70th Infantry Brigade War Diary September 1939

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.

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.

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 had 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. 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:-

Hebburn, Jarrow and South Shields,

RAF Stations:-

Usworth, Ouston

Royal Ordnance Factory, Birtley

Ammunition Dumps:-

Finchale, Boldon, Stockton.

Railway viaducts and tunnels (including Croxdale and Sunderland Bridge).

ICI Billingham.

PoW Camp, Windlestone Hall.