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General => Armed Forces => World War Two => Topic started by: Highland one on Sunday 13 October 24 17:13 BST (UK)
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Hello,
Could anyone tell me what regiment you'd have been in if you were in the Highland Light Infantry, based at Taynuilt during WW2
My late Father was based there around 1941 - 45
I also learnt recently he was in, Japanese POW camp
Any help would be most appreciated
😊
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The HLI was a regiment in its own right. Regimental HQ, during WW2 anyway, was Maryhill Barracks in Glasgow. Some regimental history here.
https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/highland-light-infantry-city-glasgow-regiment
The Regiment was posted all over the place and various units may have been attached to other units for various reasons. The Regimental Museum probably has a regimental diary with a history of where and when units were posted. They may be able to assist with your enquiry about serving in Taynuilt.
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The HLI had 10 battalions during WW2, although at least one of these (7th Bn) became an Anti-Aircraft Regiment. Only the 1st and 2nd battalion were regular soldiers, with rest being Territorial Army (TA). The majority of the TA Battalions were based in and around Glasgow, and as far as I can see none of these had TA centres in or close to Taynuilt (whose population is under 1000). Of the TA battalions I think that the 9th (Lanarkshire) battalion is the most likely one to have recruited outside of the greater Glasgow area.
It is quite possible that once the war had started, and Glasgow was being subjected to bombing raids, at least one of the battalions which remained in the UK was moved out to the area of Taynuilt in order to train in the more rugged terrain. It is also possible that the beaches of Airds Bay were used to train for opposed beach landings such as those in Operations Torch and Overlord.
If you know when and / or where your father became a prisoner of war, that would provide the best clue as to the battalion he was in. This could have happened in France or Belgium in early 1940; in North Africa (circa 1942/3), Italy 1943-4, or possibly in Normandy in the summer of 1944 following D Day when several of the HLI battalions were involved in Operations Martlet and Epsom. If you haven't already done so, you should search on his name in the National Archives (http://ttps://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/british-army-casualty-lists-1939-1945/) and in FindmyPast's military collection if you have a subscription. As a prisoner of war, he will have been recorded in at least one Casualty report. This will provide his regimental number and location where he was captured. From there you can obtain his service record from either the MOD (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/request-records-of-deceased-service-personnel) or the National Archives (https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/our-role/plans-policies-performance-and-projects/our-projects/ministry-of-defence-service-records/).
As Elwyn Soutter says, you should also contact the HLI Regimental Museum (https://www.rhf.org.uk/) - don't be put off by the museum's current name, the HLI later amalgamated with the Royal Highland Fusiliers.
See also this history (http://highlandlightinfantry.org.uk/world-war-two/) of the Regiment during WW2 on the HLI Association website
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Thankyou.. Elwyn & Andy, your responses are very helpful, I will certainly take your advice & investigate further.. Those links you have sent could be very useful
Much appreciated 👍
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If he was in a Japanese prisoner of war camp, it seems unlikely he was taken prisoner in France or the North Africa campaign.
The Royal Highland Fusiliers (as they are now) include North Arakan, Razabil, Pinwe, Shweli, Mandalay and Burma 1944 - 45 amongst their battle honours, all these having been awarded during the Burma campaign. I'm not sure if these were earned by the HLI or The Royal Scots Fusiliers, but I would still suggest investigating this as a possibility.
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Albufera, you are correct. The HLI did not fight the Japanese. There were three possible occasions / locations where British soldiers could have been captured by the Japanese: The Fall of Singapore in February 1942 (but there were no Scottish units in the order of battle for 18th Infantry Division), Hong Kong which surrendered in December 1941, (only Scots unit was the 2nd Battalion the Royal Scots) or the Burma Campaign 1942-45 where the Scots infantry were represented in the 18th Infantry Division by the 1st battalion the Royal Scots, and the 1st battalion the Queens Own Cameron Highlanders, and in the 36th Infantry Division by the 1st battalion the Royal Scots Fusiliers.
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What remained of 2nd battalion, 93rd Regiment (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) surrendered at Singapore after fighting virtually the full length of the Malayan Peninsula from early December 1941. Most of the battalion had been wiped out in the defence of Slim River from 4 - 7 January 1942.
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Thankyou also Albufera32,
There's a lot to take in, never the less it's interesting reading.
I'm not sure when my father actually enlisted with HLI, it could have been when WW2 broke out or earlier... He was a Merchant Sea man up until around 1937/38
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Merchant Seaman; served in the HLI in Taynuilt, then POW in Japan. Unusual perhaps? How confident are you of all this?
You really ned to get his service records to clarify the facts.
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Hi Elwyn,
Yes I get what you are saying.
It's a long story, I never knew my father he was born in 1906 died 1961... I have done an amazing amount of research & found evidence of his time in the Merchant Navy, I have a, discharge document from 1936/37.. My father spent a, couple of years in New Zealand where he met & married a girl, they split up, (eventually divorced) & he came back to the UK around 1938.. I found a record of his 2nd Marraige this states he was in the HLI & that's where I learnt about his time there.
I found out about the Japanese POW camp in a newspaper article.. It was a story about his death on 1961...
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Highland One,
If you search on his name in the National Archives or on FindMyPast's military catalogue, you should turn up the casualty report(s) which list him as either missing in action or confirmed as a POW. From there you will have his unit and his Army number. The latter will allow you to get his service record. That will fill in many, if not all, of the gaps concerning his service.
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The HLI and Royal Scots Fusiliers merged in 1959 to become the Royal Highland Fusiliers, so if the source of info for his being in the HLI is a newspaper article from 1961, I would suggest it is entirely possible he was in fact in the Royal Scots Fusiliers, particularly since it seems the HLI were not in action against Japanese forces, whereas the Fusiliers were.
Correction, I just read the post above again, and I see the POW camp was from the newspaper article, but the HLI part was from the marriage register, so maybe not.
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Hi Albufera32
A bit of confusion here..
Sorry but the newspaper report was giving a little history of my father's earlier life.. Quote.. His decline started in the hell of a Jap POW camp, when he was liberated he was partly paralysed.
He wasnt in the services in 1959. He divorced his 2nd wife by the late 1940s, met & married my Mother by 1952 in London, came back to Scotland by 1957, he died in 1961.... A complicated life I know !