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- 2nd Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers during the Second World War -


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World War 2 Two II WW2 WWII 1939 1945

2nd Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers



   2nd Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers was based in Edinburgh when war broke out in September 1939. They joined 17th Infantry Brigade, 5th Division and proceeded to France to join the British Expeditionary Force. They saw action during the Battle of France and the remnants of the battalion was evacuated from Dunkirk. After a period engaged in Home Defence they were sent to Madagascar and later saw action in Italy and North Western Europe.

   location map

28th of October 1939 Operational Order  location map

11th of March 1940 Orders

3rd Apr 1940 Visit

4th Apr 1940 Visit

9th Apr 1940 Reorganisation  location map

11th Apr 1940 Stand Fast

13th Apr 1940 Orders  location map

28th Apr 1940 Warning

30th Apr 1940 Orders

1st May 1940 On the Move

2nd May 1940 On the Move

3rd May 1940 Move Cancelled  location map

4th May 1940 Preparations  location map

6th May 1940 On the Move  location map

7th May 1940 Concentration  location map

8th May 1940 Training  location map

9th May 1940 Training  location map

10th May 1940 Orders  location map

11th May 1940 Orders  location map

12th May 1940 Divisional HQ Moves

13th May 1940 Recce  location map

14th May 1940 Orders  location map

16th May 1940 On the Move  location map

17th May 1940 In Action  location map

18th May 1940 On the Move  location map

19th May 1940 On the Move  location map

20th May 1940 Air Raids  location map

20th May 1940 Orders  location map

21st May 1940 Hard Fighting  location map

21st May 1940 Orders

21st May 1940 Orders

21st May 1940 Intelligence

22nd May 1940 Shelling

22nd May 1940 Under Pressure

23rd May 1940 Enemy Advance

23rd May 1940 Surrounded

24th May 1940 Fighting Withdrawal

24th May 1940 On the Move

25th May 1940 Orders

25th May 1940 Congestion

25th May 1940 Orders

25th May 1940 Conference

25th May 1940 Defence

26th May 1940 In Defence

26th May 1940 Line Held

26th May 1940 Bombing  location map

26th May 1940 In Defence

26th May 1940 Escape corridor

26th May 1940 Into Positions

27th May 1940 Under Pressure

27th May 1940 In Action

27th May 1940 Air Attacks

27th May 1940 In Action  location map

27th May 1940 Enemy Attacks

27th May 1940 Heavy Shelling

27th May 1940 In Action

28th May 1940 Heavy Shelling  location map

28th May 1940 Enemy Advance

28th May 1940 Air Attacks  location map

28th May 1940 In Action  location map

28th May 1940 Rear Guard

28th May 1940 In Action

29th May 1940 Shelling

29th May 1940 Withdrawal

29th May 1940 Rear Guard

29th May 1940 Positions Held

30th May 1940 On the March

30th May 1940 Rear Guard

30th May 1940 Withdrawal  location map

30th May 1940 Withdrawal

30th May 1940 Withdrawal

31st May 1940 Enemy Aircraft

31st May 1940 Heavy Shelling  location map

31st May 1940 Withdrawal  location map

1st Jun 1940 Safety  location map

21st May 1942 On the Move

2nd Sep 1943 Planning


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, Royal Scots Fusiliers

during the Second World War 1939-1945.

  • Beeden William Henry. Fus.
  • Bowles Peter J H. Fus. (d.30th May 1944)
  • Cameron H.. Fus.
  • Cummings Henry. Fus.
  • Dawson John Lyle. Sgt.
  • Kaighin William. Pte.
  • MacConnachie Thomas Finlay. Lt.
  • Mallatratt George William. Fus
  • Stocks Denis. L/Cpl

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, Royal Scots Fusiliers from other sources.



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Want to know more about 2nd Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers?


There are:1395 items tagged 2nd Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers 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.


Pte. William Kaighin 1st Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers

What follows is all that I managed to get from my father, William Kaighin but it does not line up with the RSF war diary which leaves me to believe that my father did not go with the original battalion. Please can someone help me with any information or clarification or where I can get it as the regiment has been no help?

I was called up and sent to Maidstone then Inverness with the 1st Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers. Picked up the 2nd Battalion in Poona, India. Train at Bombay to Chittagong which took a week. Boat from there to Calcutta for about a day-no post. Calcutta to an island called Akkyack but cancelled at last minute and sent to northern India to Arakan which was jungle then on to Margarita-Burma-Opong.

Flew in Dakota. Yanks captured it and gave it to the Chinese who left it on fire when we got there. We were there 13 months then walked to Mandalay. Then into hospital with malaria, scrub typhus, jungle sores and dysentry, flown out by Jackie Gleeson in a Dakota, on patient per wing, Gave us mepracrin tablets every day. Young guy next to me in bed, about 22 or 23 died one night and I did not know until the morning. He had malaria of the spine which you catch from the female mosquito, the male does not bite. I went into the doctors one day and stole 500 mepracrin tablets. A friend was bending down behind a tree going to the toilet and did not know that a Jap was doing the same the other side. Friend was the first to pull up his trousers and killed the Jap.

Any prisoners taken were killed as there was not enough food for us. In any case it was too far to take them back. They treated us the same. If you discharged your rifle without coming up with a body you went on a charge of 14 days.

I was frightened on the ship going over cause you are locked below. They gave me a week's leave then it was off to Inverness standing all the way from London. I arrived, signed in and then the sergeant took me for a 5 mile run. I was one of the oldest at 34.

Ruby Sparkes was in our lot. He was a London crook, the first man to break out of Dartmoor. He decided to get out of the Army. We all got a 48 hour pass to go to a boxing match and Ruby put his name down for one of the fights. On the way to the match he said cheerio and was never seen again.

Saw Vera Lynn in Chittagong. She moved the officers out of the front seats and put the soldiers there. Mountbatton gave us a talk. It was all bullshit but boosted our morale. He could swear worse than me.

The ship we went out on was the Wiiem Roose along with an American boat called the Maritz. The Maritz was torpedoed with about 2000 troops on board. I helped my mate called Chota Small out of the water.

We gave our underwear away to villagers for food.




Fus. Peter J H Bowles 2nd Btn. Royal Scots Fusiliers (d.30th May 1944)

Peter Bowles was uncle to my wife Corrine and her sisters Donna and Darlene, but as they were all born after 1947 they never met him. They heard from his brother Jack and his sister Joan (my mother in law) how wonderful this man was. Joan worked in an ammunition factory near by where she lived. Peter as a young man wanted to help and joined the Army, his brother Jack was too young and was schooled through the war, keeping his Mom busy. I was lucky to meet his mother (my wife's grand mother) her stories were always memorable, his father was a head purser in the Merchant Navy during the war.

We are all in Canada and we do appreciate the use of the Internet that basically helped us to research Fusilier Peter Bowles. From looking at archives he was killed during the German withdrawal from Italy on 30th of May 1944, he was 19. Several week later a small note typed and signed by the King arrived by Royal Mail announcing the sad news. His superior officer was also badly wounded and apologized to the family for writing the letter 6 months later as he was not able to do it any sooner due to his wounds.

We plan to go to visit his grave in Anzio Italy this next fall 2018 to pay our respect and thank him for his service. We must never forget all those men.




Lt. Thomas Finlay MacConnachie 6th Battalion, D Coy. Royal Scots Fusiliers

My father Thomas MacConnachie landed in France in 1944 and fought at Caen, Falaise and through France into Belgium. He was taken prisoner after an assault across the Albert Canal near Escaut on the same day as Operation Market Garden was launched. He was a platoon commander tasked with setting up a consolidation in the village of Aart (now Ten Aart) when they were overwhelmed by a German counter attack. Fortunately he was captured by Wermacht troops (Herman Goering Elite) and avoided the SS who he had bitter experience of confronting. I understand that the action was to consolidate the port of Antwerp and diversionary in relation to Market Garden.

My father continued to serve in the Army until he retired in 1974, suffered a massive haemorrhagic stroke in 1976 and died in 1987. My mother celebrates her 93rd birthday this December having been widowed for the past 32 years. My father's commission certificate, swagger stick and pass out photograph from OCTU still have pride of place on the wall of her home. My father's Prisoner of War Log is still treasured by the family.

Gus MacConnachie



Sgt. John Lyle Dawson 1/2 Btn. Royal Scots Fusiliers

John Dawson served in Burma.

David Dawson



Fus. H. Cameron 2nd Btn. Royal Scots Fusiliers

On 28 January 1944, during World War II, the Orvieto North railway bridge at Allerona, Italy, was the site of the inadvertent bombing by the American 320th Bombardment Group of a train filled with Allied prisoners. Most of the POWs had come from Camp P.G. 54, Fara in Sabina, 35 kilometres to the north of Rome, and had been evacuated in anticipation of the Allied advance. One of the men on the train, Richard Morris of the U.S. Army, wrote that the train was halted on the bridge over the river when the Allied bombs started to fall, and that the German guards fled the train, leaving the prisoners locked inside. Many escaped, Morris included, through holes in the boxcars caused by the bombing, and jumped into the river below. Historian Iris Origo wrote that 450 were killed when the cars ultimately tumbled into the river.

He was captured at Garigliano. He survived the wreck uninjured. He was sent to Stalag 344 Lamsdorf

S Flynn



Fus. Henry Cummings 2nd Btn. Royal Scots Fusiliers

My Father-in-law, Henry Cumings served as a boy soldier and when war broke out he went to France with the BEF but was returned home prior to Dunkirk for medical reasons. We also know he served in India having enlisted at Carlisle 10th November 1921.

mike Sterling









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