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Berwick at War with Germany!

Q.  My mother-in-law, whom I consider Scottish (she was brought up in Berwickshire), calls herself Scotch.  Have they suddenly moved the border?

A.  Berwickshire is in Scotland.  I walked the Southern Upland Way (wholly in Scotland) this summer; near the Eastern end I passed a reservoir with an old 'Berwickshire County Council' sign.

The town of Berwick itself has changed hands repeatedly during history.  Berwick still play in the Scottish (not Scotch) league.

Interesting fact:  Berwick is still at war with Germany.  This is because, under the Treaty of Union, after an announcement is made in Parliament in London, several days must elapse before the announcement applies in Scotland.  This was to allow time for a messenger to ride from London to Edinburgh and read the announcement in Parliament Square.  During these few days in 1945 between England being declared not to be at war with Germany and the same happening for Scotland, Berwick was transferred from Scotland to England, and thus missed out on both declarations.  The town of Berwick is, therefore, still at war with Germany!

From: ceegrp@cee.hw.ac.uk (Graham R Pearson) - Subject: Re: Scotch (was England will always be a dirty word...) - Date: Mon, 14 Nov 1994 - soc.culture.celtic

Berwick on Tweed - During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Berwick was claimed by both Scotland and England and often changed hands.  It was finally recovered for England in 1482, during a campaign under Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III).  Today it remains in England, but is also the county town of the Scottish county of Berwickshire, despite five centuries in English hands.  Source - UK National Archives: History of Scotland

  Maybe at war with Scotland?

Town leaders oppose Berwick move -- English politicians have vowed to stop a plan to take Berwick-upon-Tweed back into Scotland. [BBC 12 February 2008]  Where to put the boundar?  If the river was designated as the boundary, it would sever Berwick from the communities of Tweedmouth and Spittal on the opposite bank. ... A poll carried out by the local newspaper revealed 79% of people in the area backed reunification with Scotland. ... The town has changed hands between the two countries at least 13 times.

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