THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ENGLAND MARKONE

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND- MARK ONE
I am a new guy on this forum and boy!-the first thing that strikes me is that there are many posters who are terribly ignorant about United Kingdom history and geography.
So let's get things nice and accurate huh?.
Firstly ''England'' has never been at war with Germany in her entire history-only the United Kingdom ie England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland -in 1914 and 1939-has ever been at war with Germany.(England lost the right to wage war independently on May 1st 1707 when she signed the Treaty of Union with Scotland)
''England'' didn't stand alone in 1940-she had Scotland, Wales and Ireland to help her.
Hess didn't fly to ''England'' but to Scotland and landed there 100 miles or more from the English border.
The first German bomber to be shot down on U.K. soil-a Heinkel III- landed in East Lothian on October 16th, 1939-that's deep in Scotland, far away from ''England''
The first British civilian casualty of Luftwaffe action in W.W.2 was James Isbister-a Scotsman from Orkney- which-although in Scotland- is nearer to Norway than it is to England.
The commander of Fighter Command durng the Battle of Britain was a proud Scotsman,Hugh Dowding, from Dumfriesshire-which is in Scotland.
The last U-boat kills in W.W.2 took place on May 8th, 1945, in the Firth of Forth when a U-boat sank two ships just hours before the war ended.
The Firth of Forth is deep inside Scotland so if only ''England''was fighting W.W.2. why did the Nazis attack Scotland?.
So please, no more of this ''England''when you really mean ''Great Britain''or the ''United Kingdom''stuff guys okay?.
Always happy to enlighten my European and USA cousins.

 

Brian,
You're preaching to the converted mate. I'm in Stirling. I've been saying exactly that for years too, and I'm proud to be British!
You could have added that the first kills over Britain were over the Forth on October 16th 1939, when two JU88A1's from 1/KG 30 were shot down by Spitfires from 602 (City of Glasgow) & 603 (City of Edinburgh) squadrons. One ditched off Crail, the other off Port Seton.
The Lammermuir Heinkel you mentioned actually came down on 28th (?) October at Humbie.
Welcome to the forums, btw.

 

I knew it....but bothered little....but you have me converted...United Kingdom it will be in future...

Also welcome to the forums from me...

 

Gordon, thanks for your reply!. Also for putting me right about the Humbie Heinkel.
Stirling I know well-my daughter lived in Dunblane at one time.

 

Ahhh, it's all a bunch of bollicks you pommes! Word from the colonies...

 

Bloody colonials!
Brian,
No worries. Hope to be over your way soon to photograph anti-tank walls and pillboxes at Star.

 

Do you mean the village of Star near Markinch in Fife , Gordon?.
Have you evr visited the beach at West Weymms bay in Fife?-a tlow tide you can still see a row of 1940 anti-invasion scare anti-tank blocks on the beach which are covered at high tide.
The Firth of Forth is a veritable treasure trove for W.W.2 artefacts.
There is a Mark One Hurricane in excellent condition lying off Burntisland-it sank there in December 1941 during a flak affiliation exercise.

 

'Bollocks' Mr Gardner. It's 'bollocks' not 'bollicks', a good English term. 'Kin colonials

No.9

 

Well, well Brian, would be impolite of me not to say hello after all these years, and why not. I could be mistaken, often am, but thought the ‘pen’ name has changed, the style hasn’t.

No.9

 

Brian,
Yes, Star.
I was over there yesterday photographing the MG bunker on the outskirts of the village, and also the anti-tank wall at Markinch station.
I have seen the beach at Wemyss. On the beach between Burntisland and Kinghorn are about 100 or so anti-glider landing obstacles from 1940, and Tentsmuir forest has a whole load of defences.....one day I might get around to seeing the latter.

 

Thanks Number 9!-incredibly I was thinking about you the other day and when you went up to Spean Bridge to the Commando monument and I told you about going to the same school as Tom Hunter V.C. -the only British Royal Marine to win a V.C. in W.W.2.
Just shows you!_I still remember your posts from 2002 on the other board.

 

Ah ha, thought I recognised the style – in through the front door without knocking, or opening it first . A great pleasure to meet-up again ‘Scotus’, I too think of the old exchanges, usually between the ‘Partisans’ and the nazis, or neo’s. Also remember you administering a few political kickin’s

I’ve been to Hunters’ patch in Italy several times since 2002. Battleground, memorial and grave. Also met men who were with him in C Troop and officers of No.43. The local community had his sister over last year for a 60th ceremony. He’s well commemorated there.

When we last spoke you were heavily involved in getting out your latest boxing book. Hope all went well.

No.9

 

No-9 Tom Hunter V.C.'s grave-is it near Lake something in Italy?-a young Edimburgh amateur boxer who also came from the same street as 'T.H.' and went to Tynecastle School as ''T.H''. did is now serving with the Marines, based in Pompey, just now. He was thrilled when I pointed out tha the was following in Tom Hunter's illustrious footsteps-alas the boxing book project is in limbo as I changed publishers and I await their decision.

 

Yes Scotus, Hunter VC is buried in Argenta Gap War Cemetery which is a few miles west of Lake Comacchio. He was killed at the top of the Spit which forms the eastern shore of the lake. Perhaps strangely, men killed up to and including 02 April tend to have been buried at Ravenna, and those on 03 April onwards at Argenta Gap.

A few years ago we happened upon some men from Fleet Protection which used to be known as the Comacchio Group, taking origins from No.43 RM Cdo. They were near Amos Bridge on the Belloccio Canal trying to work out where No.2 landed. They had a map, blown-up from a book, showing No.2 assaulted up the canal . Of course the book turned out to be written by a Marine, and therefore any reference to Army Commandos should be taken as a rough guide only.

If your friend, and any of his comrades, would like an accurate and unrestricted tour of the battlefield, please let me know. Suggest next April best.

Sorry to hear about problems with your book, but at least it may only be delayed at worst.

No.9

 

technically this is incorrect too, you forget that not only did she have the rest of the union but also the empire stood with her. remember sacrifice of the indians, canadians, new zealanders,various africans, ozzies etc, not to mention the escapies from europe who came here to carry on the fight in their countries names.

 

And you forgot Nepal

No.9

 

very good points

 

Indeed i did forget Nepal which makes me hold my head in shame as Gurkha's served with distinction in my chosen division.

 

hehe

 

I’m not having a pop raj, or trying to be pedantic. I’m also not referring to the Gurkha soldier, who was/is in the British Army, but to the country of Nepal.

I think those who have reasonable knowledge of W.W.II appreciate the reference to Britain ‘standing alone’ in 1940, reflects Britain became (mostly) the last belligerent in Europe free to continue the war.

My point about Nepal is it’s little known and rarely acknowledged what a small country on the other side of the globe did for Britain, asking nothing in return.

”In the Second World War there were forty Gurkha battalions in British service, as well as parachute, garrison and training units, in all totaling some 112,000 men. With British and Commonwealth troops, Gurkhas fought in Syria, the Western Desert, Italy, Greece, from North Malaya to Singapore and from the Siamese border back through Burma to Imphal and then forward again to Rangoon.

In addition to the enormous manpower made available there were many personal gestures on the part of the Minister and Court of Nepal. Large sums of money for the purchase of weapons and equipment, including money for the provision of fighter aircraft during the Battle of Britain, were presented as gifts from Nepal. Considerable sums of money were also donated to the Lord Mayor of London during the Blitz for the relief of victims in the dockland area. An equally generous response was made to a variety of appeals for aid – all this from a country which was then, and still is by western standards, desperately poor.

The spirit of this friendship is best illustrated in the reply made by the Prime Minister of Nepal to the British Minister in Kathmandu after the fall of France in 1940. Permission was sought to recruit an additional 20 battalions for the Gurkha Brigade, and for Gurkha troops to be allowed to serve in any part of the world.

This was readily granted by the Prime Minister who remarked, “Does a friend desert a friend in time of need? If you win, we win with you. If you lose, we lose with you”. The whole of the Nepalese Army was again placed at the disposal of the British Crown."


No.9