In 1940, news took time to reach all of the north of Scotland, even Kiltarlity, twelve miles outside Inverness. Though weeks earlier newspapers had reported the introduction of wartime restrictions, Mrs Donald MacPhee was unaware she needed to obtain a certificate of residency and photographic identity card until soldiers arrived at her door on 1 March, the day they were introduced. The Press and Journal reported her resignation to having her photograph taken for only the second time in her ‘long life’ so she could continue her ‘frequent visits to Beauly’. The need for locals to carry proof of identity and residency was emblematic of how their lives, already affected by wartime, would become even less ‘normal’.
The north of Scotland had a strategic significance during both World Wars, with existing naval bases and secluded west coast deep-water anchorages where warships and convoys of merchant ships could gather and shelter. Its proximity to northern Europe made it suitable for launching attacks, but also put it potentially at risk from adversarial action. With remote, wild lands and sparse population, the region was also ideal to train service personnel for clandestine operations and later in preparing for the allies’ invasion of Europe. In both conflicts, access to the region was controlled: those travelling within restricted parts were subject to identity checks. Restrictions were imposed on the tourism industry, foreigners and international travellers, and action taken against those who bent or broke the rules in force. The focus here is on the impact the introduction of controls had during the Second World War, particularly 1940, but will also reference those imposed during the previous conflict. It will consider the strategic position of Beauly, electioneering in Argyll and the perception that while the vast majority followed official instructions, others thought they could ignore the law.
Defending the realm
In 1939, the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act, enacted before war was declared on 3 September, gave government considerable freedom to act without recourse to parliament for a year. It used its powers to designate protected places, prevent trespassing and loitering, and impose blackouts. It also designated twelve areas in the ‘interests of defence or the efficient prosecution of war as a protected area’. In Scotland these were the Firth of Forth, Orkney and Shetland, and the North of Scotland, stretching north and west of the Firth of Lorne and Great Glen, including the Hebrides and Argyll islands, which came into force on 11 March 1940. In the
