1940-1942: Dunkirk and early British Use

On this page you can learn about:

The Dunkirk Evacuation
June 1940: The first Dunkirk troops arrive
July 1940: The Arrival of the 25th Brigade
1942: The 49th Polar Bear Division arrive from Iceland

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The Dunkirk Evacuation

Kington Camp’s military history began early in the Second World War as a re-grouping point for battalions evacuated from Dunkirk. Prepared for military occupation by the Royal Engineers in May 1940, the first Dunkirk survivors began to arrive at Kington in early June.

The Dunkirk evacuation is one of the major events of the Second World War. Over 330,000 Allied troops were rescued from the Channel port of Dunkirk where they had been cornered by the invading German Armoured advance. Operation Dynamo (26 May to 4 June 1940) utilized a quickly assembled fleet that ranged from navy destroyers to pleasure boats with civilian crews called into service for the emergency. Under aerial bombardment and machine gun fire, exhausted troops boarded ships from the one remaining pier or waded out to sea straight from the beaches where small rowing boats ferried them to larger ships waiting offshore.

In a 1940 letter to his regiment’s magazine (now in the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum’s archives) Major F.W. Priestly of the 5th Glosters recalled the events at Dunkirk:

"During the day evacuation was commenced by wading out to small boats for conveyance to ships in the 'roads'. For this purpose lines of men three deep were formed in various areas of the beach and were finally embarked. The last party consisting of the Second-in-command, Capt. Mason Berenger (The French Agent de Liason) CSM Wilcox and ten other ranks, were picked up at 0400 hrs 31st May and were taken to the paddle steamer Glen Avon which was moving off for Harwich. Small parties of the Battalion were collected in this way and deposited at various ports on the English coast and despatched inland by waiting troop trains. The Battalion eventually concentrated at Kington, Herefordshire, a total of some 400 all ranks. When the battle weary soldiers reached the English coast, people turned out to welcome them, providing food and drink as many boarded special trains which took them to safe havens around the country. The 8th Battalion of the Worcester Regiment, the 5th Battalion of the Gloucester regiment and the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment were all taken to Kington, Herefordshire."

You can learn more about the Dunkirk evacuation on the BBC History web site

June 1940: The first Dunkirk troops arrive

The troop trains travelled to Leominster where the wounded were disembarked and taken by ambulance to Hergest. Others were put on local trains to Kington where they were met by townspeople who took sheets and clothing to the station and helped in the transfer of men to the camp. Many soldiers walked the 2 miles from Kington station to Hergest and people today remember how tired, pale and weary they looked. Their uniforms were in tatters and many walked barefoot.

Listen to Mick Cresswell talk about the Dunkirk survivors

Tom D Connelly was one of the soldiers in the 5th Glosters and mentioned Kington Camp in a letter to Brigadier FR Henn in 1995:

"After Dunkirk: My previous letter left me under canvas just outside Hereford, the perfect rest area, unfortunatley only for a short period. Soon it was at an end. Our numbers were growing, we were more organised. Approximately a year after Dunkirk we became a force once more. We had a new name - 43rg Recce Regt (5th Glosters). A modern mobile unit with armour. It made us feel something special (as of course we were)"

Some of the Dunkirk troops were billeted in town and a canteen and recreation room was opened in the Church hall. The Creswell family provided accommodation for 20 men of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Mick Creswell, a boy at the time, remembers the soldiers that lived with his family and still has an inscribed clock that they gave to his family as a measure of thanks when they left.

Jack Walters came to Kington in July 1940 with the Essex Regiment (see below) and he too had been evacuated from Dunkirk. Jack returned to Kington after the War and married Eileen. You can hear Eileen talk of his experiences in the adjoining audio clip.

Listen to Eileen talk of her husband’s experience at Dunkirk

Up at the camp, troops were housed under canvas, and placed around the field edges for security purposes. Each tent was surrounded by a ditch and small ridge of earth to protect the occupants from low flying bomb debris. Bren Gun positions were prepared near Mahollam and Arrow Court farms. Field kitchens were used for cooking (although the Buffs, who arrived later, blew up their antiquated field kitchen to get rid of it!). Water for washing was taken from the Arrow River, while drinking water was taken from the Kington Town supply. A Field Ambulance Battalion (the 180th) was stationed at the Camp for three months and there was a Field Hospital, about which little is yet known.

Although the Dunkirk evacuation had saved the lives of many, thousands of soldiers had been lost and the British Army had left much of its equipment on the beaches. June of 1940 was a time when Battalions hurriedly re-formed, re-equipped and trained as best they could in an atmosphere in which German invasion was thought imminent and the weaknesses of the British Army was apparent to all. While individuals got on with their lives, and the British ‘stiff upper lip’ led few to complain, the situation was nonetheless precarious. The following brief account made by the Commanding Officer of the 8th Battalion, Worcester Regiment of their brief stay in Kington illustrates what must have been a frantic and acutely worrying time:

"We returned to England on 1st June and unfortunately 151 all ranks came back and we left for France over 900 in January. We only stayed in Kington for a month and then we moved to Castle Cary. "That month at Kington was a very busy one and we had reports to send in on the five different rearguard actions we had in the withdrawal. "People in Kington were most kind. Everyone was asked out and we really had little time to do anything except gather up what clothing and equipment we were being issued with, and meeting the draughts of men from various depots. By the end of June we had a new battalion and had collected a considerable number of small arms, some were of great age, but at any rate, we felt we could give a good account of ourselves given the time to train. These were grim days."

July 1940: The 25th Brigade

25th Brigade regiments By July 1940 the first regiments had left, to be replaced by the 4th Battalion of the Buffs, the 4th Battalion of the Border Regiment, the 2nd Battalion of the Essex regiment and the 222nd Field Company Royal Engineers. These battalions formed the 25th Brigade under the command of Brigadier Ramsden who lived at this time in the estate house at Huntington Park.

The battalions trained intensively and kept fit. Some undertook long route marches, others daily climbed Hergest Ridge to keep a watch for parachute landings. A member of the Border Regiment recalled in 1981 how they had to dig down about 3 feet before pitching the tents, so that they were dug in should they be raided by parachutists. This meant that everything was very wet and cold after the rain. Because of the lack of equipment the battalions used mainly civilian vehicles and, sometimes, civilian drivers—many of the vans still displayed the names and occupations of their owners. The Engineers constructed an underground telephone exchange in the hillside near Whitney Court. As they crept along the hedges, the training soldiers sometimes surprised local people.

Listen to Phyllis Williams

While most troops stayed at the camp, a small number were stationed in Kington, being billeted in the Sun Rooms off Duke Street, at ‘The Beeches’ in Victoria Road and in various empty properties throughout the town. Kington families also provided accommodation to soldiers, some with their wives who also came to stay.

Entertainment at the camp was organized by Kington citizens. A marquee was erected at Mahollam where a concert party regularly played to a packed audience. There were dances in the Kington Church Hall (now the St John’s Hall) with music supplied by local people, and Kington’s cinema (in Bridge Street) was given special permission to open on a Sunday.

Listen to Mrs Creswell talk about entertaining the British troops at Mahollam—and comparing their reaction to the American audiences later in the war!

1942: The 49th Polar Bear Division arrive from Iceland

Polar Bear Division Insignia By the spring of 1941, all the battalions of the 25th Brigade had left Kington and the camp was quiet – so quiet that there was speculation that land might be de-requisitioned. However, this was not to be the case and June 1942 saw the arrival of the 10th and 11th Battalions of the Durham Light Infantry along with a contingent of the Black Watch, and the Princess Louise’s Territorials, Kensington. These regiments formed part of the 49th Polar Bear Division that had previously been based in Iceland but on being replaced by the US military had returned to the UK. The DLI had 2 sign-posted camps at Hergest – ‘Lambton’ and ‘Zetland’. Lambton was on ‘Bridge Piece’ between Mahollam Bridge and Brilley Road and Zetland was on the ‘Finger Post Field’ . The Black Watch and the Tyneside Scottish camped on the ‘Big’ and ‘Little Broadmeres’.

Extracts from Newsletters of the Durham Light Infantry paint a picture of life at Kington Camp for members of the 49th Polar Bear Division during 1942. Intensive military training was undertaken up and down the Marches. Battles drills were practiced, rivers were forded and the troops were constantly on exercise. A 3/4 mile assault course was built near the camp and shooting practice was held at nearby rifle ranges. Training continued through the Summer and Winter when high winds and wet weather turned the camp into a quagmire. The wind was so strong that one morning in November the Sergeants’ mess tent was found on top of a hedge—much to the amusement of everyone else. The sergeants had the last laugh however, as the Men’s dining tent was blown flat the next week and the Officers’ mess tent was found on the same hedge a week later.

Action was taken to provide the camp with some measure of comfort and to keep the soldiers occupied. The Durham Light Infantry had an information tent and extensive library which attracted visitors from the entire division and was a common nightly meeting place for discussion. Sports competitions were held around the country and in Kington where proceedings were sometimes accompanied by the battalions’ brass bands, and profits from the sale of programmes were given to local charities. Open air dances were held in Kington’s Recreation ground.

It was common for Kington children to follow the soldiers as they marched up and down the local roads. Many remember the Black Watch marching band as it regularly paraded along the roads and in the fields around Kington

Listen to Tony Richards talk about following the soldiers and the Black Watch marching band

By the Spring of 1943, all the British regiments had left Kington once again. The camp was quiet for a while but by July of that year the construction of two large US General Hospitals was underway.

Kington Camp