1st Battalion Tyneside Scottish (Black Watch) – 1939-1940
In March 1939, with the expectation of war, the Territorial Army (TA) was expanded. Existing TA units were required to raise a duplicate unit. The 9th Battalion Durham Light Infantry (DLI) raised the 12th Battalion, which was authorised to bear the Tyneside Scottish honour title becoming the 12th (Tyneside Scottish) Battalion, Durham Light Infantry.
When war was declared on 3rd September 1939, 12 (TS) DLI mobilised, establishing its Headquarters in Gateshead, and conducting training in the nearby Ravensworth Park.
In February 1940 the Battalion secured affiliation with a Scottish unit and became the 1st Battalion Tyneside Scottish Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment).
The connection with the Durham Light Infantry continued throughout the war, the Tyneside Scottish being part of 70 (Infantry) Brigade alongside 10 DLI and 11 DLI.
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| 1st Battalion Tyneside Scottish (Black Watch) Gateshead 1940 |
Initial Deployment in France
The 1st TS left the North East on 23rd April 1940 for Southampton where they embarked for Le Havre, arriving on the 25th April. They and the rest of 70 Brigade were part of the 23rd (Northumbrian) Division, their task to provide labour for the construction of aerodromes and defences.
The Tyneside Scots proceeded to an aerodrome site at Beauvoir near Frevent (40km west of Arras) where they provided working parties for it’s construction. In their ‘spare time’ they continued to train.
German Invasion of Western Europe
On the 10th May 1940, Hitler launched his invasion of Western Europe, the German Blitzkreig being unleashed on Holland, Belgium and France. In response, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the First French Army advanced into Belgium and took up defensive positions on the River Dyle.
The first indications to the Tyneside Scottish of the situation were on the 12th May when Belgian soldiers and refugees began to stream though their location. By the 15th May, the Germans had crossed the River Meuse, and were in danger of outflanking the main British forces still in Belgium.
The 70th Brigade, including the Tyneside Scottish, were ordered to establish defensive positions along the Canal du Nord, and began the 65km (40 miles) move to their new location on 17th May. They initially took up positions on the right flank of 70th Brigade, before becoming the 23rd Divisional Reserve.
To their north, the BEF and French Army were being forced back, and on the 19th May 1940, the 70th Brigade were ordered to move to Saulty (25 km – 15 miles SE of Arras).
During the evening of 19th / 20th May, the Tyneside Scottish were en-route to Saulty, staying overnight at Neuville Vitasse. On the morning of the 20th, German tanks were breaking through between Arras and Neuville Vitasse, and orders were given for the TS and 70 Brigade to continue their move.
As they withdrew the TS and other Brigade units came under fire from the advancing Germans and they began to establish blocking positions from Mercatel, through Ficheux to Blaireville.
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| German Invasion of France |
1st Battalion Tyneside Scottish (Black Watch) Ficheux 1940
On 20th May 1940, the men of the 1st Battalion Tyneside Scottish (Black Watch) engaged the XV Panzer Corps in the area of Ficheux.
The Germans were highly trained soldiers equipped with tanks and armoured vehicles. The Tyneside Jocks were in the main, trainee troops with no combat experience, and lightly equipped.
Using limited anti-tank weapons, fighting on till overrun, and attacking with bayonet charges, the Tyneside Jocks blocked the German advance, till eventually they were overcome.
Despite the lack of experience and equipment, over the course of five hours, the Tyneside Scottish lived up to the motto established by their predecessors during the First World War – Harder than Hammers (You can break a hammer, but you can not break the fighting spirit of a Tyneside Jock).
The actions of the Tyneside Scottish would prove vital. The 5 hour delay they caused provided time for a counterattack, which included men of the 50th (Northumbrian) Division, to be mounted. This helped to create a pocket which was formed on from 23rd May through which the British Expeditionary Force would withdraw to Dunkirk.
The action would cost the Tyneside Scottish 100 casualties, with many more captured and spending the war as Prisoners of War. The remnants of 1TS would make their way to Dunkirk and evacuated to the UK.
Many of those lost were buried in the Buquoy Road Cemetery which overlooks Ficieux and the battlefield where the Tyneside Scottish fought.
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| Buquoy Road Cemetery looking towards Ficheux |