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- 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders during the Second World War -


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World War 2 Two II WW2 WWII 1939 1945

2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders



   2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders were based in Malaya as part of the Singapore garrison. They saw action in February 1942 in the battle for Singapore and on the 15th of February they surrendered along with 130,000 other British Commonwealth soldiers. The battalion suffered more casualties as Prisoners of War in Japanese captivity than they did during the fighting on Singapore Island and mainland Malaysia.

In May 1942 2nd Battalion was was reformed from personnel of the 11th Battalion joined 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division. They landed in Normandy on D-Day and fought alongside the 1st Battalion through France, Belgium and the Netherlands into Germany.

 

3rd Jan 1944 Street Fighting Exercise

13th of April 1944 Amendment

29th of April 1944 Photographs

1st Jun 1944 Orders

2nd Jun 1944 Orders

3rd Jun 1944 Orders

21st Jun 1944 Orders

22nd Jun 1944 Preparations

23rd Jun 1944 Briefing

25th Jun 1944 Preparations  location map

25th Jun 1944 Conference  location map

26th Jun 1944 Move  location map

26th Jun 1944 In Action  location map

28th Jun 1944 Orders

1st July 1944 Orders  location map

2nd July 1944 Reliefs  location map

3rd Jul 1944 Locations

3rd July 1944 Relief Complete  location map

4th July 1944 Conference

6th Jul 1944 Paswords

6th July 1944 Passwords

11th July 1944 Conference

13th Jul 1944 Enemy Positions  location map

13th July 1944 Orders

13th July 1944 Recce Patrols

14th Jul 1944 Orders  location map

14th July 1944 Orders  location map

14th July 1944 Preparations

15th Jul 1944 Orders

15th July 1944 Orders  location map

15th July 1944 Into Position

16th Jul 1944 Shelling  location map

16th Jul 1944 Attack

16th Jul 1944 Advance

16th July 1944 Air Raid  location map

16th July 1944 In Action

17th Jul 1944 Bombs

17th July 1944 Air Raid  location map

18th Jul 1944 Orders

18th July 1944 Orders Issued  location map

19th Jul 1944 Minefields

19th Jul 1944 Moves

19th July 1944 Instructions  location map

20th Jul 1944 Moves  location map

21st Jul 1944 Orders

21st July 1944 Orders  location map

23rd Jul 1944 HQ Moves

23rd July 1944 Divisional HQ Moves

24th Jul 1944 Conference

24th July 1944 Conference

25th Jul 1944 Minefields

25th July 1944 Minefields

26th Jul 1944 Orders

26th July 1944 Orders

28th Jul 1944 Orders

28th July 1944 Instructions

29th Jul 1944 Preparations

30th Jul 1944 In Action

30th Jul 1944 Attack Made

30th Jul 1944 In Action

30th Jul 1944 HQ Moves

30th July 1944 Divisional HQ Moves

30th July 1944 In Action  location map

31st Jul 1944 Advance

31st Jul 1944 Attack Made

31st Jul 1944 HQ Moves

31st July 1944 Orders

1st Aug 1944 In Action

6th Aug 1944 Attacks

6th Aug 1944 In Action

6th Aug 1944 Attack Made

6th Aug 1944 Attack Made

13th Sep 1944 Canal  location map

25th Oct 1944 In Action

26th Oct 1944 In Action

28th Oct 1944 Assault Made  


THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORTH-WEST EUROPE 1944-45

Carriers and 6-pdr anti-tank guns of the 2nd Gordon Highlanders, 15th (Scottish) Division, during the assault on Tilburg, 28th of October 1944. © IWM (B 11420)



28th Oct 1944 Assault Made

29th Oct 1944 Rumours

30th Oct 1944 British dig in on Maas Bend

30th Oct 1944 Reliefs

1st Nov 1944 Shelling

13th Nov 1944 Objectives

14th Nov 1944 Conference

15th Nov 1944 Conference

17th Nov 1944 Planning

20th Nov 1944 In Action

21st Nov 1944 Advance

24th Nov 1944 Patrols

25th Nov 1944 Advance

26th Nov 1944 Shelling

28th Nov 1944 Prisoners Taken

11th Jan 1945 Artillery Support  location map

18th Jan 1945 Reliefs

14th Feb 1945 Moving Forward  


THE OPERATION VERITABLE, FEBRUARY-MARCH 1945

2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders moving forward to attack Cleves, accompanied by a stray goat which persisted in following them, 14th of February 1945. The Battalion, part of the 15th Scottish Division, occupied the town with support of tanks of the 6th Tanks Guards Brigade. © IWM (B 14595)



14th Feb 1945 Moving Forward

24th of February 1945 Move

8th May 1945 Victory


If you can provide any additional information, especially on actions and locations at specific dates, please add it here.



Those known to have served with

2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders

during the Second World War 1939-1945.

  • Braidwood William Patrick. Pte
  • Cooper Harry. Pte. (d.26th September 1944)
  • Cowrie John George. Pte.
  • Day Edward. Pte. (d.16th August 1943)
  • Greenlaw William. Pte
  • Gunn William A.. Pte.
  • Harter Michael William. Capt. (d.18th June 1943 )
  • Higson Robert. (d.30th October 1944)
  • Jewers Henry Charles. Cpl.
  • McArthur Maxwell. Pte (d.29th of April 1945)
  • Pettitt Cyril. (d.5th August 1944)
  • Rennie Joseph. Pte.
  • Sivewright Charles. Pte.
  • Sivewright Henry George. Pte
  • Smith Hector. Sgt. (d.March 1942)
  • Taylor Alexander Jesse Chisholm. Sgt.
  • Taylor Charles Gillan Nicholson. Sgt.
  • Unsworth Frank. Sgt.

The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List

Records of 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders from other sources.



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Want to know more about 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders?


There are:1416 items tagged 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders available in our Library

  These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War.


Cyril Pettitt 2nd Btn. Gordon Highlanders (d.5th August 1944)

Cyril Pettitt signed up under age at 17 years old and went across to France in July 1944. He died in August 1944. His mother had passed away when he was 11 years old and he was very close to his younger sister who was heartbroken when the Padre broke the news that he had been killed in action.

Teresa Wilkins



Pte Maxwell "Mexi" McArthur 2nd Btn Gordon Highlanders (d.29th of April 1945)

Maxwell McArthur was killed in action on the 29th of April 1945 in the area of Tesperhude and the Krummel factory, after crossing the river Elbe below Lauenburg on one of the final small skirmishes leading to the final victory in a German surrender 8 days later when the war ended. He gave his all for King, Country and the honour of the Gordon Highlanders.

Major John Gallacher



Pte William "Tarzan" Greenlaw 2nd Btn Gordon Highlanders

William Greenlaw served with the 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders in WW2.




Pte. Joseph Rennie 5th Btn. Gordon Highlanders

Joseph Rennie was my Dad. I've been looking into his journey with the historian's at the Gordon Highlanders Museum in Aberdeen. He was captured after the failed offensive at St Valery. I know one camp he was in BAB21. As I have a postcard that was sent to him there that he kept. POW number was 6707. The historian thought that was some kind of punishment camp. Possible for those that had made escape attempts. My Dad did talk about being next to a concentration camp and about passing whatever rations they could do the Jews whenever possible. Sounds like BAB21 bordered Auschwitz.

Darag Rennie



Pte. William A. Gunn 2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders

William Gunn was serving with 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders and stationed in Malaya. In February 1942 he was captured and held as a prisoner of war until summer of 1945. He later served in Korea.

Andy



Pte. Edward Day 2nd Btn. Gordon Highlanders (d.16th August 1943)

Edward Day is buried in Kanchanaburi War Cemetery in Thailand. I believe he was one of the very unlucky 600 soldiers that were chosen by the Japanese to be transferred to Thailand and forced to work on the railway. Edward was the son of Arthur and Agnes Gwenneth Day (nee King)

Teresa Talbot



Capt. Michael William Harter 2nd Btn. Gordon Highlanders (d.18th June 1943 )

Michael Harter was one of the Old Etonian, Gordon Highlanders in WW2, based in Singapore in 1942. My Mum, 80 years old, has shown an interest in finding out about her Uncle Michael. The information she has is that he was captured and put to task on the Burma Railway. She thinks he died from malaria etc.

Oliver Gill



Pte. Harry Cooper 2nd Btn. Gordon Highlanders (d.26th September 1944)

Harry Cooper is buried in the Mierlo War Cemetery in Holland.

Chris Skingsley



Pte William Patrick Braidwood 2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders

My Dad, William Braidwood was a prisoner of war in the Far East. He was in Nong Pladuk when allied planes bombed it killing 100 prisoners. On return home he had to fill in a form asking if he had carried out any acts of sabotage, he wrote "putting sand in the oil tanks and burying machinery parts", if caught doing this, he would have been killed.

Nicola McSparron



Sgt. Alexander Jesse Chisholm Taylor 2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders

Sgt Alexander Taylor & his wife Marjorie (Peggy) & son Douglas were posted to Singapore with the 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders in or around 1936. A further son followed in Sep 1937 and a daughter in Oct 1939. The family were evacuated to Bombay in Feb 1942 and he became a prisoner of war of the Japanese during the fall of Singapore in Feb 1942.

He survived & rejoined his family in Bombay following the surrender of Japan in 1945, where he was transferred to the RAOC. He returned to the UK with his children on the SS Chittral in Aug 1947. He settled in Epsom but remained in the army for a further few years serving in Egypt & Germany. He died in 1981.

Peter Chisholm-Taylor









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