My Grandpa’s war; John Hepburn Wilkie 282308. 6th Seaforth Highlanders and Royal Scots

Good evening all,
This is my first post. The wealth of knowledge, information and expertise I have obtained from this site is quite staggering. It inspired me to research my Grandpa’s war history.
Not surprisingly, like most other veterans, he rarely, if ever spoke of his involvement or experiences.
My dad and aunt, still both alive, knew virtually nothing, other than he was at the Dunkirk evacuation. They didn’t even know the regiments he had served with. They knew he was badly injured, however had they no idea how he came by them. My Grandpa passed when I was eighteen. I received one of his four medals, the France and Germany star. The remaining three were shared around the other grandchildren. I do remember asking him about the war, he would only tell me the same, I’ll maybe tell you when you’re older.
My son now 18, was the real reason I started my journey. After watching the 2017 Dunkirk movie, and informing him his great grandfather was there, he asked me how did your grandpa get injured, how did he get home and who did he serve with? I was embarrassed that I couldn’t tell him. From that moment I was determined to find out his story and my family history.
The information and advice I picked up from this site was priceless.
My aunt, amazingly still had his medical examination card from 1939, his service card, his AB 64 and his discharge booklet, all tucked away in a loft for decades!
From this I obtained his service records from Glasgow, also copies of the relevant war diaries from Kew. Along with a host of other information and research, I was able to plot him from call up on enlistment in October 1939 until demobilisation in February 1946. It was a real eye opener for our entire family and we all feel an immense pride of his involvement in what he and others went through. I continue to remind myself, that had he not made it back, I would not be here today to post this piece of our family history.
For those who are curious of relatives involved in the war and are eager to find out…I can only say do it..like me you will never regret it.
This is story..
My Grandpa was John Hepburn Wilkie, known as Big Jack. He was born in April 1919.
At the outbreak of ww2 he was aged 21. He resided with both his parents and seven brothers and sisters. He was an insurance clerk and had no previous military experience.

He was called up for service in the Army and on 21/09/1939 he had his medical at Glasgow central station medical board no.2. He was graded A1 and on 16th October 1939 he was enlisted at Fort George near Inverness with the 6th battalion Seaforth Highlanders, which were a territorial unit. After a period of intense basic training, he was sent to No. 1 holding battalion in Broughty Ferry on Tayside.

This was a garrison facility in preparation for overseas service.

By 30th March 1940, he formed part of the 17th Infantry Brigade, 5th Division, 2 Corps of the BEF.
On the 16th April 1940 he sailed from Southampton arriving in at Le Havre in France. Recorded on his war record as ‘entering the theatre of operations’. He joined up with the rest of his battalion who had arrived in January 1940 for a period of collective training near Amiens on the Somme canal.

On 10th May Germany invaded Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The battle of France had begun. On that day his battalion, numbering 30 officers and 780 other ranks,quit their camp and marched 30 miles north to Bernaville. They marched or were transported via trucks as the heat was unbearable. The men were constantly exhausted.

The Germans advanced rapidly. My grandpa’s battalion, ditched more and more kit to increase mobility and agility to meet them.
There was constant chaos on the roads due to a never ending stream of refugees, clogging the transport links.

Between the 17th and 23rd of May was his first significant engagement. This was at the town of Arras, by which point they had travelled large distances and the men were extremely tired. They faced an experienced German army and airforce known as the ‘Blitzkreig’ who vastly outnumbered his battalion and brigade. His own battalion suffered 150 casualties in this engagement. The fighting was brutal and severe. Detailed accounts of extreme bravery and courage were common with hand to hand fighting and bayonet charges.

They was no time for recovery. The BEF were quickly becoming surrounded by the rapid German advances. By the 24th May his battalion had been instructed to form a defensive position near Ypres. Throughout this campaign, The BEF were subordinate to the French high command. Historians have documented it was shambolic from the outset.
Lord Gort The BEF commander, identified the situation was becoming hopeless and there was a real danger of the BEF being entirely surrounded and captured. On the 26th May the withdrawal was authorised by Churchill.

Dunkirk and the surrounding beaches was the identified evacuation site.

My Grandpa’s battalion and 5th division was part of the perimeter at Ypres-Comines to protect the retreating inland forces. He faced the onslaught of three full German infantry divisions. The fighting was fierce and bloody. His battalion was located at Zillebeke. Many of his companions and colleagues were killed in this battle and eventual retreat to Dunkirk. My Grandpa was severely injured on 28th May. A severe shrapnel wound to his right hand and gunshot wound to his left foot. His battalion then began his retreat to the coast through utter carnage on the roads. The Luftwaffe were constantly bombing and shelling them enroute. Civilians and livestock were slaughtered and left were they fell. The horror of colleagues and innocents blown to pieces would live with him forever.

He eventually made it to the coast, most likely La Panne. He was bombed and shelled throughout and on the 29th or 30th May He was eventually placed onto a boat/ship and conveyed to the UK. The ship and port of arrival, I have been unable to identify.

On returning to the UK he was conveyed by train to Middlesbrough and then initially to Hemlington hospital and then Northallerton hospital on the 4th June 1940. I have managed to obtain his original hospital entry from a ledger on this date. He then spent a period of time for rehabilitation and reconstructive surgery. He was transferred to Stannington hospital on 19th September for further treatment. I have also managed to obtain this original hospital entry. He remained there until 7th February 1941. He spent a total of nearly nine months in hospitals.

His Seaforth Highlanders battalion had suffered appalling casualties on their return from France. Over two thirds had been, killed, wounded, captured or missing. Over 350 had been killed alone.
He was very very lucky to have come back home at all.

After treatment he returned to Scotland and the army transferred him initially to 70th Young Soldiers battalion the Royal Scots, which was later subsumed into the 1st battalion Lowland regiment.
His Seaforth Highlanders battalion had long been brought back to strength with the army having the authority to send returning injured troops to a regiment of their choice after a period of time.
He was subsequently re-trained as a clerk and moved around various military establishments 1941-1944 including a temp promotion to lance corporal.
My grandpa was also married to my grandma in March 1942!
He was now medically graded B1, which meant he could be deployed overseas once again.
In preparation for D-day, he was transferred to 39 RHU (reinforcement holding unit) in Leeds on 25th February 1944. They formed part of Montgomery’s 21st Army group. Around this date he completed his last will and testament should he be killed in action. He was aged only 24.

The famous Normandy landings took place on 6th June. By this date he was in a marshalling camp in Bolney, Sussex. On 17th June he boarded the ship HMS Astrid in Newhaven.
On the early hours of 18th June he arrived in the bay of Normandy and made his way via small landing craft and arrived at Gold beach, king sector. He set up camp at Ryes, approximately 1 mile from the beach and 8 miles from Caen, the front line.
He remained there and transferred to the 102nd reinforcement group HQ as a clerk. They later became part of the first Canadian Army. He then took part in the Normandy breakout. His group followed behind the main force East and North. Subsequent reinforcements were fed from the rear to his group for distribution. As a reminder of the dangers, the other clerk in his rank in his HQ was almost killed in October 1944. The first Canadian army took part in the capture of Antwerp and the Scheldt peninsula.
My grandpa moved through France, Belgium and Holland; Amiens, Termonde and then Nijmegen until VE Day in 8th May 1945. He remained in active service and was later transferred to No 2 Release Embarkation Camp, Tournai in Belgium until discharge 7th February 1946.
He sailed via Ostend to Dover. Troop train to a military disembarkation camp at Carlisle then onwards to Redford barracks in Edinburgh.
He was home at last! He went onto start a family with my grandma and the rest is history!
He was awarded 4 medals, 1939-45 star, defence medal, war medal and France and Germany star. He was also awarded his wound stripes from his injuries in 1940. I have also obtained the Dunkirk medal and the Normandy campaign commemorative medal.
I have since documented this entire episode in extensive detail in a professionally presented photo and story book. Copies of this have been given to my dad, aunt, my brother and my son as a keepsake. His medals have been displayed in a beautiful bespoke cabinet which has also been given to my dad, which in time will be passed to my son and thereafter future family generations.
I was 18 when he passed in 1988. I was always curious regarding his war history, he stated he might tell me when I was much older-he never did, clearly some of what he witnessed and suffered would be too horrific to share. I only began to understand why when I myself was much older. Instead he would often tell me many far fetched tales of his involvement when was a youngster!
My extensive research has shown my grandpa was a very brave man, who rarely if ever shared his experiences of his involvement in the second world war. I would not be here today if he had not returned home. This piece of our family history will now always be remembered.
Thanks Grandpa!

 

Greig,
There's not much in print about 6th Seaforths in 1940, but there's a little bit of background on the retreat in Seaforth Highlanders: A Fighting Soldier Remembers
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seaforth-Highlanders-Fighting-Soldier-Remembers/dp/0947554149.
Jim Stockman was a sergeant in the battalion.

 

Thanks a lot for this. I had purchased the book last year as part of my research. I had seen the book mentioned in other threads in this site, which prompted me to buy it. Theo’s and other snippets of information I picked up on these forums were priceless. Thankyou.