The Scots who fought 'like lions' to the last man standing at Dunkirk

On the 80th anniversary of Dunkirk, one brave Scottish Battalion is having its involvement commemorated online.

Soldiers from the Battalion.

The 1st Battalion of the Royal Scots was told to fight until the last man stood to allow evacuation from Dunkirk during the Second World War.

On May 25, 1940, the La Paradis massacre wiped out the 2nd Battalion The Royal Norfolk Regiment.

Less than 400 men, the Battalion stood to face its enemy alone on May 26, at Le Paradis, 30 miles from Dunkirk in north-east France.

The Battalion played a pivotal role in the withdrawal of 337,000 Allied Forces from the beaches.

However, the defence led to the Battalion's destruction.

For two days, The Royal Scots fought a determined and valiant rearguard defence against overwhelming odds.

Eventually, through constant attrition, they were reduced to isolated small units.

Only the very brave, but fatal action of Pipe Major Allan avoided the Battalion headquarters being overrun. He held up the German advance single handed with a Bren gun until he was killed.

Afterwards, at a hospital, a German officer, on handing over some wounded Royal Scots to a chaplain stated, "They fought like lions".

After the war, the captured French liaison officer, Lieutenant Michel Martell, attached to The Royal Scots as a prisoner of war wrote "..during the five years of waiting for our freedom, after living with The

Royal Scots, I could never despair of seeing Germany beaten."

An 80th anniversary commemorative event was supposed to take place in Le Paradis, with 50 Royal Scots attending. However, due to the Covid-19 lockdown, this has been rescheduled as an online event.

Colonel Martin Gibson said: "This is a soldier's story. Though the Royal Scots had been in continuous action for 17 days, had travelled over 200 miles and had suffered heavy casualties their fighting spirit was undaunted. The Royal Scots, professional soldiers doing what they had signed up to do, fought ferociously to the last man at Le Paradis.

"Their contribution to Dunkirk was vital. We should never forget that the vast majority of those who survived spent the next five years as prisoners of war."Video of the event will be shown on the Royal Scots Facebook page and website.