) in card envelope and damaged paper envelope, the plaque with 5mm hole drilled at 12 o’clock, otherwise extremely fine (3)

Malcolm Wallace was born in Glasgow, Lanarkshire around 1897, the son of John and Jane Wallace of Mansion Street, Glasgow. During the Great War he served initially with the 11th (Service) Battalion, Royal Scots on the Western Front. He later transferred to the 13th (Service) Battalion, 15th (Scottish) Division, and was killed in action on 23 April 1917 at a time when his battalion were engaged in the Second Battle of the Scarpe during the wider Battle of Arras.

The 13th Battalion had successfully secured the village of Blagny during the First Battle of the Scarpe (9-12 April) but suffered severely when their operations resumed south of Monchy on 23 April. Despite their repeated efforts to move forward, the battalion was halted by the enemy in the area of Dragoon Lane with the loss of 30 killed, 170 wounded and over 70 missing. Wallace has no known grave and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France.