Bedfords Highlanders with Richard Galley
Tue, Mar 12th 2024 at 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
The Scottish Invasion of Bedford 1914
A presentation by Richard Galley on March 12th entitled Bedford’s Highlanders
Richard, despite being a Bedfordian, gave a very detailed insight into what happened during the First World War in 1914/15.
This was the friendly ‘Scottish Invasion’ of Bedford in August 1914 when 17,000 Highlanders and Islanders came to Bedford to undergo training before being sent to the front. This number swelled to 22,000 by April 1915. Bedford’s population at the time was about 40,000. Many of the territorial soldiers spoke with strong regional accents and many spoke only Gaelic as their first language and of course their uniform included the famous kilt together with the bagpipes.
They were made to feel welcome in billets in and around the town and many Scots returned to settle in Bedford after the war. There was very little trouble reported. Training took place in green spaces and they even held a Highland Games at Easter 1915 at Bedford School’s playing fields.
Richard showed us many old photos of Bedford’s familiar streets and landmarks full of the soldiers. A very entertaining talk.
Rtn Alan
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