British India General Service Medal 1908–1935, North West Frontier 1908 Clasp – Private Peter Milne, 2nd Bn. Seaforth Highlanders –KIA St Julien, Ypres 1915
India General Service Medal 1908–1935, clasp: North West Frontier 1908
Peter Milne was born in Inverness around 1886, the son of William Milne and Catherine Isabella Milne (née Mackintosh), of Burnmoor and later associated with Portobello and Inverness. He grew up in a Highland family with several siblings, including his brother John Milne. By 1911, Peter was serving as a Private with the Seaforth Highlanders, at that time stationed in India, confirming a period of regular pre-war service with the regiment.
Following the completion of his colour service, Milne emigrated to Western Australia. However, as a former regular soldier he would have remained on the Army Reserve, and upon the outbreak of the Great War in 1914 he was liable for recall. He subsequently made the long journey back from Western Australia to Britain in order to rejoin the Seaforth Highlanders. Contemporary newspaper reports note this return, highlighting both his previous service in India and the fact that he came back from Australia to rejoin his regiment, reflecting both his obligation as a reservist and a clear sense of duty.
He rejoined as Private, No. 9081, serving with the 2nd Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders, part of the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front. The battalion was heavily engaged in the fighting around Ypres during the spring of 1915.
On 25 April 1915, Private Milne was killed in action during the attack on St Julien, near Ypres, part of the wider Second Battle of Ypres. This was a particularly severe period of fighting, marked by intense German attacks and the early use of gas, with the Seaforth Highlanders suffering heavy casualties in the defence and counter-attacks in the St Julien sector.
News of his death was reported in local Inverness newspapers, which recorded that word had been received by his family confirming he had been killed in action near Ypres. Reports also highlighted the wider service of the family, noting that his brother John Milne, who was in Australia at the outbreak of war, had joined the Australian Expeditionary Force and had been wounded at the Dardanelles.
He is buried at Seaforth Cemetery, Cheddar Villa, Ypres, a burial ground closely associated with the Seaforth Highlanders and the fighting in that area. His grave is recorded as B.1 (Headstone “A” 50).
Following his death, a pension was awarded to his mother, Catherine Milne, who was recorded as being wholly impaired in her capacity to earn a livelihood. She received a weekly pension from May 1916, later subject to review, and was residing at 44 King’s Road, Portobello at the time of the claim.
In addition to his Great War service, Milne was entitled to the India General Service Medal 1908–1935 with clasp North West Frontier 1908, confirming his earlier service with the Seaforth Highlanders on the North-West Frontier of India prior to the war.
Peter Milne’s story is that of a regular Highland soldier who, after imperial service and a period overseas as a civilian, was recalled from the Reserve at the outbreak of war, returned from the other side of the world to rejoin his battalion, and was killed in the early and bitter fighting at St Julien during the Second Battle of Ypres.
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AJMS Medals