Polish Forces in Scotland

during the  Second World War

LOCATIONS: POLISH ARMY IN SCOTLAND

Introduction

The four tables below indicate some of the locations in Scotland where units and formations of the Polish Army in Scotland were based between 1940 and 1945.

Four different dates are covered:-

February 1941

January 1943

November 1944

April 1945

These tables may be regarded as 'snap-shots' of the geographical distribution of the Polish Army in Scotland. Between these dates troop transfers occurred and Polish Army units would be relocated. Not all locations are listed in the tables but the extent of the friendly "Polish Invasion" of the cities, towns and villages of Scotland is revealed.

Today, scattered throughout Scotland iin places where Polish Army units had been based are numbers of memorials, tableaux and plaques and other "souvenirs" left by Polish troops - very often as a 'thank you' for the hospitality and friendship they received from their Scottish hosts.

During the war many Scottish cities, towns and villages became very accustomed to seeing Polish soldiers with their distinctive POLAND shoulder flash. Several of the Polish Army units based in Scotland adopted unit badges which included a Scottish motif. Some Scottish towns and Scots presented standards to Polish units.

With the demobilising of the Polish Army through the Polish Resettlement Corps commencing in 1946 and the return of the 2nd Polish Corps from Italy, many other camps were set up, particularly in England, to house the returning troops.

Tables

Table 1 I Polish Corps: unit/formation locations on 1st February 1941

During and after the War the Polish Army was quartered in different areas of Scotland. Initially it was based in camps located south-east of Glasgow. (see OB for August 1940) but in October 1940 moved to the east coast of Scotland, to Fife, Angus and Perthshire.

Table 2 Polish Army in Scotland by the beginning of 1943 units/formations (battalion and above)

Major changes were made in the locations of the Polish Forces in Scotland in 1942 and by the beginning of 1943 their locations are shown in this table.

Table 3 Polish formations and units (battalion and above) based in Scotland on 25th November 1944

With the 1st Polish Armoured Division fighting in Europe the Polish Army in Scotland still retained a number of units/formations based in Scotland.

Table 4 Polish Army in Scotland as of 1st April 1945.

Polish formations and units (only battalion-sized or equivalent and above, incl Trg Centres) (listed in alphabetic order by location).

Note

In the intervening period since the end of the war in Europe and by the summer of 1946, further major relocations took place of the Polish Army in Scotland. Many units of the 4th Infantry Division and the 16th Independent Tank Brigade were moved away from the central belt of Scotland to the north of Scotland, to the counties of Caithness, Nairn, Ross and Cromarty, Inverness, Banff, Moray and Aberdeenshire.

---

Table 1

Location of units (organized by types) of the I Polish Army Corps in Scotland on 1st February 1941

(minor units and establishments excluded).

Principal counties where Polish troops were located: Angus, Fife, Perthshire

Unit/Formation	Location area
Corps
HQ I Polish Army Corps	near Bridge of Earn
Infantry
1st Rifle Bde	Cupar (Infantry Battalions based at Cupar, St Andrews and Tentsmuir)
3rd Cadre Rifle Bde (Btl)	Cowdenbeath
4th Cadre Rifle Bde (Btl)	Leven
5th Cadre Rifle Bde (Btl)	Broughty Ferry
7th Cadre Rifle Bde Detachment	Kirkcaldy
7th Cadre Rifle Bde (Btl)	Dunfermline
10th Armd Cav Bde	Forfar (Regiments based at Arbroath, Buddon Camp and Forfar)
Tank/A-Tk Units
1st Tank Rgt	Blairgowrie
two A-Tk companies	Dairsie or Osnaburgh and Arbroath
armoured train group	Perth
Recce Units
Corps Recce Group	Perth
recce regiment and one recce dtchmt	Ceres and Forfar
Artillery/A-A Art Units
medium artillery group	Dundee
two field artillery battalions	St Andrews and Glamis
three A-A artillery companies	Burrelton and Coupar Angus
Engineer Units
engineer battalion	Dundee
two engineer companies	Tayport and Carnoustie
Signals Units
three signals companies	Springfield, Fife; Forfar and Bridge of Earn
Training Centres
Central Trg Camp HQ	Alyth
Specialist Troops Centres	Blairgowrie, Dundee, Dunfermline, Alyth-Meigle, Alyth and Coupar-Angus

Officer's Camp	Rothesay
Clearing Office	Abernethy
three motor transport companies	Ladybank, Kirriemuir and Blairgowrie

---

Table 2

By the beginning of 1943 formations and units (approx.battalion and above) of the Polish Army in Scotland

were located as follows (in alphabetic order of location). Principal counties where Polish troops were located:

Angus, Berwickshire, Clackmannanshire, East Lothian, Fife, Perthshire, Roxburghshire, Selkirkshire, Stirling

Unit/Formation	Location area
armd artillery regiment (motorised) and anti-tank artillery regiment	Aberlady
1st Indep Rifle Bde	Alloa
infantry battalion and a recce unit	Bridge of Allan
armd cavalry regiment	Carolside
dragoon battalion and two tank regiments	Duns and area
elements of a medium artillery regiment	Clackmannan
recce regiment	Dalkeith
one battalion	Dunfermline
elements armoured cavalry regiment	Earlston
two parachute battalions	Elie area
parachute battalion	Falkland
10th Cav Bde, (one dragoons btl and 24th Lancers	Galashiels
HQ C-in-C	SW of Perth
element of armd cav rgt	Greenlaw
A-A artillery regiment	Gullane area
10th Mounted Rifles	Haddington
16th Tank Bde and one tank regiment	Kelso
one medium artillery regiment	Kincardine
I Armd Mot Corps	Falkirk
HQ Home Forces	Kirkcaldy
parachute battalion (-)	Largo
element 24th Lancers	Lauder
1st Para Bde	Leven
1st Armd Div	Melrose
light artillery rgt and one infantry battalion	Tillicoultry
one battalion	West Garleton

---

Table 3

Polish formations/units (only battalion and above) based in Scotland in late November 1944 (listed in alphabetic order by location)

There were many other Polish Army establishments, training centres and small units located in Scotland. The 1st Polish Armoured Division

was on the Continent at this time and the 1st Indep Para Bde in England.

Principal counties where Polish troops were located: Berwickshire, Selkirkshire, Perthshire, City of Edinburgh, Stirlingshire

Unit/Formation	Location area
training battalion	Crieff
motorised artillery regiment and one battalion of an armoured anti-tank regiment	Duns
16th Tank Bde, one Tank Rgt and 14th Armoured Cavalry Regiment)	Earlston
HQ Polish Forces in Gt Britain	Edinburgh
HQ I Polish Corps	Falkirk
9th Lancers Rgt	Galashiels
reserve battalion	Gilmerton, near Crieff
HQ Grenadier Bde and one grenadier battalion	Kelso
Armoured Grenadier Division and one battalion of an AA-artillery regiment	Melrose
grenadier battalion	Selkirk

---

Table 4

Polish formations/units (only battalion sized or equivalent and above, incl Trg Centres) based in Scotland in April 1945

(listed in alphabetic order by location). Counties where Polish troops were located:

Aberdeenshire, Angus, Ayrshire, City of Edinburgh, City of Glasgow, Clackmannanshire, East Lothian, Fife, Kincardineshire,

Kinross-shire, Morayshire, Perthshire, Roxburghshire, Stirling, West Lothian

Formation/units	Location areas
Inf Btl	Alva
Gren Btl	Alyth
Sigs Btl	Arbroath
Inf Btl	Banchory, Kincardineshire
1st Grenadier Bde	Blairgowrie, Coupar Angus
8th Infantry Bde, 9th Lancers, and one Inf Btl	Bridge of Allan
4th Infantry Div (and numerous divisional units)	Broughty Ferry
Inf Trg Centre HQ	Crieff
2nd Infantry Bde	Culter, Aberdeenshire
Ordnance Trg Centre	Dalkeith
Hvy MG Btl	Dunblane
Rear Services Trg Centre	Dunfermline
Lt Art Rgt (mot) and Fd Art Rgt	Duns vicinity
Mil Hosp	Dupplin Castle (5m SW Perth)
14th Lancers Armd Rgt	Earlston
HQ Pol Units in Gt Britain (JWWB) and numerous military administration offices and establishments; Mil Pol units	Edinburgh
Para Bde Rsvr Depot	Elie, Fife
HQ I Corps and a number of Corps units, Trg Centres, Sigs Btl	Falkirk
Gren Btl	Fordoun, Kincardineshire
Gren Btl	Forfar
Inf Btl	Forres
Lt Art Rgt, 9 Lancers Recce Rgt	Galashiels
Art Trg Centre	Haddington
A-Tk Art Rgt	Hawick
Inf Btl	Invergordon
Inf Btl	Inverurie, Aberdeenshire
Engr Trg Centre	Irvine
16th Armoured Bde, Armd Rgt and other brigade units	Kelso
Signals Trg Centre	Kinross
two training centres	Kirkcaldy
Parachute Bde Gp HQ Depot	Leven, Fife
Medical Services Trg Centre	Monkton, Ayrshire
elt Lt AA Art Rgt	Newport, Fife
Reception and Transit Camp	Polkemmet, nr Whitburn
A-Tk Art Rgt	Rosemarkie, Ross and Cromarty
Fd Art Rgt	Selkirk
Inf Btl	Stonehaven
Mil Hosp	Taymouth Castle, nr Kenmore
Inf Btl and a Fd Art Rgt	Tillicoultry
Fd Art Rgt	Walkerburn, Peebles-shire

return to Contents

---

	last modified 12 March 2009
Locations.html	© Copyright R M Ostrycharz 2001