1st Tyneside Scottish March 1940
War Diary 1 TS March 1940
At some point in late February or early March the Unit was filmed for Pathe News - and a short, 20 second, clip of the Battalion on parade with the Pipes and Drums was released for use in Cinemas on 7th March. The clip appears on YouTube and can be seen here [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YvNcFCah2U] Thanks are due to Reuters News Agency for permission to put the link in place, and to Ian McCulloch, who spotted it during his own researches. The men appear to be fully equipped with battledress and 1937 Pattern Webbing, while the Officers and the Band are kilted and in Service Dress. Sadly, within a few weeks, many of these men were either killed in action, wounded and captured, or evacuated via Dunkirk, following the Panzer ambush at Ficheux and Mercatel.
3rd March 1940
Platoon Sergeant Major Lamb, together with Privates Parkin and Procter, attended a Pioneers’ Course arranged at the Royal Engineers Drill Hall, Crown Works, Pallion, Sunderland.
4th March 1940
2/Lts Dodds and W.P. Noble proceeded on the No 8 Divisional School Course, held at the Scotch Corner Hotel, from 4th to 16th February.
2/Lt Stordy and seven soldiers attended a Course on Carriers held at Chester-le-Street commencing today.
5th March 1940
2/Lt J McGregor arrived to start a period of attachment to the Battalion and was posted to “B” Company.
7th March 1940
The Quartermaster took over the duties of Salvage Officer from 2/Lt Dunn with effect from today.
9th March 1940
An Adjutant’s Drill Parade was mounted at 09:15 hours.
2/Lt W.P. Noble, one Corporal (Anderson H.R.), two Lance Corporals (Bamborough D. and Jones W.H.) together with 9 soldiers were selected for the Anti-Tank Platoon. (Appropriate entries have been made in the personal records of the men concerned).
Pte Campbell A.H. was posted from the Recruiting Centre and taken on strength.
11th March 1940
Pte MacQueen G.K. was posted from the Recruiting Centre and taken on strength.
Pte Wardle R. attended a Motor Mechanics’ Course provided by a commercial company in Luton (Dickenson and Adams).
Six men were transferred to the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and posted today to No 51 Training Centre, Aldershot (details added to their records on the database).
The first dose was given today in inoculating the Battalion against Typhoid Fever.
12th March 1940
Corporal Forbes, Corporal Scott J.W. and L/Corporal Irving S. all proceeded on Course Serial No 6 at the Small Arms School, Hythe from 12th March to 13th April.
13th March 1940
Pte Dufty A. was posted to the Black Watch Infantry Training Centre Perth, today.
Six men were posted to the Battalion, having been taken on strength from the Recruiting Centre. At least one had previous military service in the Dragoons. (Their dates of posting have been included in their database entries.)
14th March 1940
340 members of the Battalion marched to the ranges at Whitburn to fire a Rifle Course.
Two men (Sheldon G. and Hannar R.W.) were discharged today, under King’s Regulations, as being unfit.
15th March 1940
A further 14 men were posted from the Recruiting Centre and taken on the Battalion strength.
Of the men at Whitburn, 250 fired their Rifle Course.
16th March 1940
A further 30 of the men at Whitburn fired the Rifle Course. The men then marched back to Gateshead and dispersed to their Companies. (No mention at this stage is made of the other 60 men who had attended at the ranges, but appeared not to have fired their Rifle Course).
The War Diary then lists the Officers of the Battalion and their appointments. (These are reflected in their records on the database).
18th March 1940
In the afternoon, Captain Wilkinson of the 8th Northumberland Fusiliers gave a lecture to the Officers and Platoon Sergeant Majors of the Battalion on “The Motor-Cycle Battalion. Its organisation and uses”.
Two further men (Ptes Jewitt W.F. and Watson H.) were also discharged under King’s Regulations as being unfit for service.
20th March 1940
Eight men were posted to the Battalion from the Black Watch Infantry Training Centre with effect from today.
In the afternoon the Battalion was inspected by General Bartholomew, accompanied by Brigadier Kirkup and the Brigade Major, and marched past him on the Training Area.
21st March 1940
The Battalion’s inoculations continued with the second dose of Typhoid vaccine.
Pte Moffitt G. transferred to the Black Watch from the Coldstream Guards and was posted to 1st Tyneside Scottish.
22nd March 1940
The Battalion commenced Embarkation Leave.
23rd March 1940
The results were published of the Rifle classification fired a few days earlier at Whitburn. The Company averages ranged from 65.5 for the Replacement Company to 78.29 for “A” Company, while the best shot in each Company was also identified.
25th March 1940
2/Lt Brennan W.G. attended a Motor Transport Course for Officers lasting a total of five weeks in Chiswick and Chilwell.
26th March 1940
Major N. Noble M.C. attended Course No. 2 at the Small Arms School, Hythe from 25th to 31st March.
27th March 1940
Pte Hillary G. was transferred to the Royal Engineers and posted to 31st Battalion at Crawley with effect from today.
A District Court Martial was convened at Battalion HQ, Rose Street Schools, Gateshead at 10:00 to try Pte Irvine J.W. The Board were from 124th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery and 23rd Divisional Signals, while the Battalion provided the prosecuting and defending Officers (both Lawyers). Ten Officers from various units attended as observers, for instruction. No detail of the outcome was given in the War Diary, nor the details of the charges.
That evening the Battalion was given a lecture , by an un-named Professor, on "Television".
28th March 1940
L/Cpl McMillen was posted forthwith to the Northern Command Weapon Training School – location not specified.
29th March 1940
A lecture was given to the Company Accounting Officers, Company and Regimental Quartermaster Sergeants, Quartermasters and Messing Officers by a representative of the Command Paymaster. This took place at the Pelaw Miners’ Welfare Hall, Chester-le-Street.
31st March 1940
A Pioneers’ Course was assembled at Stokesley, lasting from 31st March to 12th April and attended by five Officers, fifteen NCOs and one Private. Platoon Sergeant Lamb also attended as an additional instructor. Three private soldiers also attended as Batmen.
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