John Aitken Simpson

1895 - 1917  (21 years)

• Name	John Aitken Simpson
  Born	25 Nov 1895	Torphichen, West Lothian, Scotland   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Residence	1901	The Square, Torphicen, West Lothian, Scotland   [2]
  _UID	5DC9E8CE4BFF40FAA7BE880893A5BDB4FEAB
  Died	8 Aug 1917	Palestine
  Buried	Jerusalem War Cemetery, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel).
  Person ID	I6765	My Big Tree
  Last Modified	10 Mar 2013

  
  

  Father	John Simpson,   b. 1 Aug 1863, Torphichen, West Lothian, Scotland ,   d. 6 Jun 1918, The Square, Torphichen, West Lothian, Scotland  (Age 54 years)
  Mother	Catherine Aitken,   b. 20 Sep 1863, Torphichen, West Lothian, Scotland ,   d. 11 May 1941, The Square, Torphichen, West Lothian, Scotland  (Age 77 years)
  Married	3 Nov 1893	Torphichen, West Lothian, Scotland
  	Witnesses to the wedding of Catherine (Kate) Aitken and John Simpson were Kate's sister, Mary Aitken and James Simpson
  Family ID	F2206	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Served in World War One and died in Palestine Killed in Palestine on 8 Aug 1917, and commemorated on the Jerusalem Memorial. He was a member of the 1st/5th Bn. Argyll and Sutherland Highlinders (Service number 201682). Death Notes: At the outbreak of the First World War, Palestine was part of the Turkish Empire and was not entered by Allied forces until December 1916. The advance to Jerusalem took a further year, but from 1914 to December 1917, about 250 Commonwealth prisoners of war were buried in the German and Anglo-German cemeteries of the city. By 21 November 1917, the Egyptian Expeditionary Force had gained a line about five kilometres west of Jerusalem, but the city was deliberately spared bombardment and direct attack. Very severe fighting followed, lasting until the evening of 8 December, when the 53rd (Welsh) Division on the south, and the 60th (London) and 74th (Yeomanry) Divisions on the west, had captured all the city's prepared defences. Turkish forces left Jerusalem throughout that night and in the morning of 9 December, the Mayor came to the Allied lines with the Turkish Governor's letter of surrender. Jerusalem was occupied that day and on 11 December, General Allenby formally entered the city, followed by representatives of France and Italy. Meanwhile, the 60th Division pushed across the road to Nablus, and the 53rd across the eastern road. From 26 to 30 December, severe fighting took place to the north and east of the city but it remained in Allied hands.

  
  

• Sources

  [S13] Birth Cert (Reliability: 3). [S16] 1901 Census (Reliability: 3).