Tyneside Scottish

Last updated

Tyneside Scottish
Country United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Motto(s)Harder than Hammers
March Highland Laddie
Battle honours First World War
* Somme 1916 * Albert 1916 * Arras 1917 * Scarpe 1917 * Alleux * St Quentin * Lys * Estaires
Second World War
* Defence of Rauray

Tyneside Scottish is an honour title which has been held by a variety of British Army units since 1914. The Regiments which have held the title are the Northumberland Fusiliers, Durham Light Infantry, Black Watch and Royal Artillery. The Tyneside Scottish title is currently maintained by 204 (Tyneside Scottish) Battery Royal Artillery.

Contents

History

First World War

The origins of the Tyneside Scottish are in the Kitchener's Army and the call to arms in the First World War. The Recruitment to the British Army during the First World War saw the raising of the Pals battalion. The Tyneside Scottish Committee was formed and raised four service Battalions of the Northumberland Fusiliers. These were the 20th (Service) Battalion (1st Tyneside Scottish), 21st (Service) Battalion (2nd Tyneside Scottish), 22nd (Service) Battalion (3rd Tyneside Scottish) and 23rd (Service) Battalion (4th Tyneside Scottish). [1] They formed the 102nd (Tyneside Scottish) Brigade, part of the 34th Division. [1] The 29th (Reserve) Battalion and the 33rd (Reserve) Battalion were formed from the depot companies of the Tyneside Scottish battalions. [1]

The Brigade's first major action was the Battle of the Somme where it sustained a large number of casualties. The Brigade was subsequently brought up to strength and served at Armentiers, Battle of Arras, and the final battles of 1918. The Brigade was disbanded in 1918. [2]

Second World War

In March 1939 the TA expanded and the 12th (Tyneside Scottish) Battalion, the Durham Light Infantry was authorised to be raised as the Tyneside Scottish. In February 1940 the battalion secured affiliation with a Scottish unit and became the 1st Battalion Tyneside Scottish, Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment). The battalion deployed to France as part of as part of the British Expeditionary Force and were part of the Dunkirk evacuation. Following a period of Home Defence, 1st Tyneside Scottish joined the 49th (West Riding) Division and were sent to Iceland. Returning to England in 1942 another period of Home Defence preceded the Normandy landings in 1944. The battalion were engaged in Operation Martlet gaining the Battle Honour "Defence of Rauray". Following the Battle and subsequent actions in the Caen area, the battalion was reduced to cadre strength and subsequently placed in suspended animation. [3]

Post-war

In January 1947 on the re-constitution of the Territorial Army, the honour title passed to the Royal Artillery. Initially the title was held by 670th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA (Tyneside Scottish), before passing to a Battery, 439th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA (based in Tynemouth) in March 1955. 439th Light Air Defence Regiment was one of four regiments that amalgamated to form 101st (Northumbrian) Regiment Royal Artillery in 1967. [4] In 1974, the Tyneside Scottish title was adopted by 204 (Tyneside Scottish) Battery Royal Artillery, part of 101st (Northumbrian) Regiment Royal Artillery. [5]

Tyneside Scottish Memorials

The memorial to the Tyneside Scottish Brigade is situated at La Boiselle, Somme, where the Brigade sustained heavy casualties on first day of the Somme. The memorial, in the form of a seat also commemorates the losses of the Tyneside Irish. The memorial was unveiled in 1920 by Marshal Foch. [6] [ dead link ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lancashire Fusiliers</span> Line infantry regiment of the British Army 1688–1968

The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 280 years of existence. In 1968 the regiment was amalgamated with the other regiments of the Fusilier Brigade – the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers and the Royal Fusiliers – to form the current Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">34th Division (United Kingdom)</span> Infantry division of the British Army during the First World War

The 34th Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was raised in 1914, during the First World War. The division was raised from volunteers for Lord Kitchener's New Armies, that was originally made up of infantry battalions raised by public subscription or private patronage. The division was taken over by the War Office in September 1915. It served in France and Belgium in the trenches of the Western Front for the duration of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">32nd Division (United Kingdom)</span> Infantry division of the British Army during the First World War

The 32nd Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was raised in 1914, during the First World War. The division was raised from volunteers for Lord Kitchener's New Armies, made up of infantry 'Pals battalions' and artillery brigades raised by public subscription or private patronage. The division was taken over by the War Office in September 1915. It served in France and Belgium in the trenches of the Western Front for the duration of the war. It saw action at the Battle of the Somme, the Pursuit to the Hindenburg Line, the Defence of Nieuport, the German spring offensive, and the Allied Hundred Days Offensive beginning at the Battle of Amiens. After the Armistice it marched into Germany as part of the Army of Occupation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">103rd (Tyneside Irish) Brigade</span> Military unit

The Tyneside Irish Brigade was a British First World War infantry brigade of Kitchener's Army, raised in 1914. Officially numbered the 103rd Brigade, it contained four Pals battalions from Newcastle upon Tyne, largely made up of men of Irish extraction..

The Tyneside Scottish Brigade was raised in 1914 as part of Kitchener's Army. Officially named the 102nd Brigade, it contained four Pals battalions from Newcastle-on-Tyne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">50th (Northumbrian) Division</span> Military unit

The Northumbrian Division was an infantry division of the British Army, formed in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force with units drawn from the north-east of England, notably Northumberland, Durham and the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire. The division was numbered as 50th (Northumbrian) Division in 1915 and served on the Western Front throughout the First World War. Due to losses suffered in the Ludendorf Offensive in March 1918 it had to be comprehensively reorganized. It was once again reformed in the Territorial Army as the Northumbrian Division in 1920.

101 (Northumbrian) Medium Regiment Royal Artillery is part of the Army Reserve and has sub units throughout the north east as well as one sub unit in Leeds, West Yorkshire. It is equipped with M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northumberland Hussars</span> Military unit

The Northumberland Hussars was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army, transferred to the Royal Artillery for the duration of the Second World War. It was disbanded as an independent Territorial Army unit in 1967, a time when the strength of the Territorial Army was greatly reduced. The regiment's name lives on in the title of the command and support squadron of the Queen's Own Yeomanry (QOY), a Formation Reconnaissance Regiment based in Newcastle upon Tyne.

205 Battery Royal Artillery is part of the 101st (Northumbrian) Regiment Royal Artillery and is equipped with the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System. It is based in South Shields, United Kingdom.

The Northumberland Brigade was formed in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force of the British Army with four battalions of the Northumberland Fusiliers. The brigade was numbered as 149th (Northumberland) Brigade in 1915 and served with the 50th (Northumbrian) Division on the Western Front throughout World War I. Due to losses suffered in the Ludendorf Offensive in 1918, it had to be comprehensively reorganized. Reformed as the Northumberland Brigade post-war, it was broken up before the outbreak of World War II.

The 63rd Division of the British Army was a second-line Territorial Force division, formed in 1914, which served on home defence duties during the First World War. The division was formed as a duplicate of the 50th (Northumbrian) Division in 1914, composed primarily of soldiers recruited in north-eastern England. It remained on home defence and training duties in the north-east and east of England until 1916, when it was disbanded. Several of its constituent units would later serve overseas, deployed for support and garrison duties in almost every theatre of the war.

The 222nd Infantry Brigade was a Home Service formation of the British Army that existed under various short-lived titles in both the First and Second World Wars

The 30th (Northumbrian) Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an air defence formation of Britain's Territorial Army from 1936 until 1955, which defended Tyneside and Sunderland during the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd (Seaham) Durham Artillery Volunteer Corps</span> Military unit

The 2nd (Seaham) Durham Artillery Volunteer Corps was a part-time unit of Britain's Royal Artillery raised in County Durham by the Vane-Tempest family during an invasion crisis in 1860. It became a permanent part of the Volunteer Force and later the Territorial Force, and fought as field artillery on the Western Front in World War I. Before World War II it became an anti-aircraft unit that served in the Battle of Britain, the Blitz and in the Far East where it converted to medium artillery in the Burma Campaign. Postwar, it continued to serve in the air defence role in the Territorial Army until 1955.

The Northern Cyclist Battalion was a bicycle infantry battalion of the Territorial Force, part of the British Army. Formed in 1908, it served in the United Kingdom throughout the First World War and in 1920 it was converted as part of the Royal Garrison Artillery.

The Militia and Volunteers of Northumberland are those military units raised in the county independently of the regular Army. The "modern" militia dates from legislation enacted during the Seven Years' War. The volunteers had several forms and separate periods of existence until made a permanent body in 1859.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5th Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers</span> Reserve unit of the British Army

The 2nd Northumberland Rifle Volunteer Corps, also referred to as the Tynemouth Rifles, was an infantry unit of Britain's part-time force, the Territorial Army. The corps was raised during the expansion of the Volunteer movement in the 1850s and then served with the Territorial Force during the First World War. It converted to an anti-aircraft role just prior to Second World War, and continued to serve until it was amalgamated in 1950.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Communal Cemetery Extension (War Graves)</span> War cemetery located in the French Commune of Albert in the Somme Region

The Albert Communal Cemetery Extension is a war cemetery with dead from both World War I and World War II located in the French Commune of Albert in the Somme Region.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Northumberland Fusiliers" . Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  2. "1st Battalion Tyneside Scottish" . Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  3. "Tyneside Scottish Memorial" . Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  4. Hewitson, p. 173
  5. "101 Regiment batteries". Archived from the original on 22 April 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  6. Tyneside Scottish Memorial La Boisselle

Sources

Further reading