Royal Regiment of Scotland

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=Royal Regiment of Scotland


caption=Cap Badge of The Royal Regiment of Scotland
dates=28 March 2006 -
country=United Kingdom
branch=British Army
type=Line Infantry
command_structure=Scottish Division
role=1st Battalion - Light Role
2nd Battalion - Light Role
3rd Battalion - Light Role
4th Battalion - Armoured Infantry
5th Battalion - Air Assault
6th Battalion - TA Reserve
7th Battalion - TA Reserve
size= Seven Battalions
current_commander=
garrison= RHQ - Edinburgh
1st Battalion - Edinburgh
2nd Battalion - Penicuik
3rd Battalion - Fort George
4th Battalion - Fallingbostel, Germany
5th Battalion - Canterbury
6th Battalion - Glasgow
7th Battalion - Perth
ceremonial_chief=HM The Queen
ceremonial_chief_label=Colonel in Chief
colonel_of_the_regiment= Lieutenant General A.J.N. Graham, CBE
nickname=
motto="Nemo Me Impune Lacessit"
(Touch Me not With Impunity)
(Latin)
colors=
identification_symbol_2= [http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb309/hammersfan_01/Tartans/Government.gifGovernment]
identification_symbol_2_label=Tartan
identification_symbol=
identification_symbol_label=Tactical Recognition Flash
identification_symbol_3=Black and White Cockfeather
identification_symbol_3_label=Hackle
identification_symbol_4=SCOTS
identification_symbol_4_label=Abbreviation
march=Quick - "Scotland the Brave"
Slow - "My Home"/"Mist Covered Mountains"/"Highland Cradle Song"
mascot=
battles=
notable_commanders=
anniversaries=

The Royal Regiment of Scotland (SCOTS) is the senior and only Scottish line infantry regiment of the British Army Infantry. It consists of five regular and two territorial battalions, each formerly an individual regiment (with the exception of the first battalion, which is an amalgamation of two regiments). However, each battalion maintains its former regimental Pipes and Drums to carry on the traditions of their antecedent regiments.

History

As part of restructuring in the British Army, the Royal Regiment of Scotland's creation was announced by the Secretary of State for Defence, Geoff Hoon in the House of Commons on 16 December 2004, after the merger of several regiments and the reduction in total regular infantry battalions from 40 to 36 was outlined in the defence white paper, "Delivering Security in a Changing World", several months earlier.

The regiment consists of a total of seven battalions: 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. Of all of the new regiments formed following the announcement of 16 December 2004, the Royal Regiment of Scotland is the only one where the former regimental titles have been prominently retained with the new numbered battalion designations as subtitles. There is however a common regimental cap badge, tartan, stable belt and Glengarry headdress but distinctively coloured hackles are also worn by each separate battalion on the Tam o' Shanter headdress in order to maintain their individual identity and the pipes and drums of each battalion continue to wear the historic cap badges and tartans of their former regiments. Along with The Rifles, The Royal Regiment of Scotland is also one of only two line infantry regiments to maintain its own regular military band within the Corps of Army Music, which was formed through the amalgamation of the Highland band and Lowland band of the Scottish Division. In addition, there are two Territorial bands, The Band of 51st (Scottish) Brigade and The Lowland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, which are administered by the regiment's two Territorial battalions. The regiment also has its own Parachute Display Team, the Golden Lions [ [http://www.goldenlions.org.uk/ The Golden Lions] ] .

In 1948, every regiment of line infantry was reduced to a single battalion. The subsequent process of reducing the overall number of infantry battalions in the Army through downsizing or amalgamation of the traditional county regiments that were formalised in the Childers Reforms of 1881 to form larger multi-battalion regiments, has continued to affect most of the British Army Infantry since the 1957 Defence White Paper outlined the first mergers. The creation of the Royal Regiment of Scotland encountered considerable opposition amongst former soldiers, conservatives and nationalist groups. It has been argued that the establishment of large regiments in the British Army during the 1960s, such as the Royal Green Jackets, The Light Infantry, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and Royal Anglian Regiment, quickly led to a loss of separate identity amongst the constituent battalions as personnel were posted back and forward. The new regiment is also primarily a kilted one and there are concerns that the much older Lowland units, which traditionally wore trews, will be effectively absorbed into a Highland ethos. However, the Ministry of Defence's case that change was necessary in order to enhance operational efficiency through economies of scale, improve and create more flexible conditions of service and to resolve chronic recruiting and retention problems amongst the eight single-battalion Scottish regiments appears to have been accepted by the majority of serving personnel, and indeed was recommended by the then Chief of the General Staff, Sir Mike Jackson. Jackson delegated the decision on how the reduction of battalions would be achieved to the Council of Scottish Colonels. It is understood that at the meeting the Colonels were invited to speak in turn on how the reduction should be achieved. The Royal Scots Colonel speaking first on behalf of the senior regiment suggested that his regiment should be amalgamated with The King's Own Scottish Borderers, this suggestion was accepted by the remaining regiments less the The King's Own Scottish Borders who's Colonel petitioned Jackson directly but to no avail. It is thought that the Colonel of The Royal Scots feared that his regiment would be disbanded due to its long term poor recruiting record and high reliance on Commonwealth recruits. The insistence in some quarters that the Scottish regiments must be treated as a special case, similar to the Guards Division, has not won wide support amongst the army at large. The amalgamation remains an emotive one however because of the symbolic loss of historical continuity through the individual regimental status of each battalion. An organization called Save the Scottish Regiments [ [http://www.savethescottishregiments.co.uk/main.htm Save the Scottish Regiments] ] was created to campaign against the plan, and the influential newspaper "The Scotsman" also opposed it.

The status of the Black Watch was particularly controversial. When the plan to amalgamate the regiments was announced, the Black Watch was deployed at Camp Dogwood in a relatively dangerous region of Iraq. Hoon was accused by the SNP of "stabbing the soldiers in the back" and being motivated purely by political and administrative concerns, with little regard to the effect on morale. This controversy was further exacerbated by the revelation that a former Colonel of the Black Watch, Lieutenant-General Alistair Irwin, had originally drafted the Army Board proposals to amalgamate the Scottish Division [ [http://www.thecourier.co.uk/output/2004/08/25/newsstory6260890t0.asp The Courier] ] .

In August 2005, the new regimental cap badge was unveiled - it incorporates the Saltire of St Andrew and the Lion Rampant, which are two prominent symbols of Scotland. As a Royal regiment, the cap badge is surmounted by a crown, in this case the Crown of Scotland. The regiment's motto is "Nemo Me Impune Lacessit" (No One Assails Me With Impunity) - which is the motto of the Order of the Thistle, Scotlands highest order of chivalry, and was also the motto of four of the pre-existing Scottish regiments. The new ceremonial uniform incorporates elements from most of the former regiments [ [http://www.army.mod.uk/infantry/regts/scots/news_room/dress/index.htm Royal Regiment of Scotland - Dress Regulations] ] , with the former regimental motto of the Highlanders, "Cuidich 'n Righ" (Aid the King), incorporated in the Royal Scots Thistle pattern collar dogs of ceremonial dress uniforms. Also in No. 1 and No. 2 pattern ceremonial dress, all battalions wear a black and white cockfeather hackle attached to a Glengarry (although described as a Lowland pattern Glengarry, this pattern was in fact also common to the Seaforth Highlanders and Gordon Highlanders as well as the three Lowland regiments), in a tradition taken from the Royal Scots and King's Own Scottish Borderers. While in combat dress, each battalion wears its own unique coloured hackle on the Tam O'Shanter:

*1st Battalion - Black
*2nd Battalion - White
*3rd Battalion - Red
*4th Battalion - Blue
*5th Battalion - Green
*6th Battalion - White/Black
*7th Battalion - Red/Blue/Green

The regiment was initially formed of six regular battalions on March 28 2006. On August 1 2006, the Royal Scots Battalion and King's Own Scottish Borderers Battalion were amalgamated into the 1st Battalion, Royal Scots Borderers, leaving the final regular roll of five battalions. The Regimental Headquarters is located at Edinburgh Castle, although each regular battalion continues to maintain their own former regimental headquarters and museums within their respective recruiting areas.

Organisation

All regular battalions in the Royal Regiment of Scotland, to preserve regional ties and former regimental indentites, took the name of their former individual regiments.

*Regular battalions
**The Royal Scots Borderersfn|1, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland
**The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland
**The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland
**The Highlanders, 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland
**The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland
*Territorial battalions
**52nd Lowland, 6th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland
**51st Highland, 7th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotlandfnb|1 Royal Scots Borderers is the name of the combined Royal Scots and King's Own Scottish Borderers battalion.

Under the restructuring and the end of the arms plot, each regular battalion will be given a specific operational role:
*The Royal Scots Borderers - Light Role (19 Light Brigade)
*The Royal Highland Fusiliers - Light Role (52 Infantry Brigade)
*The Black Watch - Light Role (19 Light Brigade)
*The Highlanders - Armoured infantry (7 Armoured Brigade)
*The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders - Air Assault (16 Air Assault Brigade)

Due to their relatively flexible nature, the three light role battalions will rotate periodically, with either the Royal Scots Borderers or Royal Highland Fusiliers having responsibility for public duties in Edinburgh depending upon which one is under the command of 52nd Infantry Brigade at the time. The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders will rotate the air assault role with two other line infantry/rifles battalions in 16th Air Assault Brigade; when it is not in this role, it will serve as a light role battalion in 52 Infantry Brigade. As an armoured unit, The Highlanders will remain in its fixed location as part of 7th Armoured Brigade in Germany. The two Territorial battalions come under the command of 51st (Scottish) Brigade, the Regional Brigade administering the TA in Scotland.

The regiment's Colonel-in-Chief is HM The Queen. The colonels-in-chief of the constituent regiments making up the new regiment have become the Royal Colonels of their representative battalions:
*1st Battalion - HRH The Princess Royalfn|2
*2nd Battalion - HRH The Duke of York
*3rd Battalion - HRH The Duke of Rothesayfn|3
*4th Battalion - HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
*5th Battalion - HM The Queen
*6th Battalion - HRH The Princess Royal
*7th Battalion - HRH The Duke of Rothesayfnb|2The King's Own Scottish Borderers, now amalgamated with the Royal Scots to form the 1st Battalion, have not had a Colonel-in-Chief since the death of Princess Alice in 2004.
fnb|3Duke of Rothesay is the title assumed by the Prince of Wales while in Scotland.

Alliances

The status of previous alliances is unclear at this time, and it is believed that previous regimental alliances will not automatically be carried over to The Royal Regiment of Scotland. It is also unclear if alliances will be perpetuated by single battalions of the Royal Regiment, or to the regiment as a whole. Until the issue is decided, individual battalions will maintain the alliances of their antecedent regiments.

;The Royal Scots Borderers
*CAN - The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's)
*CAN - The Royal Newfoundland Regiment
*CAN - 1st Battalion, The Royal New Brunswick Regiment (Carleton and York)
*AUS - 25th/49th Battalion, The Royal Queensland Regiment
*MAS - 5th Battalion, The Royal Malay Regiment
*RSA - The Witwatersrand Rifles
*RN - HMS "Edinburgh"

;The Royal Highland Fusiliers
*CAN - The Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada
*NZL - The Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
*PAK - 11th Battalion, The Baluch Regiment
*RSA - Prince Alfred's Guard

;The Black Watch
*CAN - The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada
*CAN - 1st Air Defence Regiment (Lanark and Renfrew Scottish), Royal Canadian Artillery
*CAN - The Prince Edward Island Regiment (RCAC)
*AUS - The Royal Queensland Regiment
*AUS - The Royal New South Wales Regiment
*RSA - The Transvaal Scottish
*NZL - The New Zealand Scottish
*RN - HMS "Montrose"

;The Highlanders
*CAN - The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa
*CAN - The 48th Highlanders of Canada
*CAN - The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada
*CAN - The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada
*CAN - The Toronto Scottish Regiment (Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's Own)
*AUS - 7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment
*AUS - 5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment (formerly 5th Battalion, The Victorian Scottish Regiment)
*AUS - The Royal South Australia Regiment
*AUS - The Royal Western Australia Regiment
*NZL - The Otago and Southland Regiment
*NZL - The Wellington (City of Wellington's Own) and Hawke's Bay Regiment
*RSA - The Cape Town Highlanders
*RN - HMS "Sutherland"
*RN - HMS "Victorious"

;The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
*CAN - The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's)
*CAN - The Calgary Highlanders
*AUS - The Royal Queensland Regiment
*AUS - The Royal New South Wales Regiment
*PAK - 1st Battalion (Scinde), The Frontier Force Regiment
*RN - HMS "Argyll"

Order of Precedence

Lineage

ee also

*Structure of the British Army and its 2004 restructuring

*Scots Guards
*Royal Scots Dragoon Guards

References

External links

* [http://www.army.mod.uk/infantry/regts/scots/index.htm Regimental Website]
*http://www.royalregimentofscotland.org.uk
* [http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/HistoryAndHonour/RoyalRegimentOfScotlandOpensNewChapterForTheArmy.htm Defence News: Royal Regiment of Scotland officially formed]