The Moffat memorial to Lord Dowding was unveiled in September 1972. Its purpose was to recognise Lord Dowding’s contribution to the success of the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain in 1940 by defeating the German Luftwaffe. The Dowding Commemoration service will be taking place in Moffat next Sunday, the 8th of September.
Scott Sutherland, also responsible for the Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge, executed the bronze plaque of Lord Dowding. The memorial includes the famous words of Prime Minister Churchill about the pilots of the RAF, the badges of Fighter Command and the fact that he was born in Moffat. The town motto ‘Nunquam Non
Paratus (Ready Aye Ready) is very applicable to Lord Dowding’s life.
In 1988, the Dowding family home, and former St Ninian’s School, in Moffat, which is now known as Dowding House, was opened as sheltered housing for ex–RAF personnel and their families.
The family left Moffat for the south in 1897 and, after school, Dowding joined the Army and then transferred to the newly formed Royal Flying Corps, seeing much active service in the First World War. In the 1930s he was involved in the introduction of ground/air radio and subsequently in research and development of aircraft. At this time, he also pushed for an increase in the production of the new Spitfire and Hurricane fighter aircraft. In addition, the development of radar and all-weather runways was a priority for him. But it was an uphill struggle.
In 1936 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command and was able to concentrate on the air defence of the nation in the face of the threatened war with Germany. His plans and ideas were not well received by his fellow officers but were, despite facing greater odds, to save the nation from invasion in a few short weeks in 1940 – The Battle of Britain. The RAF lost 1038 aircraft and 544 pilots and aircrew.
Recognition is due not only to the aircrew but also the ground crews, who kept the aircraft flying, the flight controllers, mostly WAAF, the radar personnel and the Royal Observer Corps. It was under Lord Dowding’s guidance, leadership and control that this force was established and saved the nation from the Luftwaffe attack, which was an essential preparation for the German planned sea-borne invasion. Winston Churchill, in referring to his leadership at this time, stated, ‘We must regard the general-ship here shown as an example of genius in the art of war’.
During his memorial service at Westminster Abbey in 1970 Dowding was designated ‘The Architect of Deliverance’.
FIGHTER COMMAND IN SCOTLAND, 1939
During the Second World War, France was defeated and occupied by Germany in June 1940. This gave the Germans the close platform they needed for an invasion of Great Britain. It was to be preceded by the air assault which we now remember as the Battle of Britain. But, in 1939, well before the Battle of Britain, there were several important actions over Scotland involving Fighter Command, two of which are described here.
On the 16th October, 1939, the Luftwaffe’s Fleigerdivision’s I/KG 30, based at Westerland on the Island of Sylt, despatched nine Junkers 88 dive bombers, under the command of Hauptmann Helmuth Pohle. Their main objective was to bomb HMS Hood, reputed to be docked at Rosyth. Ironically Pohle was under orders from Hitler that he was not to bomb if there was a danger of civilian casualties!
They did not expect any real opposition as the crews had been told that Scotland was defended by obsolescent Gloster Gladiators. But, in fact, there were Spitfires of 602 (City of Glasgow) and 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadrons at Drem (now East Fortune) and Turnhouse respectively.
The attack was a failure: Pohle was shot down but managed to guide his doomed aircraft to ditch alongside a trawler. The crew rescued him, severely concussed, and he awoke five days later in hospital. The Luftwaffe lost four aircraft and five were badly damaged; all the downed aircraft fell into the sea; one of the enemy losses was a Heinkel 111, sent to observe the attack. There were no RAF losses.
On the 29th of November 1939, Archie McKellar, DSO, DFC & Bar (10 April 1912 – 1 November 1940) of 602 Squadron, spotted a Heinkel 111 over Dalkeith and attacked it, killing the dorsal gunner and damaging the aircraft. As he was about to attack a second time, two Spitfires from 603, under the command of Sqn Ldr E.H. Stevens, nipped in and shot it down, landing in a field at Kidlaw, near Haddington, East Lothian. It was the first enemy aircraft of the war to be downed on British soil.
GERMAN PLANS FOR THE OCCUPATION OF GREAT BRITAIN
With thanks to SKY History
Hitler had planned to complete the occupation of this country before September 9, 1940, and it was to be transformed into Germany’s main war workshop.
Weapons were to be produced under Nazi direction for the Battle of Russia. To prevent sabotage Field-Marshal von Brauchitsch, then C.-in-C. of all German forces, ordered that the entire male population between 17 and 45 should be deported to the Continent and interned, as soon as possible after Britain was defeated. They were presumably to be distributed as slave labourers, with German workers being sent to this country to keep the war machine operating with the minimum interruption.
‘Any person impeding the German war effort in Britain by starting hostilities will be treated as a guerilla and shot. Hostages will be taken as a ‘security’ measure. National laws in force before the occupation will be maintained only if they are not contrary to the purposes of the occupation. The country’s state of health will be considered important only as a safeguard for the resources of the country, and non-fraternization policy for the troops will be enforced on a limited scale.
Ail public utilities, including gas, electricity, the railways and objects of art will be under the special protection of the Army. Sabotage will include the concealment of harvest products. The concealment of firearms, including shotguns and other hunting arms, will be punishable by death. Severe punishment will be passed by military courts on civilians who associate with prisoners of war, make slurring remarks about the German Army or its commanders, circulate pamphlets or organize meetings.
Industrial concerns, and commercial firms, including banks, must be kept open. Closing without adequate reason will be severely punished. German soldiers can purchase what they desire. Instead of cash payment, in many cases, they can issue certificates for the value of the purchase. A military court can use its discretion in trying persons under 18 but may pass a death sentence if it sees fit.
Listening to non-German radio broadcasts is a punishable offence. Excepted are non-German radio stations which have been permitted by the occupation army. The death sentence can be passed on persons retaining radio transmitters. A curfew will be imposed from sunset to sunrise.
The following commodities will be requisitioned: agricultural products of all kinds, ores, mica, asbestos, precious and semi-precious stones, fuel, rubber, textiles, leather and timber. Farmers and dealers, including innkeepers, may only dispose of agricultural products in quantities necessary for the most urgent needs of consumers.’
Britain was to be divided into districts in the charge of army commanders, who were to act as ‘governors’. Subordinated to them were field and town units. The document reveals that astonishingly intricate arrangements had been completed for our economic enslavement.
‘An army economic staff will function under the direct orders of the C-in-C of the Army’, it states. ‘It will be installed in all harbours and industrial centres and will have charge of transporting raw materials and competed war equipment. Immediately upon the defeat of England, administration staffs will join the Armies of Occupation. They will be made up of experts on food, agriculture and industrial production’.
POTENTIAL INVASION OF SCOTLAND
Much of the published material on the preparation of invasion defences focuses on the south of England. But, in April 1940, Germany had occupied Norway, which is less than 350 miles from Scotland, so there were fears that they would invade Scotland, as it was a large area, with a low population and weak defences. Scapa Flow in Orkney (the UK’s chief naval base during both the First and Second World wars), the Firth of Forth and the Glasgow/Clyde areas were important targets, which would be vulnerable to the sort of airborne attack that had devastated the defences of Belgium. It was thought that some areas, such as Aberdeen and Dundee, would be attacked by parachutists, and Edinburgh would be open to a beach invasion. There was even a belief that a Fifth Column of Nazi sympathisers and agents was working actively to spread rumours and despair, and to aid the invasion forces. But it took until the summer of 1941 for the eastern beaches to be fortified. You will still see the remains of pill boxes and anti-tank barriers along these shores.
See ‘If Hitler Comes. Preparing for invasion: Scotland 1940’ by Gordon Barclay.
CHURCHILL’S SECRET ARMY
With thanks to the Moffat Museum
If we had lost the Battle of Britain in 1940, we would have been invaded by Hitler’s Germany. If so, a specially trained secret army would have been ready to defend our land against the invaders. One of the secret bunkers prepared to deal with this danger was at Craigielands in Beattock:
See https://moffatmuseum.co.uk/beattockbunker
Churchill’s Secret Army was the Auxiliary Units, who were specially selected and trained members of the Home Guard. Auxiliary Units were highly secret, quasi military units created with the aim of using irregular warfare in response to a possible invasion of the United Kingdom by Nazi Germany. Having witnessed the rapid fall of several continental European nations, the United Kingdom was the only country during the war that was able to create a multi-layered guerrilla force in anticipation of an invasion. The secrecy connected to the Auxiliary Units was such that some units were given sealed orders, not to be opened until after the invasion, which contained the names of local targets, such as the Chief of Police, who were to be assassinated.
See https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Churchills-Secret-Army/
