Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Flanders | Panel 37 | |
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.125 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 30D GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 5th Battalion Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) |
1/5th (Angus and Dundee) Battalion August 1914 : in Arbroath. Part of Black Watch Brigade, unallocated to a Division. 2 November 1914 : landed at Le Havre. 13 November 1914 : attached to 24th Brigade in 8th Division. 18 October 1915 : converted into Pioneer Battalion to same Division. 6 January 1916 : converted back to infantry and transferred to 154th Brigade in 51st (Highland) Division. 29 February 1916 : transferred to 118th Brigade in 39th Division. 15 March 1916 : amalgamated with 1/4th Bn to form the 4/5th Bn. |
| Action : The Battles of Ypres 1917 (Third Ypres, or Passchendaele) |
31 July - 10 November 1917. By the summer of 1917 the British Army was able for the first time to fight on its chosen ground on its terms. Having secured the southern ridges of Ypres at Messines in June, the main attack started on 31st July 1917 accompanied by what seemed like incessant heavy rain, which coupled with the artillery barrages conspired to turn much of the battlefield into a bog. Initial failure prompted changes in the high command and a strategy evolved to take the ring of ridges running across the Ypres salient in a series of 'bite and hold' operations, finally culminating in the capture of the most easterly ridge on which sat the infamous village of Passchendaele. The Official History carries the footnote ?The clerk power to investigate the exact losses was not available? but estimates of British casualties range from the official figure of 244,000 to almost 400,000. Within five months the Germans pushed the British back to the starting line, which was where they had been since May 1915.
Detail :
Lieutenant Basil Hollis, 5th (Angus and Dundee) Battalion (Territorial), Black Watch (Royal Highlanders).
His death was reported in The Scotsman on 8th August, 1917 and in the Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer 9th August, 1917, both giving the same account: "LIEUT. BASIL HOLLIS, Black Watch, who was killed in action on the 3rd inst., was the younger son of Mr. H.E. Hollis, of 3, Foremount Gardens, Dowanhill, Glasgow. Lieut. Hollis enlisted as a private in the Northern Cyclist Battalion the day after war was declared, and received his commission in the Black Watch in October, 1915. He went out to France in November last, and in February of this year he was gassed. Lieut. Hollis was educated at Routenburn and Glenalmond."
Probate HOLLIS Basil of 20 Nixon-street Newcastle-upon-Tyne steel manufacturer's agent second-lieutenant 5th battalion the Royal Highlanders died 31 July 1917 in France or Belgium on active service Probate Newcastle-upon-Tyne 22 October to Henry Ernest Hollis steel manufacturer. Effects £2240 3s. 4d.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Priory No. 1863 E.C. | Northumberland |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
12th January 1911 | 11th May 1911 | 14th September 1911 |
Basil is listed as a Steel Agent, resident at Newcastle-on-Tyne aged 25 at the time of his initiation and rose to the office of Junior Deacon. War service is shown against one column before the final annotation of "Killed in action Aug 1917."
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley