The Second World War

1939-1947

The Second World War

During the 1939-45 war, the 1st Battalion of The Liverpool Scottish remained in Great Britain but found many reinforcements for the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders battalions (and other Highland regiments) on active service overseas. Details of typical Liverpool Scottish service in WW2 can be found on the site of George Sands MM who joined the Camerons in 1939, served with both battalions of the Liverpool Scottish and then with both the 4th and the 5th Battalions of the Camerons, winning the MM with the 5th Camerons in 1944 in Normandy.
Additionally the 1st and 2nd. Battalions of the Liverpool Scottish provided a contingent for No. 4 Independent Company which went to Norway in 1940 to face the German invasion. Subsequently, many members served with the Army Commandos including Captain Donald Roy DSO, decorated for his courage and skill in the raid on St. Nazaire in 1942 in which many other Liverpool Scots took part. Donald Roy, known as 'The Laird', insisted that his men wore kilts both in training and in action. Details of the book, 'Storming St. Nazaire' can be found here.
The long-awaited book Special Service of a Hazardous Nature: The Story of the Liverpool Scottish Involvement in Special Operations during WW2 was published in October 2007 (compiled by Dennis Reeves) and is exclusively available through the Museum shop.
The 2nd. Battalion, The Liverpool Scottish, also supplied reinforcements for Highland regiments and, after serving in a home defence role, converted to the 89th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, disbanding in 1946. The 1st. Battalion served in Gibraltar from 1945 to 1947. Another major Museum project has been to identify the names and details of men of The Liverpool Scottish who died serving with other units such as 56th Recce Regt . This research continues and any additional information would be welcomed. This work is now published as the organised WW2 Roll of Honour on this website (see the "In Memoriam" section).

The Wrong Battalion

Research has revealed the existence of a 10th (H.D.) Bn. The King’s Regiment (Liverpool). This unit was not part of the Liverpool Scottish. However a page of their short unglamorous history can be found here for completeness.


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