List of battalions of the Royal Scots
This is a list of battalions of the Royal Scots, which existed as an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1633 to 2006.
Original composition
[edit]In 1881, under the Cardwell-Childers reforms of the British Armed Forces, one pre-existent militia and seven volunteer battalions of Edinburgh, Midlothian, Berwickshire, Haddingtonshire and Linlithgowshire were integrated into the structure of the Royal Scots. Volunteer battalions had been created in reaction to a perceived threat of invasion by France in the late 1850s. Organised as "rifle volunteer corps", they were independent of the British Army and composed primarily of the middle class. The only change to the regiment's structure during the period of 1881–1908, was the loss of the 1st Berwickshire Rifle Volunteer Corps, and the numbering of the remaining Rifle Volunteer Corps into Volunteer Battalions.
| Battalion | Formed | Formerly | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular | ||||
| 1st | 1625 | |||
| 2nd | 1686 | |||
| 3rd | 1804 (disbanded 1817) | |||
| 4th | 1804 (disbanded 1816) | |||
| Militia | ||||
| 3rd (Militia) | 1798 | Queen's Edinburgh Light Infantry Militia[1] | ||
| Volunteers | ||||
| 1st Volunteer | 1859 | 1st Battalion, 1st Edinburgh (City) Rifle Volunteer Corps | ||
| 2nd Volunteer | 1865 | 2nd Battalion, 1st Edinburgh (City) Rifle Volunteer Corps | ||
| 3rd Volunteer | 1888 | |||
| 4th Volunteer | 1859 | 2nd Edinburgh (City) Rifle Volunteer Corps[2] | ||
| 5th Volunteer | 1859 | 1st Midlothian (Leith) Rifle Volunteer Corps[3] | ||
| 6th Volunteer | 1860 | 2nd Midlothian (Midlothian and Peebles-shire) Rifle Volunteer Corps[4] | ||
| 7th Volunteer | 1860 | 1st Haddington Rifle Volunteer Corps[5] | ||
| 8th Volunteer | 1860 | 1st Linlithgowshire Rifle Volunteer Corps[6] | ||
| 9th (Highlanders) Volunteer | 1900 | [7] | ||
Reorganisation
[edit]The Territorial Force (later Territorial Army) was formed in 1908, which the volunteer battalions joined, while the militia battalions transferred to the "Special Reserve". All volunteer battalions were renumbered to create a single sequential order.
| Battalion | Formerly |
|---|---|
| 4th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) | 1st Volunteer Battalion (along with elements of 3rd Volunteer Battalion) |
| 5th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) | 2nd Volunteer Battalion (along with elements of 3rd Volunteer Battalion) |
| 6th | 4th Volunteer Battalion |
| 7th | 5th Volunteer Battalion |
| 8th | 6th Volunteer Battalion |
| 9th (Highlanders) | 9th Volunteer Battalion (Highlanders) |
| 10th (Cyclist) | 8th Volunteer Battalion |
First World War
[edit]The Royal Scots fielded 35 battalions and lost 11,213 officers and other ranks during the course of the war.[8] The regiment's territorial components formed duplicate second and third line battalions. As an example, the battalions of the 4th King's were numbered as the 1/4th, 2/4th, and 3/4th respectively. Many battalions of the Royal Scots were formed as part of Secretary of State for War Lord Kitchener's appeal for an initial 100,000 men volunteers in 1914. They were referred to as the New Army or Kitchener's Army. The 15th to 18th King's, New Army "Service" battalions, were referred to as the "Pals" because they were predominantly composed of colleagues.[9] The Volunteer Training Corps were raised with overage or reserved occupation men early in the war, and were initially self-organised into many small corps, with a wide variety of names. Recognition of the corps by the authorities brought regulation and as the war continued the small corps were formed into battalion sized units of the county Volunteer Regiment. In 1918 these were linked to county regiments.[10]
| Battalion | Formed | Served | Fate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular[11][12] | ||||
| 1st | 1625 | Western Front | ||
| 2nd | 1686 | Western Front | ||
| Special Reserve[11][12] | ||||
| 3rd (Reserve) | 1798 | Britain, Ireland | ||
| Territorial Force[11][12] | ||||
| 1/4th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) | 1859 | Western Front | See Inter-War | |
| 1/5th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) | 1865 | Gallipoli, Western Front | Amalgamated with 1/6th in June 1916 | |
| 1/6th | 1859 | North Africa, Western Front | Amalgamated with 1/5th in June 1916 | |
| 1/7th | 1859 | Gallipoli, Middle East, Western Front | See Inter-War | |
| 1/8th | 1860 | Western Front | See Inter-War | |
| 1/9th (Highlanders) | 1900 | Western Front | See Inter-War | |
| 1/10th (Cyclist) | 1860 | Britain, Ireland | See Inter-War | |
| 2/4th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) | Edinburgh, September 1914 | Britain, Ireland | Disbanded in August 1917 | |
| 2/5th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) | Edinburgh, September 1914 | Britain, Ireland | Absorbed into 2/4th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) in November 1916 | |
| 2/6th | Edinburgh, March 1915 | Britain, Ireland | Merged with 2/4th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) in November 1915 | |
| 2/7th | Leith, August 1914 | Britain, Ireland | Disbanded in March 1918 | |
| 2/8th | Haddington, September 1914 | Britain, Ireland | Disbanded in Summer 1917 | |
| 2/9th (Highlanders) | Edinburgh, September 1914 | Britain, Ireland | Disbanded in July 1918 | |
| 2/10th (Cyclist) | Linlithgow, September 1914 | North Russia | Disbanded June 1919 | |
| 3/4th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) | Peebles, May 1915 | Britain, Ireland | Absorbed into 4th (Reserve) Battalion in July 1916 | |
| 3/5th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) | Peebles, May 1915 | Britain, Ireland | Absorbed into 4th (Reserve) Battalion in July 1916 | |
| 3/6th | Peebles, July 1915 | Britain, Ireland | Absorbed into 4th (Reserve) Battalion in July 1916 | |
| 3/7th | Peebles, June 1915 | Britain, Ireland | Absorbed into 4th (Reserve) Battalion in July 1916 | |
| 3/8th | Peebles, December 1914 | Britain, Ireland | Absorbed into 4th (Reserve) Battalion in July 1916 | |
| 3/9th | Peebles, June 1915 | Britain, Ireland | Absorbed into 4th (Reserve) Battalion in July 1917 | |
| 4th (Reserve) | Hawick, June 1916 | Britain, Ireland | Disbanded in 1918 | |
| 5th/6th | France, July 1916 | Western Front | Disbanded sometime after October 1919 | |
| New Army[11][12] | ||||
| 11th (Service) | Edinburgh, August 1914 | Western Front | Disbanded sometime after November 1919 | |
| 12th (Service) | Edinburgh, August 1914 | Western Front | Disbanded in June 1919 | |
| 13th (Service) | Edinburgh, August 1914 | Western Front | Disbanded in June 1919 | |
| 14th (Reserve) | Weymouth, November 1914 | Britain, Ireland | Became the 54th Training Reserve Battalion, February 1916 | |
| 15th (1st City of Edinburgh) (Service) (Cranston's Battalion) | Edinburgh, September 1914 | Western Front | Disbanded in August 1918 | |
| 16th (2nd City of Edinburgh) (Service) (McCrae's Battalion) | Edinburgh, December 1914 | Western Front | Disbanded in August 1918 | |
| 17th (Service) (Rosebery's Bantams) | Edinburgh, February 1915 | Western Front | Disbanded sometime after April 1919 | |
| 18th (Reserve) | Edinburgh, July 1915 | Britain, Ireland | Became the 77th Training Battalion, September 1916 | |
| Others[11][12] | ||||
| 19th (Labour) | Blairgowrie, April 1916 | Western Front | Transferred to Labour Corps as 1st and 2nd Labour Companies, in April 1917 | |
| 1st Garrison | Edinburgh, August 1915 | Britain, Egypt, Cyprus | Disbanded in May 1919 | |
| 2nd Garrison | Leith, August 1916 | Britain | Became 1st Battalion, Royal Defence Corps, August 1917 | |
| Volunteer Training Corps[13] | ||||
| 1/1st Battalion City of Edinburgh Volunteer Regiment later the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Royal Scots Regiment |
Edinburgh | Disbanded post war | ||
| 2/1st Battalion City of Edinburgh Volunteer Regiment later the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Royal Scots Regiment |
Edinburgh | Disbanded post war | ||
| 1/1st Battalion Midlothian Volunteer Regiment later the 3rd Volunteer Battalion, Royal Scots Regiment |
Edinburgh | Disbanded post war | ||
| 2/1st Battalion Midlothian Volunteer Regiment later the 4th Volunteer Battalion, Royal Scots Regiment |
Lieth | Disbanded post war | ||
| 1st Battalion Haddingtonshire Volunteer Regiment later the 5th Volunteer Battalion, Royal Scots Regiment |
Haddington | Disbanded post war | ||
| 1st Battalion Linlithgowshire Volunteer Regiment later the 6th Volunteer Battalion, Royal Scots Regiment |
Linlithgow | Disbanded post war | ||
| 1st Battalion Peebles-shire Volunteer Regiment later the 7th Volunteer Battalion, Royal Scots Regiment |
Peebles | Disbanded post war | ||
Inter-War
[edit]By 1922, all of the regiment's war-raised battalions had disbanded. The King's Regiment did not, however, return to its original peacetime size; it lost many of its territorial battalions shortly after the war ended. The Special Reserve reverted to its militia designation in 1921, then to the Supplementary Reserve in 1924; however, its battalions were effectively placed in 'suspended animation'. As World War II approached, the Territorial Army was reorganised in the mid-1930s, many of its infantry battalions were converted to other roles, especially anti-aircraft.
| Battalion | Fate |
|---|---|
| 4th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) | Absorbed 5th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) Battalion, and 10th (Cyclist) Battalion, to form 4th/5th Battalion (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) in 1921[14] |
| 5th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) | Amalgamated with 4th Battalion (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles), to form 4th/5th Battalion (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) in 1921[15] |
| 6th | Amalgamated with 8th Battalion, and transferred to the Royal Garrison Artillery, forming part of 57th (Lowland) Medium Brigade in 1921[16] |
| 7th | Absorbed 9th (Highlanders) Battalion, to form 7th/9th Battalion in 1921[17] |
| 8th | Amalgamated with 6th Battalion, and transferred to the Royal Garrison Artillery, forming part of 57th (Lowland) Medium Brigade in 1921 |
| 9th (Highlanders) | Amalgamated with 7th Battalion, to form 7th/9th Battalion in 1921 |
| 10th (Cyclist) | Absorbed into 4th/5th Battalion, as A Company, in 1921 |
Second World War
[edit]The Royal Scots expansion during the Second World War was modest compared to 1914–1918. National Defence Companies were combined to create a new "Home Defence" battalion. In addition 17 battalions of the Home Guard were affiliated to the regiment, wearing its cap badge, and also by 1944 two batteries of [Anti-Aircraft] rocket batteries (Z Battery.[18] A Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) troop was formed from one of the local battalions to defend a power station.[19] Due to the daytime (or shift working) occupations of the men in the LAA troops, the troops required eight times the manpower of an equivalent regular unit.
| Battalion | Formed | Served | Fate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular[20] | ||||
| 1st | 1625 | France, India Burma | See Post-World War II | |
| 2nd | 1686 | Hong Kong, Italy Palestine | See Post-World War II | |
| Territorial Army[20] | ||||
| 4th/5th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) (52nd Searchlight Regiment) | 1921 | Britain | Transferred to the Royal Artillery, July 1940 and became 52nd Searchlight Regiment (Queen's Edinburgh, Royal Scots) | |
| 7th/9th (Highlanders) | 1921 | Britain, Western Front | See Post-World War II | |
| 8th (Lothians and Peebleshire) | Formed as a duplicate of 7th/9th (Highlanders), August 1939 | Britain, France, North West Europe | See Post-World War II | |
| 10th (Home Defence) | Late 1939 | Britain | Redesignated as the 30th Battalion, 1941 | |
| 11th (Home Defence) | Late 1939 | Britain | Disbanded in 1940 | |
| 12th | October 1940 | Britain | Disbanded in 1942 | |
| 30th | Redesignation of 10th (Home Defence) Battalion, 1941 | Britain | Disbanded in 1943 | |
| Others[20] | ||||
| 50th (Holding) | June 1940 | Britain | Redesignated as the 12th Battalion, October 1940 | |
| Home Guard[21] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battalion | Headquarters | Formation Sign (dark blue on khaki) | Battalion | Headquarters | Formation Sign (dark blue on khaki) | |
| Edinburgh | ||||||
| 1st | City of Edinburgh | EGH 1 | 2nd | City of Edinburgh | EGH 2 | |
| 3rd | City of Edinburgh | EGH 3 | 4th (Portobello) | City of Edinburgh | EGH 4 | |
| 5th | City of Edinburgh | EGH 5 | 6th | City of Edinburgh | EGH 6 | |
| 7th (Musselburgh) | City of Edinburgh | EGH 7 | 8th | City of Edinburgh | EGH 8 | |
| 9th (University STC) | City of Edinburgh | EGH 9 | 10th (3rd Bn London and North Easter Railway) | City of Edinburgh | EGH 10 | |
| 11th (11 G.P.O.) | City of Edinburgh | EGH 11 | ||||
| West Lothian | ||||||
| 1st | North Berwick | EL 1 | 2nd | Haddington | EL 2 | |
| Mid Lothian | ||||||
| 1st | Edinburgh | ML 1 | 2nd | Dalkeith | ML 2 | |
| East Lothian | ||||||
| 1st | Edinburgh | WL 1 | 2nd | Bathgate | WL 2 | |
| Home Guard Light Anti-Aircraft units[18][19] | ||||||
| Formation Sign (dark blue on khaki) |
Headquarters or Location | AA Formation and Designation | Formation Sign (dark blue on khaki) |
Headquarters or Location | AA Formation and Designation | |
| EGH 101 | Portobello | 208th Battery 20th Anti Aircraft Regiment (Home Guard) | EGH 102 | Edinburgh | 217th Battery 20th Anti Aircraft Regiment (Home Guard) | |
| EGH 4 | Portobello Electricity Power station |
A Troop LAA | ||||
Post-World War II
[edit]In the immediate post-war period, the army was significantly reduced: nearly all infantry regiments had their first and second battalions amalgamated and the Supplementary Reserve disbanded.
| Battalion | Fate |
|---|---|
| 1st | Amalgamated with the remaining five Scottish infantry regiments, to form the Royal Regiment of Scotland, March 2006 |
| 2nd | Disbanded February 1949 |
| 3rd | Disbanded 1953 |
| 7th/9th (Highlanders) | Absorbed duplicate 8th Battalion, April 1961, and renumbered 8th/9th Battalion Disbanded 1967, as two separate companies: A Company, 52nd Lowland Volunteers and A Company, The Royal Scots and Cameronians Territorials |
| 8th (Lothians and Peebleshire) | Amalgamated with 7/9th Battalion, to form 8th/9th Battalion, April 1961 |
References
[edit]- ^ "Royal Scots - 3rd (Militia) Battalion Lineage". Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- ^ "Records of the Scottish volunteer force, 1859-1908" (PDF). p. 239. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- ^ "Records of the Scottish volunteer force, 1859-1908" (PDF). p. 244. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- ^ "Records of the Scottish volunteer force, 1859-1908" (PDF). p. 248. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- ^ "Records of the Scottish volunteer force, 1859-1908" (PDF). p. 253. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- ^ "Records of the Scottish volunteer force, 1859-1908" (PDF). p. 258. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- ^ "Records of the Scottish volunteer force, 1859-1908" (PDF). p. 260. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- ^ "The Royal Scots - The Somme". 14 June 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- ^ James 1978, p. 43
- ^ Westlake, Ray (2020). Guide to the Volunteer Training Corps 1914-1918. Uckfield: Naval and Military Press. pp. 4–7. ISBN 9781783315390.
- ^ a b c d e "The Long, Long Trail - The British Army in the Great War of 1914-1918". Archived from the original on 8 February 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Royal Scots - WW1 Battalion". 7 June 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- ^ Westlake pps. 111, 118, 122-123, 125
- ^ "1st Battalion, The Queen's Edinburgh Rifle Volunteer Brigade". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 4 March 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ "2nd Battalion, The Queen's Edinburgh Rifle Volunteer Brigade". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 31 December 2006. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ "6th Battalion, The Royal Scots". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 1 March 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ "Lothians & Peebleshire Battalion, The Royal Scots". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 25 February 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ a b Whittaker pp. 107-108
- ^ a b Whittaker p. 124
- ^ a b c "Royal Scots - Battalions in WW2". 13 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ "History of the Home Guard". Retrieved 3 July 2022.
Bibliography
[edit]- James, Brigadier E.A. (1978). British Regiments 1914–18. London: Samson Books Limited. ISBN 0-906304-03-2.
- Whittacker, L B (1990). Stand Down. Orders of battle for the units of the Home Guard of the United Kingdom, November 1944. Newport: Ray Westlake Military Books. ISBN 1871167140.