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)

Donald Where's Your Troosers?

Is it just me or do others find it odd to see kilted soldiers of the Royal Regiment of Scotland commemorate the men of the Lowland regiments at First World War Centenary events?

Since 2006 and the formation of the Royal Regiment of Scotland the uniform for all battalions, no matter what their precedence, has been the same – a Government tartan kilt. We’ve briefly covered this in a Blog before.

The First World War Centenary will be with us until 2019. At many events the Royal Regiment of Scotland will provide a contingent, and invariably they will be in No. 2 Dress – Khaki tunic, glengarry, kilt, sporran, hose and spats. It’s a very smart uniform, and appropriate for many WW100 events as the uniform looks very similar to the service dress worn by the Highland regiments in 1914.

What irks- and will undoubtedly continue do so throughout the next few years - is seeing the men of the Royal Regiment of Scotland parade in kilts when they are commemorating men of the Lowland regiments; or when they are at Centenary events in the former recruiting areas of the Royal Scots (RS), Royal Scots Fusiliers (RSF), King’s Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB) , Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)(SR) and Highland Light Infantry (HLI).

Apart from their pipers (and three Territorial battalions) the men of the Lowland regiments did not wear kilts in 1914. Until 1881 most Lowland regiments did not even wear tartan. They were proud of their Lowland status and their history of not being Highlanders; two Lowland regiments were first raised in 1689 to fight a Jacobite army full of Highlanders. Before 2006 only one Lowland regiment – the Highland Light Infantry  -  fought with the War Office to be uniformed in kilts because of its Highland regimental history. In the early twentieth century the HLI had two Territorial battalions in kilts  - but during the First World War it was not a kilted regiment. It was not until after the Second World War that the HLI once more parade in kilts after a one hundred and forty year hiatus.

Two recent First World War related occasions particularly stick in the mind where it would have been befitting for the Royal Regiment of Scotland to be wearing trews rather than kilts.

The first was the reburial of Private William McAleer of the 7^th Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers in May this year. Private McAleer was killed in action at Loos in 1915 and his body was only found during building work on the battlefield in 2010. At a well attended event organised by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, he was re-buried with full military honours and the Royal Highland Fusiliers provided the burial party. How much more appropriate would it have been for the pall bearers to have been in trews on that day?

Thanks to John Duncan for the photograph

The second occasion was last week’s naming of the square outside the Usher Hall in Edinburgh to McCrae’s Place. This was to commemorate the centenary of the raising of the 16^th (2^nd Edinburgh) Battalion, Royal Scots by local man George McCrae. The Royal Regiment of Scotland were there to commemorate the men of the Royal Scots who served in the First World War in this battalion. How much more appropriate would it have been for them to be there in trews like the Royal Scots Association men they stood beside?

Next year we will see the Royal Regiment of Scotland take part in official commemorations for the Gretna Rail Crash (RS), Gallipoli (RS, RSF, KOSB,S, HLI), and Loos  (RS, RSF, KOSB,S, HLI). How much more apt will it be for the men of the Royal Scots Borderers, Royal Highland Fusiliers and the 52^nd Lowland to be uniformed in trews for these events?

The Royal Regiment of Scotland already has an order of dress which combines the khaki tunic and the trews – According to the RHF’s dress regulations which are online it is No. 2c Dress.

Currently it specifies it is to be worn “..on Battalion duties during cold weather at the discretion of Commanding Officers. It is to be worn by all ranks on Regimental duties at Retreat-Staff Parade after 1800 hrs daily" but surely that could be changed for the two senior battalions of the regiment, and the Lowland volunteers, to allow trews instead of kilts to be worn on ceremonial occasions in place of 2a or 2b dress?

To try and rectify this sometimes incongruous use of kilts by the Royal Regiment of Scotland, an e-petition has been raised with the MoD to change the dress regulations to allow trews to be worn  by certain units on ceremonial occasions.

If you would like to see Scottish infantrymen parade in trews again, please take the time to sign the petition here: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/72626 and please spread the word.

It's all about the badges…er, no

Cap Badge of the Royal Regiment of Scotland

There have been lots of articles in the newspapers (particularly broadsheets) on the rumours of the latest round of army reorganisations as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). The fate of the Royal Regiment of Scotland is of particular interest to the Scottish media and daily articles focus on the response of politicians of all hues to what Philip Hammond at the MoD is planning.

Most politicians and journalists have little grasp of the subject and are making mistakes. The most common one is that the seven battalions of the Royal Regiment of Scotland are still all wearing their own cap badges. That is not correct. All battalions wear the same badge and dress uniform. The badge and uniform were designed by committee to try and retain individual features from the six regular battalions in existence in 2006 when the regiment was formed (two regiments amalgamated into one after the RRS was formed).

We used to use terms like precedence, antecedents, perpetuating and lineage but now this has all been replaced by a snappy little piece of spin called "The Golden Thread". Seemingly this was the promise made in 2005 when the plans were being made for merging the Scottish regiments that individual pieces of the regiments' history would be retained by the new large regiment. It would allow the battalions to rebrand themselves as the Royal Regiment but retain supplementary titles to identify their old regiment e.g. The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland (1 SCOTS).  In practice this meant people use 1 SCOTS instead of the unfamiliar name of the Royal Scots Borderers. Even the old regiments such as the Black Watch and Argylls, who had never merged since 1881, are now commonly called by the MoD’s preferential titles of 3 SCOTS and 5 SCOTS. Another piece of the Golden Thread was that each battalion would distinguish itself from another by the use of a coloured hackle. In some case the hackle was not new. The Royal Highland Fusiliers and Black Watch have used white and red hackles in their Tam o' Shanters for many years. For some battalions though the coloured hackle was a new addition to their bonnets.

What should not have been a surprise to anyone is that at some point in the future after 2006 the MoD would drop the supplementary titles and then reduce the number of battalions in the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The Army has been doing that since the 1960's which we covered in a recent blog post so I won't go into detail of that here.

Instead I'll produce a handy guide to the battalions which make up the Royal Regiment of Scotland. It lists their current name and their lineage, sorry, their Golden Thread. Some regiments like the Royal Scots retained their separate identity, from raising in 1633 to amalgamation in 2006 as part of the Delivering Security in a Changing World review. Others like the Highlanders had been through mergers in 1994 as part of Options for Change; 1961 as part of the 1957 Defence White Paper Review and in 1881 in the Childers Reforms (which we covered here)

Not covered here are the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) who chose disbandment over amalgamation at a Conventicle in Douglas in 1968 as part of the 1966 Defence White Paper Review (however a piece of their history is still retained by the Royal Scots Borderers); The Scots Guards who have never been "Scottish Infantry"; the Scottish Yeomanry regiments and the Highland and Lowland Gunners.

Royal Scots Borderers aka 1 SCOTS

Black hackle used by RSB since 2006. Based on Blackcock feathers used by Royal Scots and KOSB in dress uniform. Also used by Cameronians prior to disbandment and the Cameronians’ Lanarkshire recruitment area passed to the KOSB in 1968.

Based at Dreghorn Barracks in Edinburgh.

Primarily recruits from Lothians, Lanarkshire, Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders

Formed in 2006 after amalgamation of Royal Scots, RRS and King's Own Scottish Borderers, RRS

Royal Scots (aka 1 RS pre-2006) had been known as 1st Royal Scots, Royal Regiment before 1881. Had been raised as mercenaries for French service in 1633

King's Own Scottish Borderers (aka 1 KOSB pre-2006) had been known as 25th King's Own Borderers before 1881. Had been raised in Edinburgh in 1689

Royal Highland Fusiliers aka 2 SCOTS (aka 1 RHF pre-2006)

White hackle. Used by Royal Scots Fusiliers in Tam o'shanter since at least the Second World War. Used by 21st Foot in fusilier cap since 19th Century.

Based at Glencorse Barracks in Penicuik

Primarily recruits from Glasgow, and South West Scotland

Formed 1957 after amalgamation of Royal Scots Fusiliers and Highland Light Infantry

Royal Scots Fusiliers had been known as 21st Royal Scots Fusiliers before 1881. Had been raised in 1678

Highland Light Infantry had been formed in 1881 after amalgamation of 71st Highland Light Infantry and 74th Highlanders

                        71st Highland Light Infantry had been raised in 1777 (as 73rd Highlanders)

                        74th Highlanders had been raised in 1787

Black Watch aka 3 SCOTS (aka 1 BW pre-2006)

Red hackle. Used by Black Watch for many years; origins debatable, possibly dates back to American war of Independence. Used in Tam o'shanter since First World War

Based at Fort George near Inverness

Primarily recruits from Fife, Perthshire, Dundee and Angus

Formed 1881 after amalgamation of 42nd Royal Highlanders, Black Watch and 73rd Highlanders

            42nd Royal Highlanders, Black Watch had been raised in 1739

            73rd Highlanders had been raised in 1779 (as 2nd Bn 42nd Highlanders)

The Highlanders aka 4 SCOTS (aka 1 HLDRS pre-2006)

Blue hackle. First used by Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders in 1940. Perpetuated by Queen's Own Highlanders and Highlanders

Based at Fallingbostel, Germany

Primarily recruits from Highlands, Islands, Moray and Aberdeenshire

Formed in 1994 after amalgamation of Queen's Own Highlanders (aka 1 QOHldrs pre-1994) and The Gordon Highlanders (aka 1 GH pre-1994)

Queens Own Highlanders had been formed in 1961 after amalgamation of Seaforth Highlanders and Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders

Seaforth Highlanders had been formed in 1881 from amalgamation of 72nd Duke of Albany's Highlanders and 78th Highlanders, Ross-shire Buffs

                         72nd Duke of Albany's Highlanders had been raised in 1778 (as 78th Highlanders)

                         78th Highlanders, Ross-shire Buffs had been raised in 1793

Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders had been renamed in 1881 from the 79th Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders

                         79th Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders had been raised in 1794

The Gordon Highlanders had been formed in 1881 from amalgamation of 75th Stirlingshire Regiment and 92nd Gordon Highlanders

                        75th Stirlingshire Regiment had been raised in 1787

                        92nd Gordon Highlanders had been raised in 1794 (as 100th Highlanders)

                                   

Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders aka 5 SCOTS (aka 1 A and SH pre-2006)

Green hackle. Used by Argylls since 2006. Based at Canterbury, England

Primarily recruits from Argyll & Bute, Dunbartonshire, Stirling, Falkirk, Kinross, Clackmannan, Renfrewshire and Inverclyde.

Formed 1881 after amalgamation of 91st Argyllshire Highlanders and 93rd (Sutherland) Highlanders

                        91st Argyllshire Highlanders had been raised in 1794 (as 98th Highlanders)

                        93rd (Sutherland) Highlanders had been raised in 1799

The following two battalions are the Territorial Army battalions of the regiment. Up until 2005 the battalions were made up of individual companies uniformed as their parent regiments, so you would have Black Watch T.A. and Highlanders T.A. serving in the 51st Volunteers. Their battalion hackle colours, which were only introduced in August 2010, were deliberately chosen to not be representative of any former regiment. Purple and green were colours associated with the Highland Division; with green being used by the 5 SCOTS it was an obvious choice of purple for 7 SCOTS.

The history of the Territorial units are too complicated to go into here so a brief explanation of their names is given instead.

52nd Volunteers aka 6 SCOTS

Grey hackle. Used by 52nd Volunteers since 2010

The 52nd Volunteers is the Territorial Army infantry battalion for most of the Lowlands of Scotland. It recruits in the same area as the Royal Scots Borderers and Royal Highland Fusiliers. It was originally formed in 1967 as the 52nd Lowland Volunteers after all the Territorial battalions of the Lowland Regiments were amalgamated into one regiment.

The name is taken from the 52nd (Lowland) Division. This division was numbered in 1915 when the then Territorial Force Lowland Division was sent overseas to Gallipoli. The 52nd (Lowland) Division served with distinction in both World Wars.

51st Volunteers aka 7 SCOTS

Purple hackle. Used by 51st Volunteers since 2010

The 51st Volunteers is the Territorial Army infantry battalion for the Highlands of Scotland. It recruits in the same area as the Black Watch, Highlanders and Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. It was originally formed in 1967 as the 51st Highland Volunteers after all the Territorial battalions of the Highland Regiments were amalgamated into one regiment.

The name is taken from the 51st (Highland) Division. This division was numbered in 1915 when the then Territorial Force Highland Division was sent overseas to France. The 51st (Highland) Division served with distinction in both World Wars.

What's in a name?

There have been rumours in the newspapers over the past few weeks that one of the battalions of the Royal Regiment of Scotland is to be disbanded. It may be 5 SCOTS or it may be 4 SCOTS. That is it might be the 4th (Highlanders) Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland, or 5th (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland. It is only to be expected.

Never mind excuses about austerity measures or the number of Fijians that fill the ranks; since the RRS was formed in 2006 it was only a matter of time until it would follow the practice of every large regiment formed since the 1960s and merge or disband one or more of its battalions just a few years after formation. To expedite this the MoD are probably going to remove the titles in brackets from the five battalions. This also follows the practice adopted in large regiments in England over the last forty-or-so years.

They have already removed uniform distinctions in the Royal Regiment of Scotland apart from the different coloured hackles; there are no Lowland regiments in the British Army only one Highland regiment. Apart from the historic names there is not much to distinguish the battalions. By removing even that distinction it will make it easier to remove one or more of the battalions. 

Scotland is relatively new to the large regiment. The Scottish Division was probably lucky there wasn't a Royal Regiment of Scotland in the late 1960s or at the very least a Lowland Regiment and Highland Regiment. Rumours say the Queen Mother had a hand in saving them to preserve the Black Watch but it was probably the operational needs in Northern Ireland in the 1970s which saved them. In England they were not so lucky and have been used to the large regiments for nearly fifty years.

The Queen's Regiment was formed in 1966 from four regiments from the South-East of England into a four battalion regiment. Two of those regiments had been only just been merged from four regiments in the preceding seven years so it was the inheritor of six famous regiments which had fought through the two World Wars. In 1968 the historic titles were dropped completely and in 1973 the 4th battalion was disbanded with every other 'junior' battalion of the large regiments.

Options for Change in the early 1990's under the last Conservative Government (which saw the merging of the Queen's Own Highlanders and Gordon Highlanders and nearly the end of the KOSB's) also saw the merging of the three battalion Queen's Regiment with the one battalion Royal Hampshire Regiment into the smaller two battalion Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires). It has inherited the battle honours of twelve pre-1881 regiments and a staggering 57 VC's.

1968 saw the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers, Royal Fusiliers and Lancashire Fusiliers merge into the four battalion Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. It is now down to two battalions, neither retaining any titles reflecting their predecessors.

Another regiment formed four battalions from four regiments in 1964 and is now down to two battalions. It has retained its local affiliations though and each of the eight companies across the two current battalions of the Royal Anglian Regiment reflects an old regimental title.

I think it is unlikely that the Royal Regiment of Scotland will ever merge with an English regiment but how long will it be before the Royal Regiment of Scotland is reduced in size again? How long before it is reduced down to a two battalion regiment like other large regiments; one recruiting in the old highland regiment recruiting areas perhaps and another in the Lowlands.

Would they follow the Royal Anglians and name companies after old regiments to retain and encourage local affiliations? Would that see a return to old names like the Seaforth Highlanders, Royal Scots Fusiliers or even the disbanded Cameronians? Probably not but without the old names and affiliations removed who would really care if 3 SCOTS or 4 SCOTS follow 5 SCOTS into history?

Royal Regiment of Scotland receives freedom of Stirling

From the BBC News website today:

The Royal Regiment of Scotland is to be given the freedom of the city of Stirling in a special ceremony.

The soldiers are being awarded the civic honour in recognition of their services and strong links to the area.

They will then be entitled to enter the city "with drums beating, colours flying, and bayonets fixed".
Provost Fergus Wood said: "It will be a great day for the people of Stirling to come out and cheer on the Royal Regiment of Scotland."

He said the city was "very proud" to be bestowing the honour on the regiment.

The event will begin at 11:00 with 51st Highland, 7th Battalion of the Royal Scottish Regiment marching from Stirling Castle, led by a combined military and pipe band. 

The parade will then march down Broad Street before heading along Corn Exchange Road to the Albert Halls.

A band will play at the Albert Halls giving people an opportunity to enjoy the music with the soldiers.

The parade will then march along Dumbarton Road to Port Street, finishing up at Old Viewforth.

Awarding the freedom of the city is an age-old tradition dating back to the laws of ancient Rome that made it a capital offence for Roman legions to enter the city in formation or with weapons without permission.

Will you be at today's ceremony? Are you planning to take pictures? If so, we'd love to feature them here. Please send any pictures to scottishmilitaryresearch@live.co.uk

Our Armed Forces post-2014

It's still two years until we get to vote on our country's future and what that will mean to the armed forces. It is seldom out of the news and just yesterday it cropped up again in First Minister's Questions.

The 'Telegraph' is like a dog with a bone and has been lining up old colonels to take a pot-shot at Alex Salmond over the SNP's post-independence plans. Their comments are then being picked up by opposition parties to fuel this seemingly never-ending saga. Do we really have another two years of this? I hope not because I'm already heartily sick of it but without taking sides I'd like to discuss some things which have occurred to me about the armed forces debate. These are just my thoughts so I would welcome any challenges to my opinion. Although a lot of the jaw-jaw is about the army I'll start with the senior service.

The Royal Navy is a blue water navy, one which can react to incidents anywhere in the world. Would Scotland need that capability? No, we would have a green-water navy; similar to one we had in 1707 (one frigate and two sloops) which would only need small ships capable of protecting our oil-rigs, fishing fleets and support the police and coastguard. Would we need marines -unlikely. Would we need submarines, again unlikely. Would we need aircraft carriers - no of course not. So what would happen to Faslane and Rosyth? What about building the frigates and destroyers for the future Royal Navy; could the Clyde bid for them? Unlikely that a British MoD would award contacts for them to Scotland when there are English shipyards who can build them. There are about 30,000 people employed in Scotland working for the MoD and defence-related companies. How many of them would be needed post-independence?

What about an air force? The SNP plans are for one air base so which one is retained and what would be based there? Kinloss is being converted to hold a UK infantry battalion coming back from Germany but with four infantry battalion barracks in Scotland already (Redford, Dreghorn, Glencorse and Fort George) would Lossiemouth need to be retained. In fact if we have only three battalions of infantry (the brigade proposed by the SNP) would one of  existing barracks close too? The answer would probably be no, because our artillery, signals, engineers and logistics troops would need a home too. But would all of those units actually need to be full-time soldiers? Assuming the SNP get their way and Scotland gets the Royal Regiment of Scotland and Scots Guards would we need those six battalions of infantry. Why would we need six full-time battalions of infantry, why couldn't a territorial force do the same job with just a few regulars?

If Scotland didn't get the Royal Regiment of Scotland and Scots Guards could they use old regimental names. Would the Cameronians return? The Scottish Rifles came into existence in 1881 but the old Cameronians were raised before 1707 and disbanded in 1968 (although a TA unit lasted until 1997). Would the MOD object to the use of the name? How about the Gordons and Seaforths and HLI? The 2nd and 4th battalions of the Royal Regiment of Scotland still carry on their traditions if not their names, so could they be re-used. How about Jacobite regimental names instead. The Atholl Brigade or Bagot's Hussars? Since we won't be a republic or have a Stuart monarch then probably not.

Maybe the answer is a three battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland without any affiliations to former units. No battle honours or hackles to tie them to their past. The unit would be kilted of course because we've covered that in a previous article. In fact would all units become highlanders: The Highland Engineers or the Highland Logistic Corps? Probably not, but maybe a tam o'shanter would replace a beret in the corps. Given some folk like to trumpet the famous Auld Alliance would we ditch or embrace the French headgear if we separate from the Auld Enemy?

Unlike the politicians and the media I am now tiring of this subject and I've barely scratched the surface. I've still not mentioned the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (or dare I say it the Scots Greys). I've not gone into detail about the numbers of ships or planes we'd have. What about a Scottish SAS, we'd need that I'm sure, and for heaven's sake what about the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo!

There are the bombing ranges at Garvie, Tain and Benbecula used by the Royal Navy, RAF and NATO. Would we share them or close them, or use them ourselves? Would that be a good thing or bad thing for Scotland as a whole and what would be the impact to the locals who may benefit from their presence or be delighted to see the back of them? Just starting a list like this has given me lots to think about. Maybe you too. Don't worry though, the papers and internet will be full of it for the next thirty months - Lucky us!

Scots soldiers honoured for Afghan bravery

From the BBC News website. Congratulations to all members of our armed forces honoured. You can see the full list of Honours and Awards on the MOD website here and read more about some of the awards here.

An army dog handler from Fife who died along with his record-breaking spaniel in Afghanistan has been given a posthumous award for his bravery.

L/Cpl Liam Tasker, from the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, received a Mention In Despatches, the oldest recognition of gallantry in the Armed Forces.

He was shot by insurgents while on patrol with his specialist arms and explosives search dog, Theo.

He is one of 140 soldiers on the latest Operational Honours list.

The list includes awards for Scots who rescued injured soldiers while under fire, and charged enemy positions.

Ardrossan soldier Sgt Glen Gardiner, of the 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, received the Military Cross for running through enemy fire to try to save the life of an Afghan National Army soldier who had been critically wounded.

The 35-year-old said it was a normal part of life as a soldier in Afghanistan, and the day of the incident "wasn't different to any other day".

He said: "People say you must have the adrenalin going, however it was just a normal day."

The soldier, who was blown off his feet by enemy fire in a separate incident, added: "It's a job. There's set standards, there's set drills that you put in place, and those set drills and standards save lives."

Life-saving heroics

 

Skye Army Officer, Captain Iain Curren also received a Military Cross. The 29-year-old, of The Royal Highland Fusiliers, commanded an infantry platoon in an extremely dangerous area, and charged an enemy ambush twice to rescue an injured soldier.


A Mention In Despatches was awarded to Port Glasgow soldier Cpl Scott Cox, for his life-saving heroics charging a Taliban machine-gun post while serving in Afghanistan.

He said: "My team and I were conducting traditional dismounted infantry operations on a daily basis and that is exactly the reason that I joined the Army and specifically the Infantry."

Fife soldier, Warrant Officer Class 2 Iain Martin received a Queen's Commendation for Bravery for his work defusing Improvised Explosive Devices.

A Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service was awarded to officers including: Glasgow Army Officer Lt Col Dougald Graham, Fife Army Officer Maj Nick Wight-Boycott, and Edinburgh Army Officer Maj Piers Strudwick.

A Peebles soldier is also to receive a Mention in Despatches.

Lt James MacDonald of the third Battalion The Parachute Regiment put himself in the firing line to identify a Taliban sharpshooter earlier this year - before leading a team to neutralise the threat.

The awards are for actions approximately during the period from 1 October 2010 to 31 March 2011.

Princess Royal to unveil battalion's war memorial

From today's Edinburgh Evening News:

The Princess Royal is to visit soldiers in the Capital to unveil a new war memorial.

She will visit The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (1 SCOTS) on Tuesday to take part in the unveiling and dedication ceremony.

The battalion's spokesperson, Major Norrie McKinnon, said: "The memorial was commissioned to commemorate members of 1 SCOTS killed on operations. There are three names on the memorial: Corporal Johnathan Moore, Lance Corporal Joseph Pool and Private Sean McDonald, who were all killed in Afghanistan.

"The memorial is a modern- design Celtic cross. It has been donated by Stancliffe Stone Limited and the Commanding Officer of 1 SCOTS would like to publicly thank them for their generosity.

"The memorial can be moved with the battalion wherever it is based and will serve as a lasting memory to those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice".

Royal Highland Fusiliers Museum, Glasgow

It's been a while since we took a look at one of Scotland's military museums, so on Monday I took the opportunity of a day off work to visit the museum of the Royal Highland Fusiliers, situated at the top of Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow.

I've visited the museum on many occasions, but on this particular day it seemed I took a little more time around the exhibits, looking at the displays with fresh eyes.

If you've never visited the museum, then you're in for a treat. It's a veritable treasure trove of artefacts from both the Highland Light Infantry and the Royal Scots Fusiliers spanning several hundred years.

The layout stretches over two floors, with the ground floor covering the regiments from their formation up until the outbreak of the First World War, with displays for India, Africa and other parts of the world where colonial campaigns were fought.

The ground floor also features displays for the volunteers and militia, the pipe bands and other musicians, as well as displays of uniform and medals.

The upper floor covers the two World Wars in great detail, with imaginatively laid out displays.

The First World War section is particularly fascinating - it contains many items, a lot of them unique.

The Second World War section is no less interesting, and both the war in Europe and the Far East have a large number of items on display.

The Second World War display then leads on to the final displays covering the RHF from amalgamation to the present day.

The final section is a little disappointing, as it is almost sidelined in a small alcove - another minor grump is that one of the displays is empty, with a sign stating that this display will cover the regiment since its merging in to the Royal Regiment of Scotland. That sign has been there for some time - hopefully the display will be filled fairly soon.

There are plenty of fascinating items to see here, and it's well worth giving yourself plenty of time to take it all in. We plan to feature a number of the items in the museum in our "object of the month" feature in the coming months.

Finally, for the researchers amongst you the museum contains a well-stocked library which is definitely worth visiting. I can testify to discovering many fascinating records in my time there.

The museum also holds one "hidden" aspect.For those of you with an interest in Glasgow design, this museum is a must visit as the interior was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Many of the design features he created can still be seen, particularly in the metal work around the lift shaft.

Mackintosh designed decorative work on the lift shaft.

So if you're visiting Glasgow, make a point of seeing the RHF museum. It really is a hidden gem in the city. More people deserve to know about it.

For more information on the museum, as well as opening hours and a link to their online shop, visit their website at www.rhf.org.uk

Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders colours laid up in Stirling Castle

The Daily Record has an article on the location of one of the "retired" sets of colours from Saturdays ceremony.


The brave men of 5 Scots, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, were out in force at Stirling Castle for a major ceremony to mark the “laying to rest” of regimental colours.

It marked a change in role - from combat to ceremonial - for the men who recently completed a six month tour in Helmand Province.

The sweltering heat in Stirling yesterday was made all the more difficult to bear as the men wore the Argylls No 1 ceremonial dress for the occasion.

And after completing the march and “handing over” ceremony, they took the opportunity to relax with an ice cream on the castle terrace.

The Record last met the men, who serve with A Company, 5 Scots, at Patrol Base Chilli in Helmand during their Afghan tour.

Yesterday, they spoke of re-adjusting to life back home in Scotland.

L/Cpl Eddie Buntine, 24, of Port Glasgow, Renfrewshire, said: “It was a good tour in Helmand but we are all glad to be back safe and sound.

“Everyone made it back - albeit with a few cuts and bruises and other injuries.

“The boys did a great job and worked very hard out there - but obviously it was a great moment to finally make it back home.”

Company Sergeant Major Allan Cunningham said: “Today marks the final laying up of the old Argyll colours.

“It’s the last time they will be escorted by troops although they will be on display to the public at the castle.

“The boys had a hard but rewarding tour in Helmand but we have now moved on from Afghanistan for re-training for their next role as part of 16 Air Assault Brigade.”

Major Neil Brown, commanding officer of A Company, said: “Thank you to A Company for all the hard work they have done over the last fortnight, in which they have retrained from ground-holding infantry soldiers who operated in Afghanistan to a those carrying out a period of ceremonial duties.

“I applaud their self-discipline, patience and style on parade - the Scottish soldier continues to inspire.”

Around 100 A Company men attended a service yesterday morning at the church of Holy Rude in Stirling a short distance from the castle.

The colours were then ceremoniously handed over by the battalion’s commanding officer, Lt Col Adam Griffiths MBE, to Col Bruce Russell, representing the former colonels of the Argylls.

The colours will be displayed at the Argylls’ regimental museum at Stirling Castle, alongside exhibits including uniforms, weapons, paintings, medals and regimental silver.

Yesterday’s ceremony followed the presentation by the Queen of new Colours to The Royal Regiment of Scotland in Edinburgh on Saturday.

The flags, which are of huge symbolic importance, were presented to the Argylls by the Queen in 1996.

They have accompanied the Argylls, now 5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, on tours to Iraq, Bosnia and Northern Ireland - and returned from Afghanistan in April, where they were kept at the army base in Lashkar Gah in Helmand Province.

Colours are normally presented only every 20 to 25 years, and carry mention of battle honours - a decisive battle in which the regiment played a crucial role.

Yesterday’s “laying up” event at Stirling Castle marked the end of an era as the Argylls became 5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland on its formation five years ago.

It means the colours retired yesterday were the last to be presented to the Argylls as a regiment.

2nd July Colours presentation - more photos and video

Today we have some of the photos I took of Saturday's presentation, plus some news footage of the ceremony.

The Royal Company of Archers

2nd Battalion colour party with Assaye Colour, which remained on parade and was not replaced with a new Colour

Lieutenant General Graham inspects the parade

Old Colours are marched off parade

Old Colours are marched off parade

 

New Colours marched on to parade

New Colours uncased and placed on the drm stacks ready for the service of consecration

The bright sunshine of the day meant that I was effectively taking these pictures "blind", so I can only apologise for the quality of them.

And here we have some new coverage of the day, which includes part of the speech given by the Queen.

Colours presentation - 2nd July 2011

Yesterday I attended the presentation of new colours to six battalions of the Royal Regiment of Scotland by Her Majesty the Queen.

It was a fantastic day, with glorious sunshine (resulting in a sunburned face for yours truly!) and an amazing spectacle. This is a once in a lifetime event, and I was delighted that I was able to attend.

My thanks go to Sandy Leishman for swinging an invite for me, and thanks for a great day out to Sandy, Barrie and Euan. You guys were great company.

Unfortunately the batteries on my camera didn't last the day, so I was unable to get shots of every aspect of the ceremony. I'll supplement my photos with some taken by the others in due course, and I'll feature them in a future blog post.

In the meantime, here is a video I took of the old colours being paraded for the final time. I started filming after the first couple of sets of colours had been marched off, so this may start with either the second or third battalions.

Queen to present Colours to regiment

From the BBC News website. I will be at the presentation today, and hope to bring you some pictures from the event later.

The Queen is due to present new colours to The Royal Regiment of Scotland, later.

Her Majesty will present the colours to the six battalions of The Royal Regiment of Scotland for the first time since the regiment's formation five years ago. 

The regiment will then march through Edinburgh.

The occasion marks the first time six battalions from any regiment have been on parade at the same time.
The parade, which will include marching contingents from six of the seven battalions of The Royal Regiment of Scotland, will take place in Holyrood Park.

The 4th Battalion is currently deployed on operations in Afghanistan. 

The parade will also include several hundred veterans from the regiment's antecedent units.

The Queen has been Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Regiment of Scotland since its formation in 2006.

Regimental occasions
 
Colours are important to any army unit. 

They consist of two large brocade and embroidery flags and were originally carried into battle so that soldiers of a particular unit could see where the rest of their unit was located at all times. 

The infantry units of the British army each have two colours; the Queen's Colour, which is a union flag, and a Regimental Colour, which has all the unit's battle honours inscribed on it. 

Colours are no longer carried on the battlefield but are held in the greatest esteem by the soldiers and officers.
They are brought out on important parades and regimental occasions and are escorted by a 'colour party'. 

When new colours are presented, the old ones are not destroyed but are laid up in a regimental museum, church or other military building with significance to its particular unit. 

Colours are normally presented only every 20 to 25 years.

The Royal Regiment of Scotland consists of seven battalions, five regular and two territorial army.

One of these was formed by the amalgamation of the Royal Scots and King's Own Scottish Borderers, while the others are each formed from one of the remaining single-battalion regiments of the Scottish division. 

Along with The Rifles, it is currently the largest infantry regiment in the British army.

The Childers Reforms - On this day on Scottish military history - 1881

1st July 1881 was the date when the Childers Reforms of the British Army were implemented. On that date the old numbered regiments of the army officially disappeared, and many new paired regiments first appeared on the Army List.

The first twenty five regiments of foot already had two battalions so there was very little change for them. For the 26th Foot and the regiments numbered above that then a new name was needed and old traditions and uniform distinctions had to be agreed on. For Highland regiments there was an added twist to this amalgamation because the uniform for each regiment was so distinctive and in many ways so different.

In some cases the pairing led to one battalion completely taking over the identity of the other. The 92nd Highlanders were the junior partner in the amalgamation with the 75th Stirlingshire Regiment but it was the 75th who took on the uniform and name of the Gordon Highlanders. In fact in all cases where kilted regiment amalgamated with a trewed regiment, the new regiment ended up wearing the kilt.

In 1881 there were ten Highland regiments on the army establishment but only five wore kilts. The rest wore trews. The 71st, 72nd, 73rd, 74th and 91st Highlanders had originally been raised as highland regiments in kilts, but in 1809 they had been clothed as line infantry. They had only been allowed to assume a highland identity after hard battles with Horse Guards in London but it was in kilts not trews in which they were clothed.

The 1st Royal Scots, 21st Royal Scots Fusiliers, 26th Cameronians, and 90th Perthshire Light Infantry were all Scottish regiments too, but until 1881 wore the standard line infantry uniform used by English, Welsh and Irish regiments. In 1881 that all changed. Scottish regiments from Lowland to Highland adopted diced bands, tartan and doublets.

Over the years stories have surfaced of the unhappy unions, and the fights over traditions and uniforms. In the Highland Light Infantry the 1st Battalion continued to call itself the 71st, and the 2nd Bn continued to call itself the 74th and each continued to use traditions and uniform distinctions peculiar to their old regiments.

This is understandable given the forced union between many regiments. However that shouldn't have been the case. Since 1873 the infantry regiments of Scotland had been operating a linked depot scheme introduced by the Cardwell Reforms. Each pair of regiments shared a depot in one location which had counties assigned to it for recruiting. Then while one regiment was abroad on overseas imperial duties its linked regiment at home in the UK (including Ireland) would train the new recruits and send drafts of reinforcements when needed. The system worked well and the pairings seemed to suit both parties.

Here are the links and the depots used Between 1873 and 1881 by the Scottish regiments

1st Royal Scots - (2 battalion regiment) at Glencorse
21st Royal Scots Fusiliers - (2 battalion regiment) at Ayr
26th Cameronians and 74th Highlanders at Hamilton
42nd Black Watch and 79th Cameron Highlanders at Perth
71st Highland Light Infantry and 78th Ross-shire Buffs at Inverness
72nd and 91st Argyllshire Highlanders at Stirling
73rd Highlanders and 90th Perthshire Light Infantry at Hamilton
92nd Gordon Highlanders and 93rd Sutherland Highlanders at Aberdeen

The 25th Foot and 75th Foot were not considered Scottish regiments at this point. The 25th was a two battalion regiment at York, and the 75th was linked with the 39th Foot at Dorchester in Dorset.

When Hugh Childers came to reform the regiments it should just have been a case of forming these already linked and similar regiments together into new regiments. That was a sound plan until the proposals were laid before Queen Victoria for her royal assent.

The problem was the proposed amalgamation between the 42nd Black Watch and the 79th Highlanders. The 79th were actually the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders. They were her own highland regiment and she was certainly not amused at the prospect of them becoming 2nd Battalion Black Watch.

At the eleventh hour the proposed amalgamations were thrown into disarray and hurriedly redrawn to accommodate the wishes of the Queen-Empress.

The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders were not to be amalgamated, and for the next sixteen years were to be the only one battalion regiment in the British Army. That meant a new second battalion was needed for the Black Watch, and a reshuffle akin to musical chairs took place to find suitable pairings.

The first change was that the 73rd Highlanders would now move from Hamilton to Perth to become the 2nd Bn Black Watch. This was a sensible move since the 73rd had originally been formed as a second battalion of the Black Watch way back in 1780, before becoming a regiment in its own right in 1786.

The 90th Perthshire Light Infantry had missed the chance to go back home to Perth and stayed in Hamilton. It would now merge with another Hamilton based regiment, the 26th Foot Cameronians, to form Scotland's only green-jacketed rifle regiment as the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). The 1st Battalion as the Cameronians and the 2nd Battalion as the Scottish Rifles.

The 26th's old partner, the 74th Highlanders was to stay at Hamilton too; and it would now be paired with another trews wearing highland regiment, the 71st Highland Light Infantry. This was probably the most controversial of all the moves. The HLI had been very happy being paired with the 78th at Inverness. They had always considered themselves as a proper highland regiment and had petitioned for the return of the kilt on several occasions over the previous seventy years. The Childers reforms had finally promised that chance as they would have adopted the Mackenzie kilt of the 78th instead of their Mackenzie trews. Their amalgamation at Hamilton with another Lowland regiment robbed them of that chance. As a sop to the senior partner the new regiment adopted the 71st's name and tartan but it was not a happy union on either side.

With the 78th now needing a new pairing the 72nd Highlanders at Stirling was chosen. This suited both parties as both had been raised by Mackenzies, and in this case the 72nd were happy to ditch their garish Royal Stewart tartan trews and adopted the Mackenzie kilt of their junior partner. They happily merged as the Seaforth Highlanders using the 72nd's Stag's head badge.

This left another gap at Stirling, and the 91st now paired with the 93rd Highlanders. In this case too the junior partner was given 'top billing' and it was originally called the Sutherland and Argyll Highlanders. It was another few months before it took on the more familiar name of Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.

Finally the 92nd at Aberdeen needed another regiment. There were no more regiments available in Scottish depots so an old Scottish regiment now depoted outside Scotland was needed. The 94th Scotch Brigade at Armagh, or the 99th Lanarkshire regiment at Devizes could have been chosen; but it was the 75th Foot, the old Stirlingshire regiment which was poached from Dorset and sent north to Aberdeen. The West Countrymen were to become Highlanders overnight. The 75th's place in Dorchester was taken by the 54th regiment, which had been paired with the 95th at Derby, and in turn was replaced by the 45th which had been at Leicester with the 17th Foot. Luckily the 17th Foot was a two battalion regiment so no more reshuffling was needed.

Well not quite. The 25th Foot was at York in 1881, but in 1887 the King's Own Borderers became the King's Own Scottish Borderers. The old Edinburgh Regiment was given the whole of the Scottish Borders from Berwick to Galloway as a recruiting area from the Royal Scots, and Royal Scots Fusiliers; and a depot at Berwick-upon-Tweed from the Northumberland Fusiliers.

By then the process of adapting new names, uniforms and badges had been adopted by the other Scottish Regiments. The KOSB finally came into the fold six years after the others but it was on this day one hundred and thirty years ago that the paired regiments (Cameronians, Black Watch, Highland Light Infantry, Seaforths, Gordons and Argylls) which became famed throughout the world for their service in two world wars, came into being.

Armed Forces Day 2010 - Edinburgh event details:

Recent updates from Edinburgh City Council gave the impression that today's events were taking place in Holyrood Park. It looks like that is tomorrow and today's events are mainly happening in West Princes Street Gardens:

From: http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/news/article/93/thousands_to_show_support_for_armed_forces_past_present_and_future

13:00 Armed Forces Day Parade will depart from Edinburgh Castle Esplanade and proceed down the Royal Mile, past the City Chambers and the Saluting Dais and down to Princes Street Gardens, halting at Mound Precinct, National Galleries.

14:00 The Ross Theatre in Princes Street Gardens will host:

Tea in the Marquees. A chance for members of the armed forces, veterans and the general public to mingle over a cuppa

Information stands will display information about Veterans Associations, the Armed Forces and Armed Forces Day.

Various activities will be taking place along in Princes Street Gardens throughout the afternoon, including an inflatable assault course, face painting and a bouncy castle.

Performances from the Royal Regiment of Scotland Band

14:15 Official Speeches

14:30 Military Music set at Ross Bandstand

16:30 Ceremony of Beating Retreat

KOSB Colours to be paraded through Borders for last time

From today's Border Telegraph

The Colours of the Kings Own Scottish Borderers will be paraded in The Borders for the last time when the Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (1 SCOTS) march through Melrose this weekend.

This is due to The Royal Regiment of Scotland being presented with new Colours from Her Majesty The Queen on Saturday, July 2.

In keeping with tradition dating back hundreds of years, the Battalion will parade through the town to show their thanks for the support that members of the public have shown the Battalion.

The parade, on Saturday, June 11, will also give the local population a chance to come out to show their appreciation to the Battalion for the hard work that they have carried out during their recent tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Many friends and families are also expected to turn out for the parade to show their appreciation and support for the troops.

The Parade takes place two-weeks before Armed Forces Day (AFD) 2011 which is to be held on Saturday, June 25, with events set to take place up and down the country over the two-week period from June 18 to July 3.

Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir David Richards, said: "I am delighted that I will be in Edinburgh again this year, now as Chief of the Defence Staff, to take part in the national event celebrations.

"Armed Forces Day is in its third year, and, from the start, has inspired the Nation to show its support for the servicemen and women of the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force at events across the country."

Traditionally The Borders along with Edinburgh and the Lothians have been recruiting grounds for 1 SCOTS.

The Parade, which will include a total of 96 officers and men, will form up at 11am in Gibson Park before marching through Melrose town centre and back to the park.