John Tulloch’s father, William Hugh Tulloch, was born on 13th January 1860 at Beauly. He was educated at Beauly Primary School, Inverness Academy, Aberdeen Grammar School and the University of Edinburgh, New College Edinburgh. He was Licensed by the Free Church Presbytery of Perth in 1888, assistant Amulree, Perthshire and Ordained and inducted Fortingall, Perthshire, May 1889. He carried out war service with the YMCA in 1918. William Tulloch married Eleanor A Campbell Rose on 8th September 1893.

John Tulloch was born on 27th September 1894, and had two brothers: Hugh Rose, b. 1899; and William C., b. 1901. He was educated at Perth Academy and Edinburgh University, where he was a Student of Medicine from 1912-16.

John Tulloch enlisted with the 9th Royal Scots as a Private in March 1916. He went to France in August 1916, and transferred to the 13th Royal Scots.

The 13th Battalion of the Royal Scots moved to the Somme area from the Loos Salient on 21st July 1916, and moved into support positions at Contalmaison on 9th August. Thereafter it was either manning sectors of the front line, or providing working parties, until it was withdrawn to prepare for the assault that was to mark the third, and final, phase of the Somme offensive. 

The attack was planned for 15th September and the initial objective of the 13th was the German trenches in front of the village of Martinpuich. By then, after over ten weeks of attacks, German resistance was weakening. After a heavy preliminary bombardment, the attack was launched at dawn. Practically no hostile fire was encountered and only token resistance as the enemy was taken by surprise. The 13th did, however, suffer many casualties from our own artillery fire.

Nevertheless it speedily seized its initial objective and continued on through Martinpuich to the feature known as the “Push Trench”. During the process they captured nearly 200 prisoners, including a battalion commander and his adjutant. 

The War Diary contains the entry “At 6 am ‘tanks’ on right and left could be seen advancing” marking the first appearance of these, still somewhat unreliable, machines on the battlefield. The gains made on 15th September were the greatest achieved since the offensive opened and marked the turning point of the campaign. Despite weakening German resistance however, casualties totalling 270, were far from light that day. Thankfully the great majority were wounded, including all nine officers and 143 of the soldiers; 23 further soldiers were killed and 95 were listed as missing."

Although there is no definitive record of when John Tulloch lost his life, it would have been at some stage of this action. His body was never recovered and he is Commemorated with Honour on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing. He was 22 years of age.

Perthshire Advertiser, 25th October 1916

“OUR OWN MEN “Fortingall"

“Official notice has been received by the Rev. W. H. Tulloch, United Free Church, Fortingall, that his eldest son, Private J. Tulloch, Royal Scots, has been missing since 15th September. The news has excited universal sympathy with Mr and Mrs Tulloch and family."

"Private J. Tulloch was a medical student in Edinburgh, and on the termination of the session in March last joined the Royal Scots.”

John Tulloch is also commemorated on the Edinburgh University War Memorial.

The Fortingall Yew is an ancient European yew (Taxus baccata) in the churchyard of the village of Fortingall in Perthshire, Scotland. Considered one of the oldest trees in Britain, modern estimates place its age at an average of 5,000 years.

John Tulloch's father was ordained as the minister at Fortingall United Free Church in 1889, and John Tulloch was born five years later in 1894. He would have lived and played beside this ancient tree as a child.