We dedicate this post to Former Pupil, John Malone. John attended Heriot’s from 1907-13.

John had been in the OTC (now the CCF) before leaving school. He joined the 7th Royal Scots as a bugler in May 1913 (aged 15).

At 06:45 on 22 May 1915, John was on a train carrying the battalion to Liverpool when it collided with a local train, resulting in the worst train disaster in UK history. Of 498 men, just 62 survived. John’s body was never identified. A mass grave at Rosebank Cemetery in Leith commemorates the tragedy.

During WWI, you had to be 18 years old to be sent overseas. However, Territorial Force regulations allowed ‘Special Enlistments’ where boys aged between 14 -17 could join as bandsmen, with the consent of their parents/ guardians.