On 23 Jul 1918 [his son] Frank Singleton (age 18) was killed in action serving with the 1/8th Battalion Royal Scots (The Lothian Regiment). Service Number 331065. He was buried at the Marfaux British Cemetery, Marne, France.

From the web:

The 1/8th spent 1916 in support of their division. Often they could see the work of a week destroyed in just a few minutes of shelling. Despite the setbacks, they honed their efficiency such that a team of 9 could erect 50 yards of barbed wire barrier in just 9 minutes and the 1/8th trained their division to match this standard. In 1917 it had spells with the 12th and 4th divisions and then had a particularly trying spell at Ypres: roads, railways, trenches, and dug-outs were built under shelling and the new peril of gas attacks.

In March of 1918 the battalion was in line standing off the advancing Germans. Their ability to entrench and wire as well as fight was all that saved them several times: over 200 casualties were recorded in the space of five days. In April they lost another 174 in similar fluid fighting. A month later they recorded 12000 yards of 8×6 foot trenching and 23000 yards of wire constructed – on top of their normal duties. The last months of the war were spent on the offensive, often in open countryside, celebrating the Armistice in quarters near Cambrai. Early in 1919 they were in Belgium with demobilisation underway and the cadre of the battalion was welcomed home to Haddington on 30th April 1919.

During its service the 1/8th battalion recorded 1669 casualties, including 309 fatalities or missing.

On or before 12 Jun 1940 [his wife] Susannah Jane Beverly (age 72) died. She was buried in Hayfield, Derbyshire [Map].

In Sep 1948 Joseph Singleton (age 83) died.