Barracks and Battalions

A recent announcement by the Ministry of Defence has indicated that nine sites in Scotland used by the Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, Defence Equipment & Support and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation are to be disposed of over the next few years as part of a nationwide reduction of fifty six MoD bases. In some cases the announcement was expected as earlier strategic reviews had already proposed the closure of some of these properties as being surplus to requirements and no longer fit for purpose for 21st Century armed forces. Fort George is Georgian, Glencorse Barracks is Victorian and Redford Barracks is Edwardian.

Forthside and Meadowforth sites in Stirling

The closure programme in Scotland starts with Craigiehall on the outskirts of Edinburgh in 2018. Perhaps it will return to its old role of being a hotel? Redford follows a few years later but it is only the old Edwardian infantry and cavalry barracks which will go; the more modern Reserves site next door which hosts several regular and reserve units - from the Army, Navy and Air Force - will remain.

Recent strategic reviews and reductions of our armed forces have left a large MoD estate with not enough units to fill them. This has happened many times in the past. The Royal Navy no longer has a presence at places like Invergordon, Port Edgar or The Royal Elizabeth Yard. When the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers are built and leave Rosyth for Portsmouth their crews go with them and MoD Caledonia will move to Edinburgh. Over the past fifty years barracks have been sold off and redeveloped in Inverness, Perth, Aberdeen, Ayr, Glasgow and Hamilton as the Army has shrunk. That’s not even taking into consideration all the drill halls across the country which have disappeared as the TA became the TAVR and then Army Reserves. Two RAF air bases in Scotland have recently been converted to army barracks when their aircraft departed - Kinloss and Leuchars, although some non-flying RAF units remain on the bases as lodger units alongside the army. Former RAF bases in Scotland now host museums, racetracks, car boot sales and annual music festivals.

There are currently four infantry barracks in Scotland – Fort George dominates the Moray Firth and the other three are all part of the Edinburgh Garrison - Redford, Glencorse, and Dreghorn. This announcement leaves only Dreghorn by 2032. So the question is not so much what happens to the buildings and land but what happens to the units occupying them?

Fort George

The Royal Regiment of Scotland has already been reduced from five regular battalions to four in the ten years it has been in existence. The 5th Battalion now only exists as Balaklava Company a public duties incremental company. Will the next sixteen years see a further reduction and a loss of the 4th Battalion and even the 3rd? The Royal Scots Borderers are in Northern Ireland and the Highlanders are in England. 3rd Bn The Rifles currently occupy Dreghorn but will the next few years see a reshuffle and disbandments of these battalions? The big battalion regiments in England have been repeatedly reduced and amalgamated. Why should the Royal Regiment of Scotland not suffer a similar fate over the next sixteen years?

It should be remembered that only five years ago Dreghorn was also to go along with Redford and Glencorse and a super-barracks was to be built at Kirknewton airfield. That plan was scrapped two years later under a further review when the army left Germany. Dreghorn has been reprieved this time round and is unlikely to be disposed of any time soon. Who is to say that in five, ten or fifteen years time another strategic review will see a requirement for units to continue to be based in Glencorse or Fort George? With continued fighting in the Middle East, a new occupant in the White House - and an old-school one in the Kremlin - who knows what future defence reviews will bring?

On a less contentious note, something else which is of particular interest to us in the Scottish Military Research Group is the war memorials currently in the barracks. Fort George is currently shared with Historic Environment Scotland and no doubt they will take ownership from the MoD when the army eventually moves out. We’ve sixteen years to find out what the Scottish Government will do with the site but it’s likely the Seaforth Highlanders’ memorials will remain. But what happens to the regimental memorials at Glencorse and Redford? Based on previous barrack sales, these estates will probably be redeveloped into housing and it is unlikely the memorials will remain. Perhaps they will relocate to Dreghorn or the Castle. We’ll certainly be keeping a close eye on what happens to them.

These are the sites being disposed of and what is happening to the current occupants:

(Click on the table to make it larger)

Fort George to mark links to Liverpool

We've mentioned the Fort George museum refurbishment before. More news now from the BBC News website.

Liverpool's military links to the Highlands are to be remembered in a new museum display.

The museum at Fort George, near Inverness, is being upgraded a cost of £3.2m. So far £2.5m has been raised.

A donation of £1,500 covers the cost of a display dedicated to the Liverpool Scottish, which was raised to fight in the Second Boer War in 1900.

In 1937, it became a territorial battalion of the Cameron Highlanders, based in Inverness.

The Highlands Museum is dedicated to the Cameron Highlanders, Seaforth Highlanders, Queen's Own Highlanders and their affiliated regiments.

The Liverpool Scottish, whose soldiers wore the Forbes tartan and saw action during World War I, later became part of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment.

Money for the display was donated by the Liverpool Scottish Regimental Trustees.

When first raised, the regiment recruited mainly from Scots living in the city.

The revamped museum at Fort George, a 1700s artillery fort which remains a working barracks, is scheduled to open in 2012.

Actor Hugh Grant launched the public appeal to help raise funds for the project in November 2010.

His grandfather Col James Murray Grant, from Inverness, received the Distinguished Service Order for bravery during World War II.

The Seaforth Highlander was depot commander at Fort George after the war.

Grant's father Capt James Murray Grant also served with a Highlands regiment.
 
'Safe keeping'

Museum chairman, Maj Gen Seymour Monro, said he was thrilled by the Liverpool Scottish support.

Col Ian Paterson, president of the Liverpool Scottish Regimental Association, added: "The Liverpool Scottish was an important and valued member of the regimental family in the Highlands for the major part of the 20th Century.

"As such it is appropriate that we support this splendid museum at Fort George and that we place here notable items reflecting that great history for display and safe keeping."

Muskets at Fort George

From today's BBC News.

Word that OTC students are to be armed with replica Brown Bess muskets for live firing experiments at the rifle ranges at Fort George.

Fort George Museum Cash Pledge

An item from today's Press & Journal. It is another source of funding for the redevelopment of the Highlanders Museum at Fort George near Inverness.

The Highlanders Museum covers the history of the Seaforth Highlanders (1777 - 1961), the Cameron Highlanders (1794-1961), the Queen's Own Highlanders (1961 - 1994) and the Highlanders (1994-1996). It also covers 4th Bn Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 Scots) from 2006 to the present. The Lovat Scouts also have a small display area in the museum.

We have covered the appeal in previous posts here and here. Here is today's article:

Inverness city committee agrees to contribute £130,000 to facelift at the Highlanders centre


By Mel Fairhurst 


Generous councillors opened the civic purse for future projects after allocating £130,000 for a museum scheme being supported by Hollywood heart-throb Hugh Grant.


Inverness city committee agreed yesterday to help fund a project to give the Highlanders’ Museum a £3 million facelift. Half the money has been raised already for the redevelopment project and members agreed to the extra boost from the Inverness Common Good Fund over two years from 2011-12 and 2012-13.


The move comes after Four Weddings and A Funeral star Hugh Grant lent his support to the museum at Fort George in December last year. The actor’s father served in the Seaforth Highlanders regiment and his grandfather was depot commander at Fort George after World War II.


Museum chairman Major General Seymour Monro gave a presentation and told members that although the project was not in Inverness, from 2012 it would help boost the city’s economy by £320,000 every year. The money will be used to update facilities and it is envisaged the project will be completed by summer 2012. The money from the fund will be put towards £217,000 which will be earmarked for education space at the centre.


Aird and Loch Ness councillor Drew Hendry described the plans as “exciting”, while Inverness Central councillor Bet McAllister said it was an “ambitious project”. She added: “It ticks all the right boxes and I wish you well in your endeavours.

Fort George Highlanders' Museum receives cash boost

A follow-up to our story from last November about Hugh Grant fronting the campaign to raise funding for redevelopment of the Highlanders Museum, comes this article from the BBC News:

A project to redevelop the Highlanders' Museum at Fort George, near Inverness, has received £200,000 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).

It comes just weeks after the project was awarded £924,000 by the European Regional Development Fund.

The Highlanders Museum Development scheme was launched in 2009 to bring the museum up to 21st Century standards.

The development of the attraction is expected to cost about £3m in total.

The museum will detail the history of all the regiments raised from the Highlands and surrounding islands, dating from just after the Battle of Culloden to present day operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The fort was originally built to guard the approaches to Inverness after the 1745 Jacobite uprising.

It attracts more than 66,000 visitors a year, with the museum as its main attraction.

'Much improved'

The re-development aims to transform the museum into a state-of-the-art interactive education and learning facility with full disabled access.

An independent economic assessment has suggested that when complete, the museum will contribute an extra £400,000 a year into the local economy - as well as supporting the equivalent of eight new full-time jobs.

HIE has previously awarded the museum £63k towards the initial project design and planning costs.

The public launch of the fundraising began on 25 November, with actor Hugh Grant and his father Capt James Grant as guests of honour.

Maj Gen Seymour Monro, chairman of the Highlanders' Museum, said: "This endorsement of our plans has taken our fundraising appeal over the half way mark, which gives us confidence that the project will go ahead and the region will gain a much improved cultural asset."

HIE spokeswoman, Nicola Ewing, added: "The Highlanders' Museum is home to the biggest military collection outside of London.

"The link between the museum and the local community is clear, with a history dating back centuries."

Hugh Grant to front fundraising campaign for Scottish museum

From The Daily Express:

Hugh Grant will this week front a campaign to raise funds for a famous Scottish museum and help preserve 300 years of military history.

The Hollywood star is to make a public appeal for the Highlanders’ Museum, which holds one of the largest armed forces collections in Britain but is in desperate need of a £3million renovation.

Refurbishment of the site, at Fort George, near Inverness, was approved before the economic downturn and only the design stage of the project has been completed.

Now Mr Grant – dubbed the “son of the regiment” because of his Scottish father and grandfather’s military ties to the area – will make a plea for donors to come forward.

His public appeal will be made at the former Lieutenant Governor’s house at Fort George on Thursday.

The plans include better display cabinets, refurbished rooms, study facilities for family historians, students,
researchers and pupils, and an improved air and lighting system.

Museum chairman, Major General Seymour Monro, told the Sunday Express that staff and curators are “confident” they will be able to raise the money and complete the two-year project on time.

He said: “What we are trying to do is to improve the conservation and care, accessibility and understanding of our history.

“I know times are tight but we are confident we will be successful in our efforts. On November 25 we are launching an appeal for funds publicly and our guest of honour is Hugh Grant, the son of the regiment through his father and grandfather."

"He has agreed to come and launch the appeal and we are delighted about his support.”

In a statement ahead of his visit, Mr Grant said: “The Highlanders’ Museum is very important to me and my family and I fully support the Heritage Appeal, which will ensure that the heritage of our famous Highland Regiments is preserved and properly displayed.”

Fort George dates back to the 18th century and the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden that crushed the Jacobite Rising. Its role was to act as a base for Government troops in the Highlands and defend Inverness from invasion.
Nearly 300 years on, it has become the property of Historic Scotland but remains a training base for the Army while attracting some 70,000 visitors a year to the regimental museum.

Part of the renovation drive is to increase visitor numbers to more than 100,000 to provide a “self-sustained” attraction.

The museum, which was created in the Fifties, contains about 20,000 artifacts, 10,000 documents and photographs, and it is home to more than 5,000 gallantry awards and campaign medals, including 16 Victoria Crosses, from former soldiers and their families.

Also among the valuable memorabilia is a set of Colours carried at the Battle of Waterloo, King Edward VIII’s  regimental  uniform plus silver and personal artifacts carried by soldiers since 1778.

But the three-storey museum has become outdated and too small, paving way for the renovation project.

Last week it unveiled its own whisky, dubbed Cuidich’n Righ – Gaelic for “Help the King” – with the help of Gordon & MacPhail, and proceeds from the limited edition single malt will be donated to the redevelopment.

Maj Gen Monro added: “It is an important project because it is not only the past that we preserve but also the memory of the soldiers who have served in Scotland’s Highland Regiments.”

The Highlanders Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland incorporates the Seaforth Highlanders, The Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders and the Queen’s Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons), Lovaut Scouts plus The Gordon Highlanders, who have their own museum in Aberdeen.