Carlingnose Barracks – a soldier’s story 1939 to 1946

John Guthrie was born on 4th July 1922 at West Main Street Armadale. By 1939 he was an apprentice Bookbinder with the “Ludgate Company” of East Fettes Row, Stockbridge, and lived with his parents and siblings at 55 Cumberland Street, Stockbridge, Edinburgh.

He had just turned 17 when he and two of his friends decided to sort out this “Hitler Chap” by volunteering to join the Territorial Army at 28a York Place, Edinburgh with “The City of (Edinburgh) Fortress” Royal Engineers.

(Volunteers had been sought from January 1939, with forced conscription beginning on 3rd September 1939, when Britain declared war on Germany.)

While his two pals were rejected on “medical grounds”, John signed up for 4 years. Perhaps, he then thought that this was not such a great idea?

Six days later he found himself marching with others, some in full uniform, some in parts of uniform and some in civvies, from “Dalmeny Street Drill Hall” to the Waverly Station, where they thought they were off to France. Saying tearful goodbyes to friends & family they boarded the train. However it headed North, instead of South!
The train stopped in North Queensferry Station where the troops were detrained & subsequently marched into Carlingnose Barracks, John’s very first posting – where his war started forty-eight days later.

After training at Carlingnose, he worked on building defences on Cramond Island until 1942. He was then was posted to Halifax, and Aldershot, before being dispatched overseas on 1st April 1943. He saw service in North Africa and was dispatched to Egypt in February 1944. He then saw service in Italy, before he was finally released on 29th May 1946.

John kept a few bits & pieces from the war in an old ammunition box, and like most men, never really spoke about his war! After he died in August 2002 his son Gordon decided to try & find out answers to some of the many questions he had about his father’s war service. Gordon was able to obtain John’s Military Records and subsequently his Regimental War Diaries.

Gordon has kindly given NQHT permission to publish extracts from his collection.

As well as giving us an insight into the general activities at Carlingnose in the early years of WWII, the diaries reveal that Anti-Aircraft guns at Carlingnose fired at German raiders during the First Air Raid of WWII. They also describe the final days of active service at the Coastguard Battery.

Index

Military Service John’s war-time service
National Service and Conscription Government programmes
Signing up volunteering for service
Regimental War Diaries life at and around Carlingnose
End of the War release to “Civvy Street”