West Lothian Council

Projects

Project Team: West Lothian Council

Project Title: West Lothian And The Forgotten War

Through "West Lothian and the Forgotten War", West Lothian Council’s Museum Service, together with the Workers’ Educational Association, will form a History Detectives group. The group will gather research about conflicts that have touched the lives of those living in West Lothian from World War II to the Korean War, in addition to National Service. The findings will be recorded for a documentary film, which will include some oral histories and a booklet. The project will also see two primary schools - Balbardie School in Bathgate and Torphichen School - linking with the Korean War Veterans’ Association in the Lothian & Borders, which established the Scottish Korean War Memorial in the Bathgate Hills. Activities will include visits to the memorial in addition to the National War Museum at Edinburgh Castle.

Exhibitions in this Project:

It brought the war home to us…

Life during the Second World War prepared young boys for the idea of going away on National Service when they grew up. This exhibition is one of twelve in the “West Lothian and the Forgotten War” project. Together these exhibitions tell the stories of people in and around West Lothian who lived through the era of National Service [1946 – 1961]. All the young men who were called up for National Service were children during the Second World War. This exhibition tells the stories of a group from West Calder who remember the Second World War. They include a soldier, a nurse, a schoolboy and an Italian schoolgirl.view project

You just had to do it…

This exhibition explains how the call up worked and what it was like to leave home to report for training. It is one of twelve exhibitions in the "West Lothian and the Forgotten War” project. Together these exhibitions tell the stories of people in and around West Lothian who lived through the era of National Service [1946 – 1961]. For about fifteen years after the Second World War young men were still called up for a period of National Service. They were usually only 18 when they left home. They had no control over where they went with the Armed Forces or what they did. Some spent their time in barracks in the UK, others travelled to exotic places they would never otherwise have seen. Young men who grew up in wartime expected to be called up as a normal part of life. This exhibition tells how the call up worked and what it was like to leave home to report for training. view project

It made you fit

This exhibition is about National Servicemen on basic training. It is one of twelve exhibitions in the “West Lothian and the Forgotten War” project. Together these exhibitions tell the stories of people in and around West Lothian who lived through the era of National Service [1946 – 1961]. For about fifteen years after Second World War young men were still called up for a period of National Service. They were usually only 18 when they left home. They had no control over where they went with the Armed Forces or what they did. Some spent their time in barracks in the UK, others travelled to exotic places they would never otherwise have seen. National Servicemen first went to basic training. They got to know all about army discipline, routine and kit cleaning. Some of the things they had to do seem unreasonable to us today but most of the men interviewed for this exhibition thought there were good reasons for it in the end.view project

It was just your luck

This exhibition is one of twelve in the “West Lothian and the Forgotten War” project. Together these exhibitions tell the stories of people in and around West Lothian who lived through the era of National Service [1946 – 1961]. For about fifteen years after the Second World War young men were still called up for a period of National Service. They were usually only 18 when they left home. When National Servicemen joined up they had no say in the job they did or the places they went to after basic training was over. Some stayed in the UK, while others travelled far away. Some were very lucky and went to interesting jobs in safe places. Some were put into front line action against hundreds of thousands of enemy troops. view project

It was a good scrounge

This exhibition is one of twelve in the “West Lothian and the Forgotten War” project. Together these exhibitions tell the stories of people in and around West Lothian who lived through the era of National Service [1946 – 1961]. For about fifteen years after “the War” young men were still called up for a period of National Service. They were usually only 18 when they left home. They had no control over where they went with the Armed Forces or what they did. Some spent their time in barracks in the UK, others travelled to exotic places they would never otherwise have seen. National Service took a whole generation of young men away from their homes and normal lives. Although their experiences were very different, all of them learned a lot about life and about themselves. The luckier ones avoided war zones, but they also travelled to new places and learned new things, from firing heavy artillery and driving tanks to cooking and sailing. view project

Korea? Where's that?

This exhibition tells you a bit about Korea. It is one of twelve exhibitions in the “West Lothian and the Forgotten War” project. Together these exhibitions tell the stories of people in and around West Lothian who lived through the era of National Service [1946 – 1961]. Between 1950 and 1953 over one thousand British soldiers, many of them 19-year-old National Servicemen, died in Korea. They gave their lives fighting for the United Nations to keep South Korea free from Communist rule. People in Scotland had had enough of war by 1945. The experiences of National Servicemen did not get much attention. Korea was “the forgotten war”. Korea is a small peninsula jutting south into the sea from the mainland of north-eastern China. It is roughly 400 miles long and lies to the west of Japan. A lot of the country is hilly with wide river valleys between. Korea has four different seasons in the year. Winter is long and very cold with temperatures under zero across the country. After a short mild spring, summer brings a lot of rain and much higher temperatures. In August it gets hot (about 30 degrees) but the rain often makes it feel very humid and unpleasant. In September autumn brings in a lovely time of sunny, dry weather and lots of colour in the landscape. The most important food in Korea is rice and in the south the countryside is covered in paddy fields. There is no mining for coal or other minerals. Today Korea is a rich country with a big electronics industry but back in 1950 it was a poor country, which had just escaped from Japanese rule in 1945. The country was divided into two at the end of the Second World War. The North was occupied by Russia and the South by America. In 1948 the south voted to becomea free democratic country.The North refused to accept this decision and looked to Communist China for support.view project

It was called a hootchie

Anyone who says he wasn't frightened ...

This exhibition is one of twelve in the “West Lothian and the Forgotten War” project. Together these exhibitions tell the stories of people in and around West Lothian who lived through the era of National Service [1946 – 1961]. Between 1950 and 1953 over one thousand British soldiers, many of them 19-year-old National Servicemen, died in Korea. They gave their lives fighting for the United Nations to keep South Korea free from Communist rule. People in Scotland had had enough of war by 1945. The experiences of National Servicemen did not get much attention. Korea was “the forgotten war”. Many Scots served in Korea. They were part of a Commonwealth Brigade made up of men from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Britain and a medical unit from India. Twenty-one different countries sent troops or medical units to join the United Nations defence of South Korea. Three Scottish regiments, all with National Servicemen in their ranks, played a large part in the war. They were the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, the King’s Own Scottish Borderers and the Black Watch. All three regiments fought off fierce enemy attacks. In the noise and confusion of the battlefield some also suffered “friendly fire”. In all 162 men in the three regiments, or attached to them, were killed in action and many more injured. In those conditions everyone was frightened. Those who survived can never forget what they experienced or the men who were killed beside them. view project

Tow Shong

This exhibition is one of twelve in the “West Lothian and the Forgotten War” project. Together these exhibitions tell the stories of people in and around West Lothian who lived through the era of National Service [1946 – 1961]. Between 1950 and 1953 over one thousand British soldiers, many of them 19-year-old National Servicemen, died in Korea. They gave their lives fighting for the United Nations to keep South Korea free from Communist rule. People in Scotland had had enough of war by 1945. The experiences of National Servicemen did not get much attention. Korea was “the forgotten war”. The Korean War was a battle between two completely different ways of living. On one side the United Nations forces led by the USA stood for western ideas of democracy, freedom and capitalism. On the other the Communist forces stood for centrally organised work and communal living. In a democratic country, people are free to set up businesses to make money, or to work for a business or organisation to earn money. These people elect their governments by voting for a political party they like and whichever party gets the most votes rules the country for a few years. People and the media are free to criticise the government. As long as they do nothing to hurt others, people in this system are free to choose to do as they wish. As a result some are better off than others. In a communist country, everyone is given a job by the state. The idea is that the state does what is good for the people. People live closely together so that everyone can see that others are co-operating with the state. In elections there is only one party to vote for, so the government does not really change very much. People living in the Communist way can do only what the party approves of. As a result they do not have much choice. But everyone is supposed to have a similar standard of living view project

We just accepted it

This exhibition is one of twelve in the “West Lothian and the Forgotten War” project. Together these exhibitions tell the stories of people in and around West Lothian who lived through the era of National Service [1946 – 1961]. For about fifteen years after “the War” young men were still called up for a period of National Service. They were usually only 18 when they left home. They had no control over where they went with the Armed Forces or what they did. Some spent their time in barracks in the UK, others travelled to exotic places they would never otherwise have seen. Between 1950 and 1953 thousands of British soldiers, many of them 19-year-old National Servicemen, fought in Korea. 1090 died. Servicemen’s families had also lived through the Second World War and some had been in the armed forces. Many of their fathers had served in the First World War. As a result the families understood that their sons and brothers would be called up. Families did their best to keep in touch with the young men by letter, though some were better at writing than others. For the girlfriends of servicemen it was a time of uncertainty and worry – some of them wrote faithfully while others got new boyfriends. Wives had a hard time making their army allowance stretch to keep themselves and their children, and their husbands missed seeing the children grow up. view project

It was an experience

This exhibition is one of twelve in the “West Lothian and the Forgotten War” project. Together these exhibitions tell the stories of people in and around West Lothian who lived through the era of National Service [1946 – 1961]. For about fifteen years after the Second World War young men were still called up for a period of National Service. They were usually only 18 when they left home. They had no control over where they went with the Armed Forces or what they did. Some spent their time in barracks in the UK, others travelled to exotic places they would never otherwise have seen. For any young person a time away from home and family is memorable, even if the best bit is coming home again. Most people change in some way and learn from their experiences, good or bad. Everyone comes away with memories which last a lifetime. view project

Not one of them is forgotten before God

This exhibition is one of twelve in the "West Lothian and the Forgotten War” project. Together these exhibitions tell the stories of people in and around West Lothian who lived through the era of National Service [1946 – 1961]. For about fifteen years after the Second World War young men were still called up for a period of National Service. They were usually only 18 when they left home. They had no control over where they went with the Armed Forces or what they did. Some spent their time in barracks in the UK, others travelled to exotic places they would never otherwise have seen. Between 1950 and 1953 thousands of British soldiers, many of them 19-year-old National Servicemen, fought in Korea. 1090 of them died. They were fighting for the United Nations to keep South Korea free from Communist rule. People in Scotland had had enough of war by 1945. The experiences of National Servicemen did not get much attention. Korea was “the forgotten war”. Almost all servicemen recall the people they served beside. They often faced difficult situations together. Sometimes the purpose of their job was not clear, but they all worked to support one another to get through it. Army discipline is designed to create a close bond between servicemen. When men are killed during their service in the armed forces it is a tragedy for their families, who have to face life without a son or husband or father. It is a loss for the country, which sees good young citizens die in battle. Servicemen who see death and injury or are wounded themselves carry the scars, physical and mental, for the rest of their lives. It is not surprising that there is a great desire to make sure that this suffering and loss is not forgotten. When a war comes to an end the government usually presents medals to those who took part. But it is often ex-servicemen , not governments, who set up local or national memorials to the bravery and sacrifice of their comrades. view project