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"*": "<tr><td colspan=\"2\" class=\"diff-lineno\" id=\"mw-diff-left-l1\" >Line 1:</td>\n<td colspan=\"2\" class=\"diff-lineno\">Line 1:</td></tr>\n<tr><td class='diff-marker'>\u2212</td><td class='diff-deletedline'><div>'''<del class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">MediaWiki has been successfully installed.</del>'''</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div>'''<ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">70 INFANTRY BRIGADE IN WORLD WAR 2</ins>'''</div></td></tr>\n<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td class='diff-context'></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td class='diff-context'></td></tr>\n<tr><td class='diff-marker'>\u2212</td><td class='diff-deletedline'><div><del class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">Consult </del>the <del class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">[http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Contents User's Guide] for information on using </del>the <del class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">wiki software</del>.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">The aim of </ins>the <ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">work is, most importantly, to create a lasting Memorial to those men who served, and died, in this Brigade during </ins>the <ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">five years of its existence, between September 1939, and Autumn 1944</ins>.</div></td></tr>\n<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td class='diff-context'></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td class='diff-context'></td></tr>\n<tr><td class='diff-marker'>\u2212</td><td class='diff-deletedline'><div><del class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">== Getting started ==</del></div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">The underlying and associated aims of writing this brief history were to address several questions and viewpoints I had developed over the years.  </ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td class='diff-marker'>\u2212</td><td class='diff-deletedline'><div><del class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">* </del>[http://www.<del class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">mediawiki</del>.org<del class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">/wiki/Manual:Configuration_settings Configuration settings list</del>]</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td class='diff-marker'>\u2212</td><td class='diff-deletedline'><div><del class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">* </del>[http://www.<del class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">mediawiki</del>.org<del class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">/wiki/Manual:FAQ MediaWiki FAQ</del>]</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">Firstly, by taking on board, and examining, the information, stories and anecdotes recounted by my late father over many years.  Would I have been so interested in the other aspects of the Brigade\u2019s war, had he not been personally involved?  Were those stories the trigger for starting on this task \u2013 one which I was advised, many times, would be impossible?  The reader will need to judge.  The honest answer is that I don\u2019t know \u2013 perhaps I would have been led to a consideration of these subsequent points as a result of my interest in military history \u2013 and exposure to the [[The Durham Light Infantry (DLI)|DLI]] Regimental Museum on a regular basis \u2013 but I cannot be certain of that.  </ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td class='diff-marker'>\u2212</td><td class='diff-deletedline'><div><del class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">* </del>[<del class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">https</del>://<del class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">lists</del>.<del class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">wikimedia</del>.org<del class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki</del>-<del class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">announce MediaWiki release mailing list</del>]</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">I was sure that my father\u2019s recollections needed to be taken into account, but in the context of the larger picture.  His memories, and the anecdotes from other soldiers, formed key elements of the work.  His experiences were not intended to be dominant, though, in my view, his stories have an extra dimension, and, to some small extent, an extra weight, because of his role as personal driver to the Brigade Commander for three years.  </ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">Did he appreciate more of what was happening due to his job within Brigade Headquarters?  I am not sure that he did, with some exceptions, to which I refer at the appropriate time.  I tried to clarify where he was at various key times, largely by using the War Diary references as to where the Brigadier was, and I make only a brief mention of the rest of his war following his transfer, after his medical downgrading resulting from wounds sustained on the Dunkirk beaches, to the Permanent Staff of the Regimental Depot and No 4 Infantry Training Centre at Brancepeth. </ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">I applied for a copy of his military service records to verify dates and posting locations, particularly as several of the War Diaries were initially unable to be located when my more detailed researches finally got underway.  As so many family historians have found, Army Service Records can be disappointing documents, though I was pleasantly surprised to find my birth recorded officially in his AB64 Paybook.</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">'''Secondly, from a local geographic perspective.  '''</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">The men of 70th Brigade were all Durham and Tyneside men, at least initially, and I wished to make a connection between the history of volunteering for service in this part of the world, and the use to which those volunteers were put, once they were under arms.  I also wanted to provide some hard information on the extent to which County Regiments \u2013 or at least this particular one \u2013 were diluted of their local connections by more generalised posting arrangements  - and conversely, the impact of decisions to allocate reinforcements or replacements to Regiments with a clear local link.  The slightly unusual circumstance of one of the Brigade\u2019s three Battalions ([[12th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry (12 DLI)|12th (Tyneside Scottish) Durham Light Infantry]]) being transferred from the [[The Durham Light Infantry (DLI)|DLI]] to [[Black Watch (BW)|The Black Watch]] and re-designated as [[1st Tyneside Scottish (1TS)|1st Tyneside Scottish]] in Autumn 1939 \u2013 effective from 1st February 1940 as regards the transfer of personnel - following a vigorous and effective local lobbying process, made a very significant change to the manning structure and geographical allegiances.  That this Battalion came under the [[Black Watch (BW)|The Black Watch]], rather than the [[The Durham Light Infantry (DLI)|Durham Light Infantry]], from 1st February 1940, was of particular interest, with all that was implied by way of an increase of Scots recruits, though the number of local men who continued to serve in that Battalion, and were eventually posted to other Scottish Battalions, was significant.</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">During the research period I successfully linked details of some of the casualties from the three Battalions, helpfully identified by the </ins>[http://www.<ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">cwgc</ins>.org <ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">Commonwealth War Graves Commission</ins>]<ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">, to their commemoration on local War Memorials.  The parallel involvement of both my wife and myself in the </ins>[http://www.<ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">newmp</ins>.org<ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">.uk North East War Memorials Project</ins>] <ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">(see the Project\u2019s Website at </ins>[<ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">http</ins>://<ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">www</ins>.<ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">cwgc</ins>.org <ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">www.newmp.org.uk] for access to this major community archive) was, of course, of material help in this part of the exercise.  The agreement of the Project Team to act as the sponsoring body for the work was of inestimable value, and ensured that the results had a \u201chome\u201d on the Internet, rather than languishing as an unpublished book.</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">'''Thirdly, from the Regimental point of view.  '''</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">Following the point made above, I was curious as to whether, given the scale of transfers in to the Brigade of men from other Regiments and other parts of the country, the extent to which the positive aspects of Regimental esprit de corps came into play in the morale of the Brigade.  Given the well</ins>-<ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">known Durham reputation for friendliness, how did this manifest itself, such as in relationships with the US Marines in Iceland, for example?  Here was a point where my late father\u2019s anecdotes were particularly valuable.</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">Why does the Regimental Museum and the Durham County Record Office hold so little on these Battalions and their role in the Second World War?</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">Why do displays intended to inform local people of the activities of the Regiment in 1939-1945 omit mention of this Brigade?</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">My choice to set the work at Brigade level was largely because that was my late father\u2019s frame of reference, but also because a Brigade is big enough to be statistically significant in drawing conclusions, given a strength of about 3,000, without being too large as to be impersonal.  </ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">'''Fourthly, from a social history perspective.  '''</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">Starting from the recognition that this was a second-line Brigade at its inception, how were these units perceived in the military \u201cpecking order\u201d?  Was the Brigade used as Lines of Communication troops - part of the Labour Element in the B.E.F. - in 1940 because of a perception at the War Office of an innate unsuitability for more intelligent operations?  Was this perhaps a hangover from the common perception, during the First World War, that all Durham men must automatically be miners?  Was the Brigade\u2019s subsequent reputation for building high quality defence works in any way significant in challenging or reinforcing this image?  </ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">I found the Field Security reports held within the War Diaries \u2013 documents regarded until relatively recently as Secret \u2013 particularly valuable, as they were produced by independent NCOs and Officers for the use of higher command and pulled no punches where problems were encountered.  Indeed, some of the terminology and objectives of those assessments were reminiscent of Police Special Branch documents or secure vetting tasks.  At what point does traditional Army grumbling and grousing become reclassified as subversive activity?</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">I noted the comments made in D\u2019Este\u2019s work on the manpower shortages and the disbanding of Divisions and Brigades in 1944 and 1945.  What were the criteria determining the choice of units to disband, which led to the eventual demise of 70th Brigade in Autumn 1944?  Was it simply that 70th Brigade was then the junior Brigade in the 49th Division, as was stated in one source, or was there some underlying view that they were second-rate as well as second-line?  Reference has been found to the keen disappointment felt by all ranks when their original role as part of a D-Day Assault Division was demoted to that of a follow-up unit.</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">This \u201csecond-division\u201d status did not prevent, of course, the Brigade giving a serious account of itself over weeks of intense combat in Normandy, and thereby suffering a significant level of casualties.  </ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">The Brigade\u2019s baptism of fire in the Spring of 1940 took place in a very different situation, and on a very much less level playing field as regards training, equipment and resources, but the damage they inflicted \u2013 despite massive losses \u2013 has been recognised, especially in German accounts of the period.</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">'''Fifthly, from an accountant\u2019s perspective.'''</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">As a retired Public Finance Accountant of forty years\u2019 standing and a former member of the Royal Army Pay Corps (Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve) I wanted to know if it was possible, using original pay and administrative records, to create a database of those who joined the Brigade, with details of what happened to them.  I wanted to find out if sufficient information was accessible to answer the questions about whether the units remained local in nature or were diluted.  I wanted to ascertain whether it was feasible to form a picture of the rate of movement and promotion, as well as the scale and nature of casualties, at a Brigade level.  </ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">These were the questions which were in my mind when I started \u2013 and which were supplemented by other queries as I began to form a picture of Brigade activity, and to talk to the few surviving veterans about their experiences.  As time passed it became evident that several of the initial questions were not going to be able to be answered satisfactorily, due to the lack of relevant information.  This lack, however, did not stop me trying to meet those aims.</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">'''The basic reasons for writing the history of 70th Brigade in the Second World War.  '''</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">Why bother at all?</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">Firstly, such a history had not  been written in any depth of detail, other than in Kevin Baverstock\u2019s notable book \u201cBreaking the Panzers\u201d describing the Rauray operations in June and July 1944, a remarkably detailed and graphic piece of work also triggered, I suspect, by a key family link to the units concerned.  </ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">Secondly, existing Regimental Histories, with the exception of Whitehead\u2019s \u201cHarder than Hammers\u201d, tend to concentrate on the first-line Battalions.  I thought it important to recognise the contribution of the second-line Battalions and also to reflect on the lengthy periods during which units were not in action, or even at the front line, and see if this threw up any matters of social or military interest.  The recognised histories make only brief reference to posting locations and training activities between early 1942 and the Brigade\u2019s landing in Normandy in June 1944 as part of a follow-up Division.  That period of two and a half years was half the Brigade\u2019s existence and deserves at least some description, particularly as the way in which the Brigade was intended to be used changed quite significantly over that period.  There are echoes of the classic film \u201cThe Way Ahead\u201d in some of the changes imposed on the Brigade.</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">Other accounts, for example of the Dunkirk period, present a negative picture of the Brigade in some respects, especially with regard to some of the command decisions made at the time.  While I hold no brief to defend reputations, my added knowledge as a result of my father\u2019s first-hand descriptions of those few days and weeks, casts an additional, perhaps more illuminating, light on the situation than other historians have felt able to provide.  Notable authors have acknowledged, in personal communications, that the work that has been done challenges, in key respects, their analyses of some key decisions.</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">Thirdly, to put family experience onto the broader stage of world events, and, in some respects, to check whether my father\u2019s \u201cwar stories\u201d could be verified independently.  While I had no reason to suspect that he may have exaggerated his experiences I had become aware, as I mention above, of the differing perspectives taken by historians, and was looking for at least some confirmation of the events he described.</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">Fourthly, just to see if I could do it, in a professional and unbiased way.</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">Fifthly, to add, modestly, to the corpus of military writing and to try to see that the Brigade gets honest credit, locally and nationally, for what it actually achieved.  The level of casualties sustained by the Brigade in 1940, and then again in 1944, demands that recognition \u2013 such a scale of sacrifice deserves no less \u2013 and justifies my approach in setting out to develop the work as a Memorial.</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">'''More Info'''</ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div> </div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">[[Collecting Information|How did I set about collecting the information to support the research?]] <br></ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">[[How the Brigade was raised]] <br></ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">[[The Legal and Constitutional Background]] <br></ins></div></td></tr>\n<tr><td colspan=\"2\"> </td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td class='diff-addedline'><div><ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\">[[List of Units]</ins>] <ins class=\"diffchange diffchange-inline\"><br></ins></div></td></tr>\n"
}
}