Lovat Scouts

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The Lovat Scouts was a yeomanry regiment of the Territorial Army, now a platoon of the 51st Highland Regiment.

1 History
2 Other information
3 Battle honours
4 References

[edit] History

[edit] Formation

The regiment was formed in January 1900 for service in the Second Boer War by Simon Joseph Fraser, 16th Lord Lovat, father of the World War II commando, Simon Fraser, 17th Lord Lovat. The Scouts were attached to the Black Watch but were disbanded in July 1901 while two companies (the 113th and 114th) were formed for the Imperial Yeomanry. When the Boer War ended in 1902 the two companies of the Imperial Yeomanry were disbanded.

It was reformed the following year, consisting of two regiments, titled the 1st and 2nd Lovat Scouts.

[edit] First World War

The two Lovat Scouts regiments saw extensive involvement in the First World War. Each regiment raised two further duplicate battalions during the war. The Lovat Scouts saw service on the Western Front, at Gallipoli, and in Egypt and Macedonia.

With the defence cuts implemented after WWI, one regiment of the Lovat Scouts was disbanded in 1922.

[edit] Second World War

During the Second World War it garrisoned the Faroe Islands against feared German invasion. It also saw active service in Italy from 1944 to the end of the war.

[edit] Post-War

Upon the reconstitution of the Territorial Army in 1947 the regiment was reduced to a squadron (C (Lovat Scouts) Squadron) of the Scottish Horse, part of the Royal Armoured Corps. It was converted to artillery in 1949, becoming the 677th Mountain Artillery, RA (Lovat Scouts). It remained in the Royal Artillery, under numerous different titles it, until, with further defence cuts in the 1960s, was disbanded with two squadrons, one becoming a battery of The Highland Regiment, RA and the other joining the 3rd (Territorial) Battalion, Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons). The Lovat Scouts were reorganised with No. 1 (Lovat Scouts) Company being formed as part of the 51st Highland Volunteers.

The company became two separate platoons in 1981 but was reduced to one platoon (Lovat Scouts Platoon) of C (Highlanders) Company, 51st Highland Regiment, after the Options for Change defence white paper.