Difference between revisions of "70th Infantry Brigade War Diary September 1939"

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'''Background to the creation of the Brigade'''
+
'''1st September 1939'''
  
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A conference had been held on 9.6.1939 to discuss the proposed title of 23rd Division in the context of the duplication of the size of the Territorial Army – whether in fact it should be 63rd Division.
+
Embodiment of the Territorial Army was ordered.
  
−
Reference was made to the First World War links with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50th_(Northumbrian)_Division 50th Division], when the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23rd_Division_(United_Kingdom) 23rd Division] had included both the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durham_Light_Infantry#12th_Battalion 12th] and 13th Battalions DLI (New Army) and had fought on the left of the 50th Division at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Somme Somme] in 1916.  The 50th and 23rd Divisions had met again at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_Battle_of_Ypres 3rd Battle of Ypres] in 1917.
+
The 70th Brigade HQ was established at Mains House (junction of West Lane and Front Street) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street].  The initial Brigade officers were:-
  
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The prevailing view was that the title of 23rd Division was most appropriate and this was eventually authorised after an appeal by ex-officers to Mr Hore-Belisha, the Secretary of State for War.   
+
Brigade Commander - Brigadier Philip Kirkup DSO OBE MC TD (formerly Commander of 8th DLI in World War One).   
  
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Separation of the Brigades was intended to be on a geographical basis.  The initial idea was to create a 150th (N.Durham) Brigade under Brigadier Kirkup, containing the  9th, 12th and 11th Battalions of The Durham Light Infantry, headquartered at Chester-le-Street.  The 151st Brigade would then be a South Durham Brigade, under Brigadier Churchill, with 6th, 8th and 10th Battalions of The Durham Light Infantry, with their HQ at Durham City.   
+
Brigade Major - Capt Fillingham.   
  
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Both Brigades were intended to be part of the 50th Division.  When duplication of the scale of manpower was being planned the original 150th Brigade and its duplicate had been intended to make up the 23rd Division – both 23rd and 50th Divisions were intended to be motorised.
+
Staff Captain - Lieut Trail.  
  
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However, the annual training for the existing [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/151st_Infantry_Brigade_(United_Kingdom) 151st Brigade] at Whitby had been fixed for 10th – 24th September 1939 so that the Battalions could take part in some exercises in Yorkshire – separation into the new Brigades was to be deferred until after the conclusion of this camp, as all personnel would be attending – recruits for the two weeks, trained men taking part in the exercises on the second week.  
+
Intelligence Officer - 2/Lieut Catto.
  
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Mobilisation orders interfered with these plans with one Division being required to go overseas as soon as possible - this of course was 50th Division.
+
The HQ of the 41st (Durham) National Defence Corps was also set up initially at Mains House - Lt Col Stafford commanding and
 +
Major Boys-Stones as Adjutant.
  
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As a result, all trained men except the duplicate COs, Adjutants, Quartermasters and a cadre were kept in the original 151st Brigade Battalions - 6th, 8th and 9th Battalions of The Durham Light Infantry - which then formed 50th Division, along with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/150th_Infantry_Brigade_(United_Kingdom) 150th Brigade], and departed for the B.E.F. in France in due course.
+
10th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry had its HQ at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop_Auckland Bishop Auckland].
  
−
The duplicate Battalions of those in the 151st Brigade - namely 10th, 11th and 12th Battalions of The Durham Light Infantry formed 70th Brigade.
+
11th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry had its HQ at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durham Durham], with Companies at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birtley,_Tyne_and_Wear Birtley], Chester-le-Street, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley,_County_Durham Stanley] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houghton_le_Spring Houghton-le-Spring].
  
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The Commander of 50th Division, Maj Gen le Q Martel instructed on 14 6 1939 that the procedure for the final separation of the original and duplicate units should be….”The date from which a duplicate unit is considered sufficiently organised to be independent of the “original” unit will be decided and reported to 50th Division”.
+
12th Battalion (Tyneside Scottish) The Durham Light Infantry had its HQ at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateshead Gateshead], with detachments at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaydon Blaydon] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chopwell Chopwell].
  
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For the time being, 69th and 70th Brigades in the 23rd Division were administered by the 50th Division and this applied when embodiment took place on 1 9 1939.
+
'''3rd September 1939'''
  
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'''1st September 1939'''
+
War with Germany declared.  ''A list of the officers in each of the Battalions was prepared and is attached to the War Diary at Appendix 2.  This list was compared with the database of names in each Battalion I had already compiled and arrangements were made to include those officers not already on those databases.  Interestingly, when the comparison was carried out, only two out of the ten officers listed as being with the 10th Battalion were already on the database, eight out of twenty-four officers from the 11th Battalion were missing from their database, whereas only one of the 12th Battalion officers had not already been identified from the Tyneside Scottish sources.  This lack of direct matches, particularly for 10th Battalion, may be down to the subsequent movement of officers between second and first-line Battalions - this will be checked as Battalion War Diaries are processed.''
  
−
Embodiment of the Territorial Army was ordered.
+
'''4th September 1939'''
  
−
70th Brigade HQ was established at Mains House (junction of West Lane and Front Street) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street].  The initial Brigade officers were:-
+
Embodiment was noted as completed – 10th Battalion had just moved its HQ to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spennymoor SPENNYMOOR] along with with 3 of its Companies, with the remaining Company based at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crook,_County_Durham CROOK].  In Spennymoor, the Battalion Headquarters, together with the Headquarters, C and D Companies, were based in the Drill Hall, with A Company based in the Spennymoor Masonic Hall.
 +
 +
The 11th Battalion remained as it was as at 1st September, with Battalion HQ in Chester-le-Street Drill Hall along with the Headquarters Company, with A Company in the [http://www.durhamfreemasons.org/ASPNET/Halls.aspx?hall=3 Birtley Masonic Hall], B Company in the Chester-le-Street Drill Hall, C Company in the Stanley Greyhound Stadium and D Company in the Greyhound Stadium at Houghton-le-Spring.
  
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Brigade Commander - Brigadier Philip Kirkup DSO OBE MC TD (formerly Commander of 8th DLI in World War One).
+
The 12th (Tyneside Scottish) Battalion had its HQ and all Companies except one in the Victoria Road Schools, Teams, GATESHEAD, while D Company was based in the Drill Hall at BLAYDON.
  
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Brigade Major - Capt Fillingham. 
+
'''5th September 1939'''
  
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Staff Captain - Lieut Trail.  
+
The 11th Battalion provided a guard of twelve men at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Usworth USWORTH RAF Station] for ground defence from air attack.
  
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Intelligence Officer - 2/Lieut Catto.   
+
The 12th Battalion provided a guard of 3 Officers and 48 other ranks over ammunition ''(presumably awaiting shipment)'' at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Sunderland SUNDERLAND DOCKS].
 +
 
 +
'''6th September 1939'''
 +
 
 +
The 11th Battalion changed its HQ to “The Hawthorns” Picktree Lane, CHESTER-LE-STREET.  A note of the various Headquarters locations and their contact details was prepared by the Staff Captain and attached to the War Diary at Appendix 1.
 +
 
 +
The Brigadier inspected the guard at  SUNDERLAND DOCKS.
 +
 
 +
'''8th September 1939'''
 +
 
 +
70th Brigade was made responsible for Point Air Defence ''(or possibly Passive Air Defence depending on the context?)'' (P.A.D). of the Drill Halls of both 70th and 151st Brigades.
 +
 
 +
The SUNDERLAND DOCKS guard was withdrawn.
 +
 
 +
'''10th/11th September 1939'''
 +
 
 +
The local unit of the National Defence Corps ''(In the summer of 1939, the Territorial Army Association began to enrol ‘old soldiers’ over 45 years of age to form a National Defence Corps.)'' came under the orders of 70th Brigade.
 +
 
 +
'''12th September 1939'''
 +
 
 +
During the period between 8th and 12th Sept inter-Battalion transfers of officers and NCOs, between the second and first-line Battalions, left 70th Brigade very depleted.  ''(This presumably occurred at this time to ensure that the first-line units forming 151st Brigade were brought up to strength as quickly as possible so that they were up to establishment before being sent to France.  Unfortunately the identity of the men moved between the Battalions was not listed in the War Diary, though presumably some notes must have been made at the time for the purpose of the soldiers' Service Records.  As the Enlistment Books do not contain details of transfers '''''within''''' the Regiment they have not been able to be used as a source of information on this situation.)''
 +
 
 +
'''13th September 1939'''
 +
 
 +
A Tactical Exercise Without Troops (TEWT) was held for the junior officers of the 11th and 12th Battalions at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambton_Castle LAMBTON PARK], tutored by Capt A.H.G.Ricketts of the DLI Infantry Training Centre (ITC).
 +
 
 +
'''14th September 1939'''
 +
 
 +
A Battalion CO’s Conference was held at Brigade HQ.
 +
 
 +
'''16th September 1939'''
 +
 
 +
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giffard_LeQuesne_Martel Maj Gen Martell] – Commander of 50th Division – visited Brigade HQ.
 +
 
 +
'''17th September 1939'''
 +
 
 +
2/Lt MacNicol took over as Intelligence Officer from 2/Lt Catto.
 +
 
 +
'''18th September 1939'''
 +
 
 +
A TEWT was held at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croxdale CROXDALE] ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunderland_Bridge,_County_Durham SUNDERLAND BRIDGE][http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&channel=s&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=Hmh&q=Sunderland+Bridge+England&um=1&ie=UTF-8&split=0&ei=2JvISb29BoGTsAbKnqy2Ag&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=title See here for a map]) for 11th and 12th Battalion officers, again tutored by Capt Ricketts of the DLI ITC.
 +
 
 +
A Conference of 50th Division, 70th Brigade and 151st Brigade Commanders was held at Brigade HQ.
 +
 
 +
'''21st September 1939'''
 +
 
 +
A Signalling course opened at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brancepeth BRANCEPETH] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brancepeth_Castle DEPOT] for 2 officers and 16 other ranks from each Battalion.
 +
 
 +
'''25th September 1939'''
 +
 
 +
The first Infantry Leaders course for NCOs opened at CHESTER-LE-STREET under the direction of Major Oxley, 12th Battalion.
 +
 
 +
Maj Gen Herbert visited the 10th Battalion at SPENNYMOOR.
 +
 
 +
'''27th/28th September 1939'''
 +
 
 +
All three Battalions of the Brigade were visited by Capt Dodds and Lt Osborne of 23rd Division Royal Engineers to discuss the situation regarding Point Air Defence for the units of the Brigade.   
 +
 
 +
'''29th September 1939'''
 +
 
 +
Brigadier Kirkup visited [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Chemical_Industries ICI BILLINGHAM] to reconnoitre vulnerable points together with Lt Col Stafford of the National Defence Corps.
 +
 
 +
'''30th September 1939'''
 +
 
 +
The Brigade, and indeed the Division was still under the administration of 50th Division.
 +
 
 +
During September, owing to the lack of accommodation, all men not needed for essential duties continued to live at home.
 +
 
 +
The Brigade experienced various administrative difficulties as it had, as yet, no manuals, forms, or trained clerks.  No rations were available so a subsistence allowance was paid to the men at a rate of up to three shillings per head.
 +
 
 +
On embodiment of the Territorial Army, all TA recruiting had been suspended.  Recruits, instead of joining directly, were to be supplied by the Zone Recruiting Officer and, of course, conscription had been introduced on the outbreak of War.  During this period - in an attempt to avoid some of the confusion and inefficiencies experienced during the First World War - an essential trades “comb-out” exercise was carried out under War Office instructions dated 4th September 1939 to identify and release back to civilian life tradesmen considered more valuable in their pre-War occupations.
 +
 
 +
Appendix 3 of the War Diary for September lists the vulnerable points within the Brigade's area of operational responsibility as follows:-
 +
 +
Shipyards:-
 +
 
 +
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorn_Leslie_and_Company Hawthorn Leslie] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebburn Hebburn], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmers_Shipbuilding_and_Iron_Company_Limited Palmers Works] and the Mercantile Dry Docks [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarrow Jarrow] Brigham and Cowan and the Tyne Dock Engineering Company [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Shields South Shields].
 +
 
 +
The Power Station at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunston,_Tyne_and_Wear Dunston].
 +
 
 +
RAF Stations:-
 +
 
 +
Usworth, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Ouston Ouston]
 +
 
 +
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Ordnance_Factory Royal Ordnance Factory, Birtley]
 +
 
 +
Ammunition Dumps:-
 +
 
 +
Finchale, Boldon.
 +
 
 +
Equipment Ammunition Magazine:-
 +
 
 +
Stockton (Carville - Tees).
  
−
HQ of the 41st (Durham) National Defence Corps was also set up initially at Mains House - Lt Col Stafford commanding and Maj. Boys-Stones as Adjutant.
+
Railway viaducts and tunnels (including Croxdale, Belmont and Victoria viaducts and the North and South Tunnels at Sunderland).
  
−
10th Battalion had its HQ at Bishop Auckland.
+
ICI Billingham.
  
−
11th Battalion had its HQ at Durham, with Companies at Birtley, Chester-le-Street, Stanley and Houghton-le-Spring.
+
PoW Camp, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windlestone_Hall Windlestone Hall].
  
−
12th Battalion had its HQ at Team Valley, Gateshead.
+
To contact the author by e-mail with any queries, or to send information - [mailto:70brigade@newmp.org.uk click here].

Latest revision as of 16:01, 18 June 2011

1st September 1939

Embodiment of the Territorial Army was ordered.

The 70th Brigade HQ was established at Mains House (junction of West Lane and Front Street) Chester-le-Street. The initial Brigade officers were:-

Brigade Commander - Brigadier Philip Kirkup DSO OBE MC TD (formerly Commander of 8th DLI in World War One).

Brigade Major - Capt Fillingham.

Staff Captain - Lieut Trail.

Intelligence Officer - 2/Lieut Catto.

The HQ of the 41st (Durham) National Defence Corps was also set up initially at Mains House - Lt Col Stafford commanding and Major Boys-Stones as Adjutant.

10th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry had its HQ at Bishop Auckland.

11th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry had its HQ at Durham, with Companies at Birtley, Chester-le-Street, Stanley and Houghton-le-Spring.

12th Battalion (Tyneside Scottish) The Durham Light Infantry had its HQ at Gateshead, with detachments at Blaydon and Chopwell.

3rd September 1939

War with Germany declared. A list of the officers in each of the Battalions was prepared and is attached to the War Diary at Appendix 2. This list was compared with the database of names in each Battalion I had already compiled and arrangements were made to include those officers not already on those databases. Interestingly, when the comparison was carried out, only two out of the ten officers listed as being with the 10th Battalion were already on the database, eight out of twenty-four officers from the 11th Battalion were missing from their database, whereas only one of the 12th Battalion officers had not already been identified from the Tyneside Scottish sources. This lack of direct matches, particularly for 10th Battalion, may be down to the subsequent movement of officers between second and first-line Battalions - this will be checked as Battalion War Diaries are processed.

4th September 1939

Embodiment was noted as completed – 10th Battalion had just moved its HQ to SPENNYMOOR along with with 3 of its Companies, with the remaining Company based at CROOK. In Spennymoor, the Battalion Headquarters, together with the Headquarters, C and D Companies, were based in the Drill Hall, with A Company based in the Spennymoor Masonic Hall.

The 11th Battalion remained as it was as at 1st September, with Battalion HQ in Chester-le-Street Drill Hall along with the Headquarters Company, with A Company in the Birtley Masonic Hall, B Company in the Chester-le-Street Drill Hall, C Company in the Stanley Greyhound Stadium and D Company in the Greyhound Stadium at Houghton-le-Spring.

The 12th (Tyneside Scottish) Battalion had its HQ and all Companies except one in the Victoria Road Schools, Teams, GATESHEAD, while D Company was based in the Drill Hall at BLAYDON.

5th September 1939

The 11th Battalion provided a guard of twelve men at USWORTH RAF Station for ground defence from air attack.

The 12th Battalion provided a guard of 3 Officers and 48 other ranks over ammunition (presumably awaiting shipment) at SUNDERLAND DOCKS.

6th September 1939

The 11th Battalion changed its HQ to “The Hawthorns” Picktree Lane, CHESTER-LE-STREET. A note of the various Headquarters locations and their contact details was prepared by the Staff Captain and attached to the War Diary at Appendix 1.

The Brigadier inspected the guard at SUNDERLAND DOCKS.

8th September 1939

70th Brigade was made responsible for Point Air Defence (or possibly Passive Air Defence depending on the context?) (P.A.D). of the Drill Halls of both 70th and 151st Brigades.

The SUNDERLAND DOCKS guard was withdrawn.

10th/11th September 1939

The local unit of the National Defence Corps (In the summer of 1939, the Territorial Army Association began to enrol ‘old soldiers’ over 45 years of age to form a National Defence Corps.) came under the orders of 70th Brigade.

12th September 1939

During the period between 8th and 12th Sept inter-Battalion transfers of officers and NCOs, between the second and first-line Battalions, left 70th Brigade very depleted. (This presumably occurred at this time to ensure that the first-line units forming 151st Brigade were brought up to strength as quickly as possible so that they were up to establishment before being sent to France. Unfortunately the identity of the men moved between the Battalions was not listed in the War Diary, though presumably some notes must have been made at the time for the purpose of the soldiers' Service Records. As the Enlistment Books do not contain details of transfers within the Regiment they have not been able to be used as a source of information on this situation.)

13th September 1939

A Tactical Exercise Without Troops (TEWT) was held for the junior officers of the 11th and 12th Battalions at LAMBTON PARK, tutored by Capt A.H.G.Ricketts of the DLI Infantry Training Centre (ITC).

14th September 1939

A Battalion CO’s Conference was held at Brigade HQ.

16th September 1939

Maj Gen Martell – Commander of 50th Division – visited Brigade HQ.

17th September 1939

2/Lt MacNicol took over as Intelligence Officer from 2/Lt Catto.

18th September 1939

A TEWT was held at CROXDALE (SUNDERLAND BRIDGESee here for a map) for 11th and 12th Battalion officers, again tutored by Capt Ricketts of the DLI ITC.

A Conference of 50th Division, 70th Brigade and 151st Brigade Commanders was held at Brigade HQ.

21st September 1939

A Signalling course opened at BRANCEPETH DEPOT for 2 officers and 16 other ranks from each Battalion.

25th September 1939

The first Infantry Leaders course for NCOs opened at CHESTER-LE-STREET under the direction of Major Oxley, 12th Battalion.

Maj Gen Herbert visited the 10th Battalion at SPENNYMOOR.

27th/28th September 1939

All three Battalions of the Brigade were visited by Capt Dodds and Lt Osborne of 23rd Division Royal Engineers to discuss the situation regarding Point Air Defence for the units of the Brigade.

29th September 1939

Brigadier Kirkup visited ICI BILLINGHAM to reconnoitre vulnerable points together with Lt Col Stafford of the National Defence Corps.

30th September 1939

The Brigade, and indeed the Division was still under the administration of 50th Division.

During September, owing to the lack of accommodation, all men not needed for essential duties continued to live at home.

The Brigade experienced various administrative difficulties as it had, as yet, no manuals, forms, or trained clerks. No rations were available so a subsistence allowance was paid to the men at a rate of up to three shillings per head.

On embodiment of the Territorial Army, all TA recruiting had been suspended. Recruits, instead of joining directly, were to be supplied by the Zone Recruiting Officer and, of course, conscription had been introduced on the outbreak of War. During this period - in an attempt to avoid some of the confusion and inefficiencies experienced during the First World War - an essential trades “comb-out” exercise was carried out under War Office instructions dated 4th September 1939 to identify and release back to civilian life tradesmen considered more valuable in their pre-War occupations.

Appendix 3 of the War Diary for September lists the vulnerable points within the Brigade's area of operational responsibility as follows:-

Shipyards:-

Hawthorn Leslie Hebburn, Palmers Works and the Mercantile Dry Docks Jarrow Brigham and Cowan and the Tyne Dock Engineering Company South Shields.

The Power Station at Dunston.

RAF Stations:-

Usworth, Ouston

Royal Ordnance Factory, Birtley

Ammunition Dumps:-

Finchale, Boldon.

Equipment Ammunition Magazine:-

Stockton (Carville - Tees).

Railway viaducts and tunnels (including Croxdale, Belmont and Victoria viaducts and the North and South Tunnels at Sunderland).

ICI Billingham.

PoW Camp, Windlestone Hall.

To contact the author by e-mail with any queries, or to send information - click here.

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