The Plymouth Argylls Surrender - On the day in Scottish Military History - 70 years ago

It has been widely recognised that of all the troops in Malaya in December 1941 when the Japanese attacked, the 2nd Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were one of the most prepared for war*. The unreal situation in Singapore, of almost peacetime conditions whilst London was burning under the Blitz and Britain and her empire stood alone against the Nazis did not impress the officer commanding the Argylls.

Lieutenant Colonel Ian Stewart wanted his men in the jungle to learn how to fight amongst the tropical rainforest and not be tied to the roads like the other units tasked with defending 'the Gibraltar of the East'. Many senior officers in Singapore dismissed the threat of the Japanese but the soldiers they under-estimated had been fighting a hard war in China for five long years. Many of the British Imperial troops defending Malaya and Singapore had never even fired a shot in anger so had little basis for their feelings of superiority over the supposedly  short-sighted enemy. Stewart was more of a realist and knew he had to get his men out into the steaming jungles if they wanted to stand a chance. At the time he was mocked by some of his peers for training his 'Jungle Beasts' but when the invasion came in December 1941 Stewart's Argylls were ready when many units looked amateurish.

It was soon obvious to the army commanders that the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders were the men to hold the line while they retreated back to Singapore. Time and again as the Japanese poured through the jungle and outflanked the British the Argylls were the fire-fighters who saved the day. One battalion could not stop the invading Japanese and they were decimated at Slim River on 7th January 1942. The remnants were withdrawn back to Singapore and formed the rearguard at The Causeway to Singapore on 31st January.

In Singapore the 250 men left of the battalion had returned to their pre-war home of Tyersall Park Camp where they had been joined on 29th January by The Naval Battalion. Five days later the two units merged to form a composite battalion. The 210 Royal Marines of the Naval Battalion had survived the sinking of HMSs 'Prince of Wales' and 'Repulse' off Malaya on 10th December 1941. They had since been engaged in guard duties at Naval Establishments in Singapore over the previous month and some had been seconded for a few weeks to Roseforce (a small saboteur force which worked behind Japanese lines, led by Major Angus Rose of the Argylls) but now they were regrouped to fight in the front line against the impending Japanese invasion of Singapore.

The home port of both ships and men who manned the two sunken warships was Plymouth so the composite unit formed from both depleted battalions soon became known as the Plymouth Argylls. Plymouth's football team had taken the name Argyle in 1886 and one theory is that it was taken from the successful Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders football team of that time (however it is just as likely that it was from the name of a local pub where the team met - The Argyle Tavern). Plymouth Argyll therefore seemed an appropriate, if unofficial, name for the combined unit when they were formed to take part in the defence of Singapore Island.

Lieutenant Colonel Ian Stewart commanded the new unit but had less than a week to train his new command before the Japanese crossed the Straits of Johore in strength. The Plymouth Argylls were rushed forward and were in action on the 9th of January near Tengah airfield. There was bitter fighting over the next two day but they were too lightly armed to put up much resistance to the combined Japanese attacks by land and air and the final straw was an attack by a Japanese armoured column.

In the confused situation in the next few days the companies lost contact with each other. Some men headed back to their camp at Tyersall Park; others headed for the port where some were allocated as guards on the ships taking civilians to Sumatra. Many ships were sunk or captured and some were captured in Sumatra when the Japanese arrived but seventy four men of the composite unit avoided Japanese bombers and warships and made it back on the ships which reached Ceylon.

For the men of the Plymouth Argylls who had not been killed in the fighting, or escaped on one of the evacuation ships, the end came quickly. On this day seventy years ago, just twelve days after it had been formed, and six days after first going into action, General Percival ordered the surrender of all Allied troops in Singapore and the composite battalion of Royal Marines and Highlanders ceased to exist. Two days later the survivors of the Plymouth Argylls marched into captivity behind a piper after having added fresh laurels to the reputations of its parent units.

* Field Marshall Lord Wavell - "There was one battalion, a battalion of Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, commanded by a remarkable commanding officer, which he had trained most intensively in jungle fighting. "  

A request for help - Scots Guards pipers 1972

We've had a request for help from @laesarsavage on Twitter.

Does anyone know where, or if, you can get any footage or pictures of the 1972 Trooping the Colour rehearsal with the 1st Battalion Scots Guards pipers?

If anyone can help please leave a comment or contact @laesarsavage directly on Twitter. Let us know too on @S_M_R_G

All that's shiny on a war memorial isn't bronze...

A recent report in the Linlithgow Gazette has highlighted another shocking case of metal theft. Or has it?

The newspaper photograph shows that something is clearly missing at the top of the Blackness War Memorial. A closer inspection of the Blackness thread on the Scottish War Memorial Project shows that in 2008 what was there was a slab of dark grey granite and not a bronze plaque.

More information on the SWMP tells us that what was there before the slab. 'The Scotsman' of Wednesday 27th December 1922 reported on the memorial's unveiling:

BLACKNESS.—The memorial to the men of Blackness district takes the form of a clock tower, built of Rubislaw granite...The cost of the memorial was £200, which was raised by voluntary effort.

So no bronze plaque then. The fact that no-one knew that the hole at the top of the memorial used to be a clock suggest that it was replaced quite some time ago. What a shame that Blackness couldn't maintain an integral part of its memorial. The reasons for the clock's removal may now be lost in the mists of time but hopefully when the unsightly gap is filled on the Blackness memorial they can find something more suitable than a plain grey slab? Perhaps this is a perfect opportunity for something decorative to be added? Perhaps that is already happening and no-one told the local councillor?

Blackness has lost its clock but there is another Scottish village which still has a war memorial clock tower and is in very serious danger of losing it. The Parish of Clyne War Memorial in Brora, Sutherland has chimed for nearly ninety years but age has taken its toll. The clock mechanism and the tower it sits in, are both in urgent need of renovation. The local authority does not have the funds to repair it so locals are looking into setting up a Friends of Clyne War Memorial group to help find the funds to save their memorial. You can visit their Facebook page here to lend your support.

Perhaps this recent case at Blackness highlights the need for a proper database on Scottish war memorials which could easily have shown that no bronze was stolen. There is the Scottish War Memorials Project but it is an unfunded and voluntarily run database. Should that data be taken on by a national body? (And by national I mean Scotland not UK). The UK National Inventory of War Memorials listing of Blackness does not mention any metal and there are no photographs so it really wouldn't have been much use here. Do we need a SIWM based on SWMP data with locations and photographs there for the taking...

As always we'd welcome your comments on anything discussed above.

Falklands War - 30 Years On

Wit the 30th Anniversary of the Falklands War approaching, I expect a number of television programmes and books devoted to the subject.

The first of these comes from the History Press:


Ordinary Heroes: Untold Stories from the Falklands Campaign

Previously unpublished accounts of the Falklands War from the men at the sharp end

In 1982, 8,000 miles from home, in a harsh environment and without the newest and most sophisticated equipment, the numerically inferior British Task Force defeated the Argentinian forces occupying the Falkland Islands and recaptured this far-flung outpost of what was once an empire. It was a much-needed triumph for Margaret Thatcher’s government and for Britain.

Many titles have been published on the Falklands War, some offering accounts from participants in it. But this is the first one only to include interviews with the ordinary seamen, marines, soldiers and airmen who achieved that victory, as well as those whose contribution is often overlooked – the merchant seaman who crewed ships taken up from trade, the NAAFI personnel who supplied the all-important treats that kept spirits up, the Hong Kong Chinese laundrymen who were aboard every warship.

Published to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the conflict, this is the story of what ‘Britain’s last colonial war’ was really like.

• Interviewees drawn exclusively from lowest ranks of services
• None previously interviewed for publication 
• Includes those normally overlooked, e.g. Merchant Navy (STUFT), NAAFI

 This looks like an interesting publication. Unlike many accounts of war written by veterans, this one is still fairly fresh in the memory, so the accounts will hopefully be fairly accurate. The Falklands War is one I can remember, but I was quite young at the time, and I am interested in learning more. I've read a few books on the conflict in the past, and I think this one might be added to the list.

Our Armed Forces post-2014

It's still two years until we get to vote on our country's future and what that will mean to the armed forces. It is seldom out of the news and just yesterday it cropped up again in First Minister's Questions.

The 'Telegraph' is like a dog with a bone and has been lining up old colonels to take a pot-shot at Alex Salmond over the SNP's post-independence plans. Their comments are then being picked up by opposition parties to fuel this seemingly never-ending saga. Do we really have another two years of this? I hope not because I'm already heartily sick of it but without taking sides I'd like to discuss some things which have occurred to me about the armed forces debate. These are just my thoughts so I would welcome any challenges to my opinion. Although a lot of the jaw-jaw is about the army I'll start with the senior service.

The Royal Navy is a blue water navy, one which can react to incidents anywhere in the world. Would Scotland need that capability? No, we would have a green-water navy; similar to one we had in 1707 (one frigate and two sloops) which would only need small ships capable of protecting our oil-rigs, fishing fleets and support the police and coastguard. Would we need marines -unlikely. Would we need submarines, again unlikely. Would we need aircraft carriers - no of course not. So what would happen to Faslane and Rosyth? What about building the frigates and destroyers for the future Royal Navy; could the Clyde bid for them? Unlikely that a British MoD would award contacts for them to Scotland when there are English shipyards who can build them. There are about 30,000 people employed in Scotland working for the MoD and defence-related companies. How many of them would be needed post-independence?

What about an air force? The SNP plans are for one air base so which one is retained and what would be based there? Kinloss is being converted to hold a UK infantry battalion coming back from Germany but with four infantry battalion barracks in Scotland already (Redford, Dreghorn, Glencorse and Fort George) would Lossiemouth need to be retained. In fact if we have only three battalions of infantry (the brigade proposed by the SNP) would one of  existing barracks close too? The answer would probably be no, because our artillery, signals, engineers and logistics troops would need a home too. But would all of those units actually need to be full-time soldiers? Assuming the SNP get their way and Scotland gets the Royal Regiment of Scotland and Scots Guards would we need those six battalions of infantry. Why would we need six full-time battalions of infantry, why couldn't a territorial force do the same job with just a few regulars?

If Scotland didn't get the Royal Regiment of Scotland and Scots Guards could they use old regimental names. Would the Cameronians return? The Scottish Rifles came into existence in 1881 but the old Cameronians were raised before 1707 and disbanded in 1968 (although a TA unit lasted until 1997). Would the MOD object to the use of the name? How about the Gordons and Seaforths and HLI? The 2nd and 4th battalions of the Royal Regiment of Scotland still carry on their traditions if not their names, so could they be re-used. How about Jacobite regimental names instead. The Atholl Brigade or Bagot's Hussars? Since we won't be a republic or have a Stuart monarch then probably not.

Maybe the answer is a three battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland without any affiliations to former units. No battle honours or hackles to tie them to their past. The unit would be kilted of course because we've covered that in a previous article. In fact would all units become highlanders: The Highland Engineers or the Highland Logistic Corps? Probably not, but maybe a tam o'shanter would replace a beret in the corps. Given some folk like to trumpet the famous Auld Alliance would we ditch or embrace the French headgear if we separate from the Auld Enemy?

Unlike the politicians and the media I am now tiring of this subject and I've barely scratched the surface. I've still not mentioned the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (or dare I say it the Scots Greys). I've not gone into detail about the numbers of ships or planes we'd have. What about a Scottish SAS, we'd need that I'm sure, and for heaven's sake what about the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo!

There are the bombing ranges at Garvie, Tain and Benbecula used by the Royal Navy, RAF and NATO. Would we share them or close them, or use them ourselves? Would that be a good thing or bad thing for Scotland as a whole and what would be the impact to the locals who may benefit from their presence or be delighted to see the back of them? Just starting a list like this has given me lots to think about. Maybe you too. Don't worry though, the papers and internet will be full of it for the next thirty months - Lucky us!

Castle Commando

BBC Scotland aired an excellent documentary last night about Lochaber's place in training Britain's Commandos during the Second World War. Here is the blurb from the BBC website: 

Narrated by Rory Bremner, the film looks back on the larger-than-life characters that helped shape Winston Churchill's legendary raiding troops trained at Achnacarry in 1942-45.

You can watch it on BBC's i-player:

Castle Commando

World War I memories revived with moving Far, Far from Ypres at Celtic Connections

A review from the STV website about a concert held at the weekend.

I have the original CD and it makes for fascinating, and at times, very moving, listening. I would recommend you seek out a copy.

Far, Far from Ypres is one of these collaborations that could only take place at Celtic Connections, though when the singers walked on stage uniformly dressed in black it was hard not to imagine them as a classically trained and rehearsed choir. Participants had queued up to offer their services, including Scottish folk legends such as Barbara Dickson and Dick Gaughan, whose Why Old Men Cry was one of many highlights. The show was put together by Ian McCalman, who along with Stephen Quigg, Ian Bruce, and narrator Ian Anderson, kept the show moving through the years of WWI as seen through the experiences of soldier Jimmy MacDonald and his fellow Scottish soldiers in the trenches.

Anderson’s reading of letters, diaries and the beautiful poem In Flanders’ Fields by Major John McCrae gave continuity and perspective on the history, experiences and music of the trenches, which included old favorites Pack up your Troubles in your Old Kitbag, Goodbyee, and It’s a long way to Tipperaray, and hymn parodies When this Bloody War is over and Whiter than the Whitewash on the Wall. Then there were the music hall favorites If you were the only Girl in the World and Roses of Peccary, and more recent songs such as Eric Bogle’s No Man’s Land and Judy Small’s Mothers, Daughters, Wives.

I was particularly impressed by the singing, which combined powerful solos, robust melody and beautiful harmony and told stories of excitement and hope, suffering and endurance, humour and escapism, fear and disillusionment in the words of those involved in the horrors of the Western Front. Scotland suffered 140,000 losses, not a large number in comparison with other countries, but a bigger proportion than any other nation, including seven Heart of Midlothian footballers, and an even more disproportionate number of Highlanders, whose contribution was beautifully recalled in the beautiful Gaelic song An Eala Bhan (The White Swan) by Sineag MacIntyre.

There were a few rough edges - understandable in a show with hardly any rehearsal - but the singing was powerful, the sound quality was excellent and the words were crystal clear. On top of (or rather behind) all this, was the projection of images of the war by Pete Heywood, who managed to link appropriate pictures to the songs, while never taking away from the centrality of the music and words. Sadly there were no cameras to capture this unique event, but the music was recorded, and a fuller version from 2007, remains available on CD from Greentrax.

Far, far from Ypres was a fitting memorial to the Scottish contribution in the First World War, and without being overtly political, it powerfully reminds us of the horrors of war and the individuals and communities touched by it. It ended with the personal story of Harry Lauder, whose own son’s death inspired his signature song, Keep Right on to the End of the Road.

Thank you Celtic Connections for taking this project on board - the sell-out audience showed their appreciation with a standing ovation, and I’m sure there are other themes that could lend themselves to similar treatment!