HERE LIES A FATHER'S HOPE
A MOTHER'S PRIDE
AND A WIFE'S DEPENDENCE

PRIVATE JOHN PRENTICE

THE CAMERONIANS SCOTTISH RIFLES

23RD AUGUST 1916 AGE 27

BURIED: BECOURT MILITARY CEMETERY, BECORDEL-BECOURT, FRANCE


In twelve spare words James Prentice describes a world of loss: for himself, his wife and his son's wife, Robina. Note how for Robina what she has lost is her dependence, the financial support her husband provided. War widows received a pension: 20 shillings a week if there were no children. However, by the time Becourt Military Cemetery was finalised, in 1933, Robina Prentice had married again.
Three soldiers from the 10th Battalion The Cameronians died on 23 August, two were buried beside Field Ambulance stations and one is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. There is no record of what caused their death.