James Higgins Laing (1897 – 23 April 1917) was a Scottish footballer who made one appearance in the Scottish League for

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

as an inside right.

Personal life

Prior to his service in the First World War, Laing worked as an engineer for Carron Company. He attested in the Army on 8 December 1915 and was called up to the

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

in September 1916. Serving as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

, Laing was posted to the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

in January 1917 and was hospitalised the following month, suffering from frostbite. He returned to his battalion in April and ten days later, on 23 April 1917, he was killed in an attack on Rœux during the Battle of the Scarpe. Laing was buried in Rœux British Cemetery.

Career statistics

References

Scottish men's footballers Scottish Football League players Men's association football inside forwards East Stirlingshire F.C. players Falkirk F.C. players People from Kilsyth 1897 births 1917 deaths British Army personnel of World War I Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders soldiers British military personnel killed in World War I Military personnel from North Lanarkshire Footballers from North Lanarkshire {{Scotland-footy-forward-1890s-stub