King's Own Scottish Borderers

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The King's Own Scottish Borderers was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. It was raised in 1689 by the Earl of Leven. It was once known as Semphill's Regiment of Foot, the name under which it fought at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. The regiment was ranked as the 25th Foot in 1751. The 25th was the county regiment of Sussex from 1782 to 1805, before its recruiting area was moved to the Scottish Borders region. From then it was known as the King's Own Borderers, becoming the King's Own Scottish Borderers in 1887.

[edit] Restructuring of the Infantry

Until 2004 the regiment was one of five in the line infantry never to have been amalgamated, the others being:

• The Royal Scots
• The Green Howards
• The 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment
• The Royal Welch Fusiliers

In 2004, as part of the British Government's defence review, it was announced that Scotland would lose an infantry battalion. It is believed that this will be achieved through the amalgamation of the King's Own Scottish Borderers with the Royal Scots. This single battalion will form part of the new Royal Regiment of Scotland.

[edit] Court Case

Campaigners against the amalgamation of the KOSB have argued that the Westminster government is "outwith the competency" (i.e. does not have the right) to merge or disband the regiment, because it was raised by the independent Scottish Parliament prior to the foundation of the United Kingdom and has been in continuous service ever since. To this end, the campaigners have gone to court in Edinburgh in an attempt to get an injunction against the amalgamation with the Royal Scots.