The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Overlooked valour – the story of Scots regiments at St Valery
Joining the Dunkirk evacuation was not an option for Black Watch troops, reveals Angus major
As the famous Dunkirk evacuations played out in the Second World War, some 150 miles south-west Scottish soldiers were preparing to go on the offensive.
The 51st Highland Division had been ordered to continue the fight and support their French allies despite the advance of German tank divisions.
Among them were men of the 1st Battalion The Black Watch – including many men of Dundee and Perth – and the Seaforth and Gordon Highlanders.
As the French surrendered, more and more elements of the British Expeditionary Force sought retreat back to the UK.
While acclaimed director Christopher Nolan’s film Dunkirk plays out in cinemas, Major Ronnie Proctor, of Kirriemuir, explained that escape was not an option for all.
Forced to fall back to the village of St Valery-en-Caux, the 51st Highland Division found itself trapped and with the navy unable to help them disembark.
On the verge of exhaustion and with supplies dwindling, they were at the mercy of the 7th Panzer Division, led by General Erwin Rommel.
General Victor Fortune was forced to offer the surrender. The two officers were pictured together at St Valery.
The general, commander of the battalion and an officer of The Black Watch, spent the remainder of the war incarcerated but dedicated himself to helping to protect the prisoners of war under his care.
He received the Distinguished Service Order for his efforts.
Those who were taken as PoWs at St Valery in 1940 endured incredible hardship as the war raged on for five more years.
“Deprivation took a hefty toll on many of the men,” said Major Proctor.
Amid the everyday heroism of the Scots soldiers, Major Proctor said there were some who stood out – not least General Thomas Rennie.
“He was among those captured at St Valery but he and an officer of the Seaforth Highlanders slipped away from the town,” said the major.
“They made out to be ‘onion johnnies’ and made their way through Vichy France, into Spain and then Morocco and finally on to Gibraltar.”
General Rennie was subsequently made commander of the Fifth Battalion and later the 51st Highland Division, but died in the midst of Operation Plunder as he led the crossing of the Rhine into Germany.
Other elements of The Black Watch were successfully evacuated back to the UK, with the 4th Battalion returning from Cherbourg.
The 6th Battalion was among the units to leave from Dunkirk, having arrived late in the rescue operation.