November 2008

In November branch member Gavin Richardson gave the final of his trilogy of talks based on his research into the 1/4th (Border) Battalion, King’s Own Scottish Borderers, that led to him publishing two books covering their great war service some years ago. Having previously heard of their time in Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine, Gavin moved on to their service on the Western Front. As the campaign in the Middle East was beginning to wind down the Borderers, along with the rest of the 52nd (Lowland) Division, were shipped to France in April 1918 to bolster the BEF that had been hit hard by the German Offensives. After a period of training, and exchanging their tropical uniforms for khaki serge ones more suited to the climate, they moved into the line at Vimy Ridge on 7th May 1918, and remained in the area until the August. Thereafter they fought through the Hindenburg Line and beyond, ending the war just six miles from Mons, and on the point of taking over the pursuit of the retiring Germans.
The conclusion of the November meeting marked a personal milestone of 10 years as Branch Chairman, and I would like to thank all those who have helped and supported me over the years, without them the Scotland (North) Branch would not be anywhere near as successful as it is.

October 2008

October saw Mike Stedman return to give another of his well-illustrated and very interesting talks, this time telling the story of Lieutenant-Colonel Wilfrith Elstob. Elstob was famously awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously for leading the last stand made by the 16th Manchesters near St Quentin on the first day of the German Offensive, 21 March 1918.

September 2008

In September we welcomed for his first visit to Elgin, Terry Dean, who gave an excellent talk about the life and career of Brigadier-General ‘Sandy’ Sandilands, the famous Cameron Highlander who had commanded the 7th Camerons at Loos in September 1915 when they fought their way through the German lines to Hill 70. Unfortunately they and the other units on the hill could not hold it because support was unable to get forward in sufficient strength, and they had to retire. Later promoted to command the 104th Brigade, 35th Division, he was, for a time, mentor to a young staff officer, Captain B. L. Montgomery, who later became the famous ‘Monty’ of the Second World War.

July 2008

In July we were delighted to have a return visit by Professor Peter Simkins. As always we were given an excellent afternoon as he reviewed aspects of the battles of the Final 100 Days, and it was especially good to be introduced to so many of the men who masterminded or oversaw the campaign. Their role is often overlooked but their achievements in bringing the war to a conclusion in 1918, and the attendant saving of further bloodshed, deserve a fuller recognition, and Peter Simkins does a splendid job in trying to help that come about.

June 2008

June saw our national Vice Chairman, Stuart Bufton, make the long journey from Suffolk to talk about two of the most famous chaplains, Theodore Hardy and Geoffrey Studdert-Kennedy. It was extremely interesting to lean how these two men of God, with extremely different characters, ministered to the men in their different ways.

May 2008

May saw the welcome return of the Tank Museum’s David Fletcher to Elgin and he gave us an excellent talk about the tanks at Cambrai. As a subject close to the branch’s heart, with the 51st (Highland) Division very much in the forefront of the attack on 20 November 1917, a lively discussion ensued when looking at the perceived ‘misuse’ of the tanks by Major-General Harper – it is of interest to note that the 62nd Division deployed its tanks in a similar manner but does not seem to come under the same criticism. The failure of the Highland Division to take Flesquieres on the first day was more due to the infantry not supporting the tanks closely enough (they were thought to ‘attract’ enemy fire), and the fact that the village was defended far more vigorously than many others.

April 2008

Due to the planned speaker’s illness April saw a last minute change to our programme and I had to step into the breech at short notice to give an updated reprise of my talk ‘A Man in a Million’ in which I look at the life, and death, of my great uncle Alfred. Born and educated in Norfolk he later worked in Sussex and joined the cavalry in September 1914, but was killed at the age of 20 at Monchy-Le-Preux on 11 April 1917.

March 2008

In March 24 members and guests travelled to Aberdeen to visit the Gordon Highlanders Museum. Although we did visit there in 1999 the museum has since undergone a major refurbishment and I thought it would be worthwhile to return to see the fruits of their labours. A brief introduction by our host, Major Malcolm Ross, was followed by two short presentations by museum researchers, before we split into groups and had a guided tour of the exhibits. I can recommend the museum to WFA members should they ever find themselves in Aberdeen with a couple of hours to spare and, should anyone have any questions regarding the regiment or men who served in it, the researchers will always do their best to find answers.

January 2008

Following our, by now traditional, start to the year with an informal luncheon at Elgin’s Laichmoray Hotel, I got the 2009 meetings underway with a new talk in which I looked at Operation Hush, the ambitious plan to land the 1st Division on the Belgian coast behind the German lines. This operation usually merits no more than a passing comment in books on the Third Ypres campaign, most probably because it was not launched due to the slow progress of the land battle as it inched eastwards from Ypres. A study of available documents shows, however, that the operation was fully planned and everything was in place and ready to go as soon as the land battle advanced sufficiently. Three 550-foot long landing pontoons were constructed and each was to carry a brigade’s worth of troops, vehicles, supplies and three tanks, one modified to position a ramp to allow the tanks to climb the sea walls, and another with winching gear to haul the other vehicles and supplies up onto the shore. The 1st Division had been withdrawn from the line and specially trained, and the Royal Navy had a large fleet of vessels ranging from shallow-draught monitors (a pair lashed to a pontoon would provide steering and propulsion for the otherwise unpowered craft) to 80 small motor launches with phosphorous burners mounted on their decks that would produce a three-mile long smoke screen. Would it have worked? Well, we will never know, but it is interesting to see how many aspects of Operation Hush can also been seen in the D-Day landings 27 years later.