Keith's Service in North Africa with the Royal Artillery
Creators: name: Project Team, Their Finest Hour
Publisher: name: University of Oxford
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 430304
subject: British history
classificationCode: 430308
subject: European history (excl. British, classical Greek and Roman)
classificationCode: 430316
subject: International history

description: The contributor's father, Charles Keith Sutherland (known as Keith, his mother's maiden name), was born on 5th June 1919 in Caithness (see the photos of Keith). Keith was at the University of Edinburgh, studying Physics and Maths, when the Second World War broke out. Keith volunteered soon after the war began; the contributor said that if you volunteered, you had more of an option as to posting and might get out quicker. Keith joined the Royal Artillery; he might have been in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME). From 1940-1941, Keith was billeted at Falkirk Ice Rink, and the rink was converted into barracks. Keith met the contributor's mother at a dance in Falkirk. The contributor suggested that Keith was possibly also in Northern Ireland briefly during the war. Keith was posted in Algeria in late 1943. In North Africa, Keith contracted diphtheria. Keith's brother was killed on 30th November 1943. 1944 went into officer training for Royal Signals who have the longest officer training of 6-9 months. In the smaller of the two photos of Keith's army unit, he is third from the left in the back row. Keith trained at Catterick. Although Keith was good at maths, he found morse code difficult. Luckily, a teacher helped him to pass it. On 4th July 1944, Keith married the contributor's mother. Keith got to wear a collar and tie in his wedding photo, rather than a battle tunic. Keith was promoted to first lieutenant and then captain in early 1945, serving in Burma in the Royal Signals, before demobilization (see Keith's officer pips). Keith was linked to MI9's counter insurgency program. Keith worked with locals, behind enemy lines. The contributor told us that this was a very risky position, and Keith would have been under strict instructions not to be captured as, being in charge of signals and communications, he knew where lots of escaped Allied personnel were. Keith was asked if he would stay on, because of what was happening in Indo-china, considering he was proficient in French language and had experience in Burma. Keith declined and returned home in 1946. On his return, Keith went back to Edinburgh University, taking on an accelerated course (which was fairly common for service personnel). Keith obtained a diploma in education and went into teaching. In mid-1950, Keith became the first education officer in a borstal, the main one being in Polmont. Keith got permission from the army to re-acquire a service rank and, becoming a lieutenant, he set up a cadet school in the borstal. See Keith's reunion photos with other servicemen. The contributor told us that they met up for decades. Keith died on 26th May 1993. The contributor's mother, Eupheme Sutherland (nee Williamson), was born on 29th October 1919 in Falkirk. Eupheme was in London on holiday as war broke out and her mother contacted her, telling her to come home to Falkirk. Eupheme worked in a post office as a teleprinter operator (a reserved occupation) and volunteered with the ARP (Air Raid Precautions). See the photo of women making sandbags, taken on the second day of WW2. The photograph was taken by an amateur photographer. The contributor's grandmother, Nancy Williamson, is second from the right. When Mrs. Leishman (depicted in the middle of the photograph of women making sandbags) received her son's death telegram, Eupheme knew in advance (because of her job in the post office) and was able to get Leishman's sister and minister round before the telegram was delivered. In 1943, mother volunteered in the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service), as an opportunity to get out of Falkirk. See Eupheme's paybook. Eupheme was stationed on the Isle of Man for a while, where internees and POWs had been sent. The contributor noted that her mother said the Italians were cheery, and the Germans were not. Eupheme made three friends for life (see the various photos of Eupheme and her three friends. Some of these photos were taken at Kedleston Hall, which formed one of the 'Y-stations' which were used to gather signals intelligence which, if encrypted, would be passed to Bletchley Park's 'X-station'. The four friends were all teleprinter operators at Kedleston Hall. In 2019, Eupheme died at the age of 98. The contributor's uncle, Ian St Clair Sutherland, was the brother of the contributor's father. Ian was born in July 1913 in South Shields, moving to Caithness when he was two months old. The contributor's grandmother and grandfather had met on the St Clair, which sailed from Leith to Caithness. The contributor's grandfather was from Caithness. At the outbreak of war, Ian was a bank worker (possibly in Kirkwall). Ian joined the RAF as a volunteer reserve. Ian became a flight sergeant. See the collection of Ian's photos. Ian was stationed at Charter Hall. Both Ian and Keith got leave at the same time and travelled home by train. Ian met his future wife on the train, marrying her at the age of 29 (she was 19) in 1942 - the contributor said that they hadn't known each other long. They had a son, who was born on 4th March 1943. Ian was killed on 30th November 1943 in a flying accident. No one on Ian's side of the family met his son until he was 16 years old. Ian's wife re-married and went to South America. See the photo of Ian's gravestone, in the middle of fields in Caithness. Ian originally wasn't on the Role of Honour at Edinburgh Castle, because he was born in England, but after Keith argued that he should be included, Ian was added.