One in a Thousand
Major William Andrew Hunter Hay TD Camerons & Royal Army Ordnance Corps
The Man William
Andrew Hunter Hay, or ‘Billy’ as he was known to his family and Bill in the
Army, was born on 25th April 1920 in Hamillton, Scotland to a
service family. His father was Colonel
James Charles Edward Hay CBE MC TD DL, who was Sheriff Substitute of Glasgow
and a serving Officer in the 6th Battalion Cameronians (Scottish
Rifles), an Infantry Brigade of the 52nd (Lanarkshire) Lowland
Division Territorial Army and later to become its Honoray Colonel. His mother was Margaret Evelyn Hay nee
Hunter. Charles & Evelyn also had a
second son, Ian Charles Scott Hay who joined the Royal Air force, served in
bomber command as the pilot of a Lancaster aircraft during World War 2 and awarded
the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Bill
was educated at Strathallan School in Perth until 1934, then Glasgow Academy
High School joining the Junior Division, Officer Training Corps and achieving
the rank of Lance Corporal. He left
school in 1938 aged 18 and was awarded a Higher Leaving Certificate in English,
Mathematics, French & Science. For a
few months he worked at Dalziel Steel Works, Motherwell in Lanarkshire and
followed in his father’s footsteps by enlisting into the 6th
Battalion Cameronians TA and Commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant with
service number 77947 on 26th October 1938. In the same year he entered Glasgow
University studying for a BSc in Electrical Engineering; his studies were cut
short just a year later due to the outbreak of World War Two and Bill now 19, was
mobilised with his father on 24th August 1939. He joined the men of C Company and billeted
in Bothwell Drill Hall until embodied on 2nd September 1939 at
1000h, 25 hours before the declaration of War. Bill
undertook training in the UK until 12th June 1940, transferring to
the 7th Battalion, when as part of the Second British Expeditionary
Force and with other units who had not been involved in the Dunkirk Evacuation,
he entered France via Brest.
It was planned to stabilise the line in Western France and build up a new British Army based at the ports of Cherbourg and Brest, the British were intended to reinforce the French Armies and boost morale in order they might offer successful resistance to the Germans. However, Paris fell on 14th June and on 16th as part of Operation Ariel, Bill was evacuated via Cherbourg arriving at Southampton on 17th, the same day Marshal Petain announced France would seek an Armistice. The next few years, 1941-1944, saw Bill promoted to War Substantive Lieutenant on 29th October 1942 and together with his division, undergoing intensive training in mountain arctic warfare and cross country skiing in the highlands of Scotland by expert skiing-instructors from the Norwegian Army. These instructors were attached to the division specifically for training British troops, many of whom ultimately became very skilled at it. During the summer months they used mules and in winter dog sledges followed later at Aviemore by Ferret motorised vehicles. The hardest training the 52nd Division undertook was during 1943 in the Cairngorms, above Braemar when they were issued with special clothing and equipment and became used to living and sleeping in the extremely icy conditions prevalent in that part of Scotland. The intense training was all in preparation for the planned invasion of Norway in 1944. The 52nd (Lowland) Division were to be involved in an elaborate deception plan, Operation Fortitude, designed to deceive the Germans into believing that there would not be one invasion area but several and that the 52nd would have formed the nexus of a strong force that was to be landed in Norway. Despite all the training Bill’s Division was not after
all sent to Norway, but as a mountain warfare formation, the 52nd
had little heavy equipment and transport and therefore ideal for conversion to
operations as an Airborne force, and were assigned to the First Allied Airborne Army. In this role
it was anticipated that the Division would take part in Operation Market Garden, an Allied
operation fought in the Netherlands and Germany whose goal was to force an
entry into Germany over the Lower Rhine, and so instead they trained as glider
troops in preparation for being dropped into Arnhem. However, by the time his unit was ready for
action and they were sitting on the runway waiting to take off it was decided
by Command that the situation in Holland had become hopeless and the mission aborted.The division was then reassigned to the First Canadian Army and Bill eventually landed
at Ostend in Belgium on 13th October 1944, as part of the wider Allied advance from Paris to the
Rhine. They were ordered to
capture the vital Port of Antwerp and as a result were involved
in the Battle of the Scheldt in Belgium and the
Netherlands across the flooded Dutch islands. This battle included Operations Vitality and Infatuate and the
ultimate capture of Walcheren Island, in order to open the mouth of
the Scheldt
estuary to Allied shipping. In January
1945 they participated in the Battle for the Roer Triangle, which involved
the clearance of the area between the rivers Meuse and Roer. Bill crossed the Maas in February 1945, then
the Seigfried Line entering Germany in March and crossed the 29th, advancing
as far as Bremen,
where the Division fought its last battle of the war. He was then involved with the exchange of Russian
displaced persons with Belgian, French and Dutch Prisoners of war on The
Friendship Bridge at Magdeburg on the River Elbe. He recalled dealing with 11,000 Russians in one
day. Interestingly the 52nd Lowland Division was the only
completely Territorial Division to
fight in the Second World War.
Following the war Bill was awarded the 1939-1945 Star, France and Germany Star, Defence Medal and War Medal 1939-45 and remained in Germany attached to the Headquarters 156 (WS) Infantry Brigade based at Wilhelshaven working with the American authorities. On 1st October 1946 he transferred from the TA into the Regular Army, 2nd Battalion Cameronians, with a Short Service Commission and appointed Lieutenant with seniority backdated to 1st January 1941. In February 1947 Bill and his Regiment sailed to Gibraltar aboard the Almanzora Star, a converted Passenger Liner and Armed Merchant Cruiser, where due to his experience at Wilhelmshaven he volunteered and was appointed as Acting Aide De Camp to the Governor, Sir Kenneth Arthur Noel Anderson KCB MC, for 12 months and promoted to Captain on 1st November 1947. He also became a keen member of the Battalion Sports Committee. On 1st January 1949, he sailed for Trieste in Italy where he served for two years including a posting to a training camp in Austria between April and August. He met his future wife Joyce early in 1950 becoming engaged on 1st April. On 21st April Bill was awarded the Efficiency Decoration ‘Territorial’ representing 12 years previously accumulated service in the TA and on 22nd transferred into the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) on a longer term commitment still as Captain, with his seniority backdated to 25th April 1947. Bill married Joyce ‘in the lines’ at Trieste on 26th August and in December 1950 returned to England so that he could complete an Ordnance Officers Course. He was then posted to Bicester, promoted to Temporary Major on 22nd December 1952 and in 1953 posted to Didcot where he remained until 1955, working for the Deputy Assistant Director of Ordnance Services. Following the Canal Zone incident and Colonel Abdul Nasser’s appointment as President of Egypt, Britain's desire to mend Anglo-Egyptian relations in the wake of the coup saw her strive for rapprochement throughout 1953 and 1954. Part of this process was the agreement, in 1953, to terminate British rule in Sudan by 1956 in return for Cairo's abandoning of its claim to suzerainty over the Nile Valley region. In October 1954, Britain and Egypt concluded an agreement on the phased evacuation of British troops from the Suez base, the terms of which agreed to withdrawal of all troops within 20 months, maintenance of the base to be continued, and for Britain to hold the right to return for seven years. On 8th June 1955 Bill was posted to Fayed in the Canal Zone, based at the main RAOC Depot to assist with the evacuation.
Bill was joined by his wife during August and they lived on Ball Button Alley ‘Caretaking’ for Officers whose properties were unattended. They moved to Ismailia and then to El Ballah situated half way to Port Said where they spent Christmas. Early in 1956 he was posted to Tripoli to join the 10th Armoured Division remaining there for a year, promoted to substantive Major on 4th December with seniority backdated to 4th December 1955. During October the Suez Incident took place when Britain & Israel invaded Egypt following the nationalisation of the Suez Canal by President Nasser, and British families were evacuated back to the UK from Libya, Joyce amongst them. She returned to Tripoli in January 1957 joining Bill for a re-deployment when they sailed to Nicosia, Cyprus during the EOKA Campaign for Cypriot independence. Bill was taken seriously ill during this tour spending a month in hospital with duodenal ulcers, from which he never fully recovered. In June 1957 he was transferred to Larnaca where he commanded the RAOC Depot beside a salt lake on what is now Larnaca airport. He was awarded the General Service Medal with clasp Cyprus but invalided to the UK in January 1958, still suffering with his ulcers. Back in the UK he was posted as second in command to the RAOC Depot in Stirling, Scotland where he remained until June 1961 when posted to Viersen in the Rhine. January 1962 saw him posted again, this time to the NATO depot at Herentals in Belgium followed a year later by transfer to Hanover where he commanded an RAOC Depot until August 1965 when he moved to the Ministry of Defence at Woolwich Arsenal as Officer Commanding of the Complete Equipment Schedule Secretariat, a cataloguing unit responsible for listing all Army Equipment prior to issue. In January 1966 Bill and Joyce moved to Gravesend in Kent settling in 1970 at 101 King’s Drive. By now Bill had started to use his second name Andrew which he preferred and he and Joyce had two daughters Penelope and Rosemary. He remained in this latter post until he retired from the Army on 25th April 1975 aged 55 and on the same day became a Retired Officer 2 in the Civil Service on retired pay, doing the same job. He finally retired on 31st December 1984 aged 64 and continued to suffer ill health and having several operations. However during his retirement he seemed to grow mentally much stronger and in addition to a life-long interest in astronomy and bird watching, took up several new hobbies including, knotting and sennett work, water colour painting, sketching, embroidery and patch-work, all of which helped him to relax. He also took responsibility for household management and enjoyed walking. Bill died on 13th March 2006 at Darent Valley Hospital, Dartford aged 86. He was cremated and his ashes scattered in his garden at 101 King’s Road. He was described by his wife as “a patient conscientious, considerate man who was widely liked and respected. One in a Thousand - as Kipling said”.
The Story The group of medals awarded to William Andrew Hunter Hay (Bill) were acquired from E-Bay on 18th December 2008 after a rather complicated bidding and negotiation process with the vendor, who had sadly split the corresponding group of miniature medals and various uniform items belonging to Bill into different lots. Because of an internet problem a bid on the last remaining item, his cap, was lost to a bidder in the USA who refused to discuss options. Following further confusing exchange of e-mails with the vendor the miniature medals were however acquired and thankfully re-united with their full sized counterparts. There was no detail with the group, except the name and initials on the General Service Medal. A trawl of the London Gazette revealed Bill’s full names and enabled a brief military biography to be pieced together. On Monday 31st March 2009 a visit was made to the Family Records Division, Holborn in London and Bill’s will extracted. It appeared from this that his wife, Mrs Elizabeth Joyce Hay still lived at the same address as when he had died and a 192.com search confirmed this. On Thursday afternoon 16th April 2009 Mrs. Hay was ‘cold called’ and although concerned that her husband’s uniforms had been split and sold separately, was happy to cooperate and assist with research. Letters were exchanged and a more detailed biography of her late husband began to emerge. Mrs Hay kindly agreed to allow enquiries to be made with the MoD Medal Office and this confirmed his full entitlement of medals as above. Arrangements were made to visit Mrs Hay on Tuesday 18th August at her home and thankfully she had kept her husband’s entire archive of material. A deed box contained amongst other items, his various Commissioning parchments, Army Service Book, embodiment notice and many letters ranging across his later years, allowing a detailed biography to be completed. She also had lots of photographs and details on his Father, a decorated Colonel and his Brother, a decorated Lancaster Pilot and the all-important photograph of Bill was made available putting a face to The Man Behind the medals. Another example of how from a group of medals with only a name and initial a larger story emerges and a man’s life and deeds preserved for history.
The Cameronians The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, the only regiment of rifles amongst the Scottish regiments of infantry. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of two other regiments: 26th Cameronian Regiment and the 90th Perthshire Light Infantry. The regiment saw service during the Second Boer War in South Africa, and raised 27 battalions during the First World War. The 1st Battalion saw action in Burma during the Second World War, while the 2nd Battalion was in Europe. The 6th, 7th, and 9th Battalions also served in Europe (the 5th and 6th with the 52nd (Lowland) Division, and the 9th with the 15th (Scottish) Division. In 1948, along with every other regiment of line infantry, the Cameronians was reduced to a single battalion. Under the reforms of the army in the 1966 Defence White Paper, which saw several regiments amalgamated, the Cameronians chose to disband rather than amalgamate with another regiment in the Lowland Brigade. The 1st Battalion, The Cameronians was disbanded on 14 May 1968 at Douglas Castle, near Douglas, South Lanarkshire in the presence of the Duke of Hamilton. Its recruiting area in Lanarkshire and Dumfries and Galloway taken over by the King's Own Scottish Borderers and the Regimental Headquarters finally closed in 1987. However, the name of the Cameronians continued through the Territorial Army, with two companies of the 52nd Lowland Regiment badged as Cameronians. One company was disbanded in 1992, and the other was re-badged as the King's Own Scottish Borderers in 1997.
Traditions: Every new member of the regiment was issued a Bible, as a nod to Richard Cameron, after whom the original 26th Foot was named. In honour of the regiment's first Colonel, James Douglas, Earl of Angus the tartan was that of the House of Douglas, which was worn as trews by all ranks (except the regiment's pipers, who wore kilts). Until 1914 the regiment wore a unique full dress uniform, comprising a rifle green shako with black upright plume, rifle green doublet and Douglas tartan trews.The regiment's cap badge featured a Mullet from the coat of arms of the Douglas family on a stringed bugle within two sprigs of thistle. The pipers of the 1st Battalion wore a distinctive badge of the Mullet with a scroll below bearing the name "The Cameronians". The sporrans and dirks of the pipers of the 2nd Battalion carried a reproduction of the coat of arms of the City of Perth. As a regiment of rifles, the Cameronians carried no colours, instead wearing its battle honours on its "appointments" (drums) The regiment's only Colonel-in-Chief was King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden. The regiment mounted an armed guard at the doors of the Kirk during religious services.
Traditions: Every new member of the regiment was issued a Bible, as a nod to Richard Cameron, after whom the original 26th Foot was named. In honour of the regiment's first Colonel, James Douglas, Earl of Angus the tartan was that of the House of Douglas, which was worn as trews by all ranks (except the regiment's pipers, who wore kilts). Until 1914 the regiment wore a unique full dress uniform, comprising a rifle green shako with black upright plume, rifle green doublet and Douglas tartan trews.The regiment's cap badge featured a Mullet from the coat of arms of the Douglas family on a stringed bugle within two sprigs of thistle. The pipers of the 1st Battalion wore a distinctive badge of the Mullet with a scroll below bearing the name "The Cameronians". The sporrans and dirks of the pipers of the 2nd Battalion carried a reproduction of the coat of arms of the City of Perth. As a regiment of rifles, the Cameronians carried no colours, instead wearing its battle honours on its "appointments" (drums) The regiment's only Colonel-in-Chief was King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden. The regiment mounted an armed guard at the doors of the Kirk during religious services.
Glasgow Academy On 8th May 1845, a number of members and ministers of the newly formed Free Church of Scotland met at the Star Hotel in George Square in order to discuss the extension of the church’s activities into the sphere of education. It was decided that they would build an “academic institution”. The original minutes of this meeting show that it had been first proposed that the school should be for “children of the better classes”, but this precise wording was later deleted. It was agreed by all, however, that the school would be established “for the purpose of teaching youth the various branches of secular knowledge, based upon strictly evangelical principles and pervaded by religious instruction”. On 5th May 1847, a formal opening ceremony was held for the Academy’s buildings in Elmbank Place, after a delay in their completion. Four years later, on the departure of the school’s first Rector, James Cumming, it was decided that the schoolmasters would collectively run the Academy themselves on a collegiate basis without a Rector. This system stayed in place for ten years until Donald Morrison was appointed in 1861, both to lead the Classical Department and to superintend all classes in the school. He remained Rector for an astonishing 38 years. In 1878 the Academy moved from its site in Elmbank Street to its current location at Kelvinbridge, leaving its original buildings to be occupied by the High School of Glasgow. The Academy has remained in the West End through turbulent times: the First World War touched every part of the school, with teachers and pupils going abroad to fight and the lives of those left at home being greatly altered. The boys who were too young to fight were urged to serve in their own way, by joining the Officers’ Training Corps and even by knitting, to provide soldiers at the front with much needed woollen garments. In 1919 the War Memorial Trust was established to take over ownership of the school and to commemorate those who had served and fallen in the War. The Academy’s brave tradition of military service was then repeated in the Second World War, sadly producing another high death toll amongst those connected to the school. Since then, the Academy has been part of altogether more positive changes. The merger with Westbourne School for girls in 1990 turned the Academy into a co-educational school, which not only brought greater diversity to the body of students but also helped to boost numbers. Further mergers have followed as the Academy has extended its borders beyond Kelvinbridge and the long-established but often extended playing fields at Anniesland. Atholl Preparatory School in Milngavie and Dairsie House School in Newlands are now part of the Academy community and the school looks set to continue to prosper in the future.
SS Almanzora Built 1915 - 1915-1919 Armed Merchant Cruiser, 1939-1945 troopship, 1945-1947 Government emigration ship, 1948 scrapped. 16,034
The Thousandth Man
Rudyard Kipling
ONE man in a thousand, Solomon says.
Will stick more close than a brother.
And it's worth while seeking him half your days
If you find him before the other.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine depend
On what the world sees in you,
But the Thousandth Man will stand your friend
With the whole round world agin you.
'Tis neither promise nor prayer nor show
Will settle the finding for 'ee.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine of 'em go
By your looks, or your acts, or your glory.
But if he finds you and you find him,
The rest of the world don't matter;
For the Thousandth Man will sink or swim
With you in any water.
You can use his purse with no more talk
Than he uses yours for his spendings,
And laugh and meet in your daily walk
As though there had been no lendings.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine of 'em call
For silver and gold in their dealings;
But the Thousandth Man he's worth 'em all
Because you can show him your feelings.
His wrong's your wrong, and his right's your right,
In season or out of season.
Stand up and back it in all men's sight
With that for your only reason!
Nine hundred and ninety-nine can't bide
The shame or mocking or laughter,
But the Thousandth Man will stand by your side
To the gallows-foot - and after!
Rudyard Kipling
ONE man in a thousand, Solomon says.
Will stick more close than a brother.
And it's worth while seeking him half your days
If you find him before the other.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine depend
On what the world sees in you,
But the Thousandth Man will stand your friend
With the whole round world agin you.
'Tis neither promise nor prayer nor show
Will settle the finding for 'ee.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine of 'em go
By your looks, or your acts, or your glory.
But if he finds you and you find him,
The rest of the world don't matter;
For the Thousandth Man will sink or swim
With you in any water.
You can use his purse with no more talk
Than he uses yours for his spendings,
And laugh and meet in your daily walk
As though there had been no lendings.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine of 'em call
For silver and gold in their dealings;
But the Thousandth Man he's worth 'em all
Because you can show him your feelings.
His wrong's your wrong, and his right's your right,
In season or out of season.
Stand up and back it in all men's sight
With that for your only reason!
Nine hundred and ninety-nine can't bide
The shame or mocking or laughter,
But the Thousandth Man will stand by your side
To the gallows-foot - and after!
Medal Details:
- 1939-45 Star: Unnamed as issued.
- France & Germany Star: Unnamed as issued.
- Defence Medal: Unnamed as issued.
- War Medal 1939-45: Unnamed as issued.
- General Service Medal: MAJOR W.A.HAY. T.D. R.A.O.C.
- Efficiency Decoration: 1950
This page last updated 21 Jun 15