Good morning and by any chance does anyone have any information at all concerning the BW Militia from the summer of 1939? Many thanks in advance
Are you referring to the following: 3rd (Royal Perthshire Rifle Regiment of Militia) Battalion, The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) : Perth I believed by 1939 Militia battalions existed in name only and were not embodied.
Good evening Dryan67 and I am afraid that I do not know...all I have found is this attachement and our father's remark tht he was sent to The Black Watch Depot in Perth in July 1939...not much use I suppose...ANY info would be gratefully received but if not, not a problem so please do not worry...We are just trying to fill in some blanks of why he was sent there from St Andrews OCT. Have a nice evening
Hi, A handful of 1939 Militia service files - within larger WW2 service files - have been posted on the forum in recent years. Men between 20/22 were called up for 6 months training at a regimental Depot. If they were serving in the outbreak of war they were subsumed into a battalion of the regiment they were training with. From Wikipedia…. “The term militiaman was briefly revived in 1939. In the aftermath of the Munich Crisis Leslie Hore-Belisha, Secretary of State for War, wished to introduce a limited form of conscription, an unheard of concept in peacetime. It was thought that calling the conscripts 'militiamen' would make this more acceptable, as it would render them distinct from the rest of the army. Only single men aged 20–22 were to be conscripted (given a free suit of civilian clothes as well as a uniform), and after six months full-time training would be discharged into the reserve. The first intake was called up, but the Second World War was declared soon afterwards, and the militiamen lost their identity in the rapidly expanding army.” Steve
Many thanks indeed Steve. I have a photo of our father in the suit (can't really call it a uniform) and will attach it when I manage to lay my hands on it!
...our father is on the left of the photo looking very mischievous! He won a platoon boxing championship and he, and the other weight winners, were awarded the right to wear the regimental tie.
...he told of the story of why he was spotted as a potential candidate for an OCTU and it was because of drink! His Militia platoon had been taken to a good vantage point outside of Perth with a magnificent view down the valley of the River Tay. They used to go there quite often in the summer of 1939 as it was ideal country for target recognition and practice of fire orders. One day, the platoon sergeant asked "Anyone here knows what D.R.I.N.K. stands for?" and our father was the only one who did and, from there on, his future was more or less assured.
