The 1st Linlithgowshire Rifle Volunteers was a Scottish unit of Britain's Volunteer Force raised in Linlithgow in 1860. It later became a cyclist battalion of the Royal Scots, which served in Home Defence and saw action in the North Russia Intervention force during World War I. Between the wars it was reduced to company strength, but just before World War II it was converted into an anti-aircraft (AA) regiment of the Royal Artillery (RA). This served in Anti-Aircraft Command during the Blitz and later distinguished itself in the Siege of Tobruk. It fought through the Italian Campaign and its successors continued in the postwar Territorial Army (TA) until 1967.
Volunteer Force The enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs) composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need.Beckett.Grierson, pp. 1–12.Spiers, pp. 163–8. One such unit was the 1st Linlithgowshire Rifle Volunteers, a company formed at Linlithgow, the county town of West Lothian (or Linlithgowshire), on 19 March 1860 under the command of Captain Robert Stewart. It was soon followed by companies formed in other towns of West Lothian, and they were combined as the 1st Administrative Battalion of Linlithgowshire Rifle Volunteers with Stewart promoted to major in command on 21 October 1862:Beckett, Appendix VII.Frederick, p. 301.Grierson, pp. 196–8.Westlake, pp. 159–60.Story of the Royal Scots Chapter 18 at ElectricScotland.Army List, various dates. 1st Linlithgowshire RVC, formed at Linlithgow 19 March 1860 2nd Linlithgowshire RVC, formed at Bo'ness 19 March 1860 3rd Linlithgowshire RVC, formed at Bathgate 25 April 1860, moving to Torphichen in 1864 4th Linlithgowshire RVC, formed at Bathgate 9 August 1862 from employees of Young's Chemical Works under the command of James Young 5th Linlithgowshire RVC, formed at Uphall 28 January 1870 6th Linlithgowshire RVC, formed at West Calder as one company and a subdivision 17 April 1878
When the RVCs were consolidated in 1880 the 1st Admin Bn became the 1st Linlithgowshire Rifle Volunteers on 16 March and the individual RVCs became lettered companies, the subdivision of the 6th becoming F Company at Addiewell, the rest of the 6th becoming G Company at West Calder. C Company moved to Armadale the following year.
Localisation Under the 'Localisation of Forces' scheme introduced in 1872 by the Cardwell Reforms, the 1st Linlithgowshire was grouped with the 1st Regiment of Foot (the Royal Scots), the Edinburgh Light Infantry Militia and a number of RVCs from neighbouring counties into Brigade No 62, which was a purely administrative formation. Under the Childers Reforms of 1881, the 1st Linlithgowshire became a Volunteer Battalion of the Royal Scots on 1 July, and was formally redesignated as the 8th Volunteer Battalion, Royal Scots in April 1888.
The Stanhope Memorandum of December 1888 introduced a Mobilisation Scheme for Volunteer units, which would assemble in their own brigades at key points in case of war. In peacetime these brigades provided a structure for collective training.Beckett, pp. 135, 185–6.Dunlop, pp. 60–1; Appendix A.Spiers, pp. 228–9. Under this scheme the 8th VB was included in the Forth Brigade. In 1902 the Forth Brigade was split into the 1st and 2nd Lothian Brigades, with the 8th VB in the 2nd Brigade.
2nd Boer War Thirty-six volunteers from the battalion served in the Second Boer War, principally with the 1st and 2nd Volunteer Service Companies of the Royal Scots, earning the battalion its first Battle honour: South Africa 1900–02.Leslie.
In 1900 the battalion raised three additional companies: H at South Queensferry, I at Kirkliston, and a Cyclist Company, while F Company moved to Fauldhouse. H Company was disbanded in 1906 and I Company was redesignated H.
Territorial Force When the Volunteers were subsumed into the new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908,Dunlop, Chapter 14.Spiers, Chapter 10. the battalion was reorganised to form the 10th (Cyclist) Battalion, Royal Scots of 8 companies with headquarters at Linlithgow.TA at Royal Scots website.London Gazette 20 March 1908. Cyclist battalions did not form part of the TF's divisions but were 'Army Troops' held at Command level; 10th (Cyclist) Bn Royal Scots was under Scottish Command.Conrad, 1914.
World War I Mobilisation On the outbreak of war on 4 August 1914, the battalion mobilised and was assigned to coastal defence at Berwick-upon-Tweed.Royal Scots at Long, Long Trail. Almost immediately, TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service. On 31 August, the War Office authorised the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit for each TF unit where 60 per cent or more of the men had volunteered for Overseas Service. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix. They were filled with the volunteers who were coming forward in large numbers – 2/10th Royal Scots was recruited in under a week in September – and 3rd Line training units were formed in 1915.Becke, Pt 2b, p. 6.Brander, pp. 75–8.
Coast Defence From 7 November 1914 the cyclist battalions formed part of the newly formed Army Cyclist Corps. The 1/10th (Cyclist) Bn Royal Scots was joined at Berwick by the 2/10th in January 1915, and both battalions remained there until April and June 1918, when they were transferred to Ireland. The battalion was finally disembodied at The Curragh on 26 February 1920. A 3/10th Bn was formed in 1915 and then disbanded in March 1916, when its personnel were distributed to the 1/10th, 2/10th and the newly formed Machine Gun Corps.ACC at Long, Long Trail.
North Russia By 1918, 2/10th Bn had sent many drafts overseas and was now composed mainly of men of B1 medical category. However, the War Office needed troops for a North Russia Intervention force, and after reorganising as an infantry battalion and being brought up to strength with drafts from other units in Ireland, the 2/10th returned to England in July 1918. It was then shipped to Arkhangelsk as part of the force, arriving in late August 1918.
Leaving one company in Arkhangelsk, the battalion operated along a stretch of the Northern Dvina River, south of its junction with the Vaga River. Movement and observation were hampered by marshes and forests, but supported by the Royal Navy monitor HMS M33 the Royal Scots cleared the triangle between the Dvina and Vaga and took a number of villages and prisoners. The strongly fortified village of Pless could not be attacked frontally, so A Company, less one platoon, attempted a flanking movement through the marshes. The following morning the company reached Kargonin, behind Pless, and the defenders – thinking themselves cut off by a large force – evacuated both villages. The regimental historian describes this as 'a quite remarkable march by predominantly B1 troops'.
By late September, with a body of US Army troops, the battalion had reached Nijne-Toimski, which proved too strong for the lightly equipped Allied force, who established a defensive line. The monitor then had to withdraw before the Dvina froze, and the force was shelled by Bolsehvik gunboats. It withdrew to a second defensive line for the winter. With the help of a Canadian Field Artillery battery it drove off a number of attacks, culminating in a very heavy assault on 11 November. 2/10th Royal Scots was then reinforced by the company from Archangelsk, which had been engaged at Obozerskaya on the Vologda railway line. The force then settled into billets in villages and log blockhouses, while training and raids were carried out on snowshoes, skis and sledges.
The Bolsheviks resumed the offensive early in 1919, and A Company had to be sent to reinforce a heavily pressed force on the Vaga, marching with sledges over in temperatures 40–60 degrees below freezing. The Bolsheviks now had artillery superiority, there was no anti-Bolshevik rising among the local population, the White Russian troops mutinied in April, and the US troops were withdrawn in May. Nevertheless, the force remained in position; 2/10th Royal Scots was relieved by other British troops. The battalion returned by barge to Archangelsk and sailed for home on 10 June. It arrived at Leith where it was immediately demobilised on 25 June.
Interwar When the TF was reformed as the Territorial Army (TA) in 1920, the 10th (Cyclist) Bn first formed the 1st (Linlithgow) Light Bridging Company of the Royal Engineers, then in 1921 it became A Company of the 4/5th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) Bn, Royal Scots at Edinburgh, with Company HQ remaining at Linlithgow. The 4/5th Bn formed part of 155th (East Scottish) Bde of 52nd (Lowland) Division.Titles and designations, 1927.
14th (West Lothian, Royal Scots) LAA Rgt During the 1930s the increasing need for anti-aircraft (AA) defence for Britain's cities was addressed by converting a number of TA infantry battalions into AA units. The 4th/5th Royal Scots was one of the battalions selected, becoming a searchlight (S/L) regiment in 1938. At the same time, the TA was doubled in size following the Munich Crisis, so two regiments were formed, with A Company providing the basis for a new 14th (West Lothian, Royal Scots) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment of the Royal Artillery (RA). The Linlithgow company formed Regimental HQ (RHQ), 39 (Linlithgow) and 40 (Bathgate) LAA Batteries; 57 LAA Battery was raised at South Queensferry on 17 January 1939 and 58 LAA Bty at Edinburgh on 15 May 1939.Frederick, pp. 800, 821.Litchfield, pp. 298–300.
World War II Mobilisation The regiment formed part of 3 AA Division covering Scotland. In February 1939 the TA's AA defences came under the control of a new Anti-Aircraft Command. In June a partial mobilisation of TA units was begun in a process known as 'couverture', whereby each AA unit did a month's tour of duty in rotation to man selected AA positions. On 24 August, ahead of the declaration of war, AA Command was fully mobilised at its war stations.Routledge, pp. 65–6, 371. 14th (West Lothian) LAA Rgt became part of 51st Light Anti-Aircraft Brigade, which was formed in August 1939 with responsibility for all of 3 AA Division's LAA provision.Routledge, Table LX, p. 378.
Phoney War and Battle of Britain 3 AA Division was frequently in action during the so-called Phoney War that lasted from September 1939 to April 1940. The first action occurred unexpectedly on 16 October 1939, when enemy aircraft suddenly appeared out of cloud and dived on warships off Rosyth Dockyard, close to the Forth Bridge. Other attacks on bases followed, and 3 AA Division was given priority for new Heavy AA (HAA) guns in January 1940, but only 10 Bofors 40 mm guns and some Naval 2-pounders were available for LAA defence; otherwise LAA defence of Vulnerable Points (VPs) relied on AA Light machine guns (AALMGs). From April 1940 the Luftwaffe turned its attention to the campaigns in Norway and France and the Low CountriesRoutledge, pp. 375–6.