General

In the collection there are a number of items from Private Alex Morton who joined ‘X’ Company 9^th Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers. He wrote to the Harding family in Widdrington Colliery on Sunday 28 April 1940 letting them know that he had safely arrived “Somewhere in France” and that they were billeted in an old barn on a French farm. The owners were doing their washing for a small consideration, and would do anything for an English cigarette.

We know he became a prisoner of war (POW) as he later sent two postcards to the same family in 1941 from the Camp he was interned in. In the first one he mentions he has heard the sad news that Willie Grey and Jimmy Leck have been killed.

Following a recruitment drive in 1939, the 9^th Battalion was formed, as an offshoot of 7^th Battalion, both were Territorial units. At the outbreak of war the Battalion HQ was based in Alnwick and the following companies were based:-  

‘W’ Company – Rothbury

‘X’ Company – Amble

‘Y’ Company – Ashington

‘Z’ Company – Berwick Upon Tweed

But who were Willie and Jimmy? Well the following information was found on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website:-

Pte 4274505 William Grey, 9^th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers son of John & Cicely Annie Grey of Widdrington Colliery. Killed in Action 22 May 1940. Aged only 21.

Pte 4272184 James Ranson Leck, 9^th Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers husband of Mary Leck of Stobswood. Killed in Action 23 May 1940. Aged 25. 

According to the War Diaries for the 9^th Battalion, nicely transcribed by the North East War Memorial Project [NEWMP], the battalion left their camp at Killingworth for the train station at 20.45 on 22 April 1940, leaving on two trains. The first stopped at Oxford at 06.00 for breakfast. After a further three hour journey to Southampton they caught the SS Fennella, bound for France. The other train stopped at Leicester for breakfast before arriving in Southampton at 12.30 and onwards to France on the same vessel. 

Whilst in France, waiting for some action, they would have done the usual military things training/marching/parading all in the early summer sun. By 22 May the battalion were at Merville, improving the local defences. At 19.15 they encountered light aerial bombing by the Luftwaffe. During the evening, rumours started to circulate that Germany Armoured vehicles were approaching their positions.

On 23 May, they continued to improve the defences of the town and more rumours abounded that tanks and snipers hidden in houses were at work, but this was dismissed as being spread by fifth columnists. On both days no casualties were recorded in the war diaries. 

Willie is buried in Renescure Churchyard, which is between Saint Omer and Hazebrouck. There are only 14 others buried in the same churchyard, nearly all are servicemen of the Royal Artillery. However, there is one other, Fusilier Francis Glancey, aged 22 from Tynemouth. All were killed between 15 and 26 May 1940. The eldest was 36 years old, the youngest only 20.

Jimmy is buried in the nearby Arques Churchyard. There are only 6 commonwealth graves; all were killed on 23 May 1940. He is buried with three other local soldiers from the 9^th Battalion – George Eastlake from Lynemouth; Gordon Raffle of Klondyke and Joseph Cable [no home town is recorded].  

There are no pictures or references to Willie or Jimmy in the newspapers, the Battalion War Diaries or our other collections, so until now they have just been another entry on the Commonwealth War Graves and a mention on the NEWMP website. Their names would have been forgotten for longer had they not been mentioned on a postcard written some 80 years ago. Now you know about Willie and Jimmy and the countless others who paid the ultimate sacrifice on the retreat to Dunkirk.

One last thing which has come to light after this blog was written: the food parcels mentioned in the letters home from Alex Morton, were sent by Elizabeth Harding to the boys of Widdrington Colliery who had gone off to fight, especially those who had ended up in POW camps. There is a Harding family story that Elizabeth gave each lad from the Colliery who went off to fight a coin, and that the only one who didn’t come to collect a coin was the only one who didn’t come home. We wonder if this was Willie Grey?

Information from North East War Memorial Project Website [NEWMP] and Cofepow.org.uk,  

The 9th Duke of Northumberland, Henry George Alan Percy, Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Lord Privy Seal, was killed on 21 May 1940, whilst fighting in the thick of a grim rearguard action in Flanders. Not much is written on how his death occurred, although I did find the following entry in ‘Dunkirk – Fight to the Last Man’ by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore:

“By 11.30 on 21 May they [Germans] had already beaten off two British counter-attacks. A third attack was made by the Grenadier Guards, 3 Company which had been held back to deal with a German breakthrough. The infantry were backed up by a group of carriers also manned by the Grenadier Guards. 

Lieutenant Tommy Reynell-Pack was in command of the carriers. He and his men silenced one German machine gun position and decided to overpower another. He ordered his driver to charge the gun, but the thin skin of his carrier was no match to the power of the German guns and just 50 yards from Poplar Ridge, Reynell-Pack was killed along with as the Duke of Northumberland, who was leading a platoon. He failed to take cover, preferring instead to stand up in the face of the German fire, so that he could wave his men forward using his ash walking stick.”

The Newcastle Journal on Monday 3 June reported that at 11.30 “yesterday”, a flag was seen flying at half-mast from the Keep at Alnwick Castle.  The Sunday worshippers streaming out of church wondered what it all meant. Occasionally in the breeze, it would unfold itself to reveal the blue lion rampant on a gold field, the Duke of Northumberland’s flag. It was a shock to the residents of the town and countryside when the news broke of his tragic death.  

The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was involved in the later stages of the defence of Belgium, following the German invasion and suffered many casualties whilst covering the withdrawal to Dunkirk. Those buried in Esquelmes War Cemetery died defending the line of the River Scheldt; the Germans attempted to cross the river near Esquelmes during the morning of 21 May, but were repelled by heavy fighting. They eventually crossed on 23 May, when the BEF withdrew to the Gort Line. Casualties buried in various places in the neighbourhood were brought to Esquelmes by the Belgian authorities in September 1940. There are 233 commonwealth soldiers buried within this cemetery; the Duke is one of them. He was aged 27 and was just a month away from his 28^th birthday.

Sources –

Commonwealth War Graves Commission 

Hugh Sebag-Montefiore “Dunkirk”

Newcastle Journal.

James White was born in 1916, the son of William James White and Mary Jane White [nee Chrisp]. His parents were living at 13B High Market, Ashington when they heard the sad news of James’ death.
James joined the 1st Battalion of the Tyneside Scottish, The Black Watch [Royal Highland Regiment] his service number being 4459525. He left for France as part of the British Expeditionary Force, but never made it home from Dunkirk as he was killed in action on 20 May 1940.

His name doesn’t appear in the war diaries, but this is what happened to his battalion on 20 May 1940. The battalion arrived at Neuville by 03.00. At dawn, enemy spotter planes had been seen and full concealment was ordered with no movement allowed. At 06.50 refugees had reported that they had seen tanks, but different groups stated that they had been seen in different directions so this was ignored as unreliable. By 07.00 orders to march had been received the route taken was to be Mercatel – Ficheux- Beaumetz – Saulty.

At 07.45 RAF Hurricanes were spotted machine gunning enemy positions some 2 kms north of Neuville. It was reported again at 09.05 that enemy tanks had been spotted, but again the information was sketchy. There was to be a rolling withdrawal, company by company, starting with ‘A’ company’s move to Mercatel. Enemy Armoured Vehicles were slowly being spotted and companies began to be fired at by light machine guns. ‘A’ company took cover within a coppice, but were heavily shelled by tanks and eventually had to surrender. ‘B’ company was overrun by tanks and sustaining heavy casualties. They were ordered to break up into smaller groups and head north. ‘C’ Company took cover in a number of houses, but were attacked by armoured vehicles sustaining heavy casualties. With no ammunition left the survivors could only do one thing – surrender. A small group managed to escape, but were captured some three days later. ‘D’ Company split into small groups after being attacked by tanks and light machine gun fire, some succeeded in escaping. The Headquarters Company took refuge in farmhouses, which they fortified. However, they took heavy fire and were forced into the open where they were captured.

In the engagement the battalion was able to disable two enemy tanks. Their organised resistance lasted from 0830 at Neuville and 0915 from Ficheux, till 12.30. Even so, small arms fire by the smaller groups could be heard until around 16.00 in the afternoon. The battalion held the Germans up for five hours. It has been recorded that a German officer expressed his admiration and surprise at the resistance the battalion offered as they were lightly armed and poorly trained. These troops were only armed with rifles, a scattering of Bren and Lewis Machine guns, and a few Boys anti-tank rifles. Many had not even received full training and were exhausted, not only with the marching, but also wearing full equipment in the boiling sun. We don’t know what company James was in, but the battalion suffered many casualties, 100 soldiers paid the ultimate sacrifice. James was one of these.

James is buried in Bucquoy Road Cemetery, Ficheux which is 9kms from Arras. It also contains soldiers of the Great War. There are 136 World War Two soldiers buried in this cemetery plus 26 unidentified servicemen and a memorial to 39 who can not be found. According to Hugh Sebag-Montefiore’s book ‘Dunkirk – Fight to the last man’ he suggests from reports that only 80 of 450 Tyneside Scottish soldiers escaped”

Information obtained from: – Find My Past, Commonwealth War Graves Commission
and the Battalion War diaries on Wikipedia written by North East War Memorial
Project [NEWMP].

Commemoration scroll

Information obtained from: – Find My Past, Commonwealth War Graves Commission
and the Battalion War diaries on Wikipedia written by North East War Memorial
Project [NEWMP].