| The London Scottish | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1859- |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Light infantry |
| Size | RHQ and One company |
| Part of | London Regiment |
| Garrison/HQ | London |
| Nickname | Cockney Jocks |
| Motto | Strike Sure |
| March | Highland Laddie |
| Anniversaries | 31st October 1914. 1st TA unit into action in WW1, Messines ridge, 1st battle of Ypres |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Major Geoffrey Strickland |
| Honorary Colonel | Baron Robertson of Port Ellen KT, GCMG, FRSA, PC |
| Colonel of the Regiment |
Colonel David Rankin-Hunt LVO MBE TD |
| Notable commanders |
Lord Elcho, Lt Col GA Malcolm, Lt Col RTS MacPherson, Maj MWH Ludlow, Maj SG Young. |
| Insignia | |
| Tartan | Hodden Grey |
The London Scottish is a unit of the British Army. Formerly a regiment, the unit is now a company of The London Regiment.
Contents |
Founded in 1859 as part of the Volunteer Force sponsored by The Highland Society of London and The Caledonian Society of London, a group of individual Scots raised The London Scottish Rifle Volunteers under the command of Lt Col Lord Elcho, later The Earl of Wemyss and March. Over many years the London Scottish have changed titles and lineage, today they are A (London Scottish) Company of The London Regiment.
The regimental tartan is Elcho tartan and Hodden Grey in colour. Lt Col Lord Elcho clothed the regiment in Hodden Grey, the homespun cloth known throughout Scotland. This avoided all interclan feeling on the subject of tartan and, as Lord Elcho said "A soldier is a man hunter. As a deer stalker chooses the least visible of colours, so ought a soldier to be clad."
A detailed history of the London Scottish Cadets can be found in the Regimental Gazette, written month to month over the years, but there follows some useful facts about all three Army Cadet Units that are badged London Scottish.
The earliest record of The London Scottish Cadet Corps ("LSCC") was in 1902. It existed alongside their sponsors The London Scottish Regiment now A (London Scottish) Coy The London Regiment. The London Scottish Cadets originally formed as a battalion with three companies and a pipe band. It was one of a very few cadet battalions to be presented its own Colours.
The LSCC is now 235 London Scottish Detachment, a member of 23 Group Middlesex and NW London ACF. Formally based at the RHQ 95 Horseferry road until 2005 and now at the former RMP barracks on Rochester row. 235 lives on to share its traditions with two other cadet detachments now in the Greater London & South East Sector ACF.
95(London Scottish)Cadet Coy - Eltham was formed in the 1940s with a nucleus of boys from Eltham College. It is based on the site of a former Royal Artillery TA Centre in Footscray Road SE9. Ocs included Major (later Lt Col) Stewart Allward, Capt "Bunny" Bancroft, Capt Eric Botell and Capt Nigel Betts.
The third London Scottish Cadet unit is 102 (Bromley) Pltn, 10 (Kent) Cadet Regiment, formed originally in 1913 as part of the 1st Cadet Btn Royal North West Kent Regt, over the years the unit was re-badged a number of times, firstly as a Royal Artillery unit and in the 1970s as a Royal Signals unit. In 1989 the unit was located at Hill House TA Centre in Bromley, formely the home of Sir Harold MacMillan, Lord Stockton, which they shared with the Recce Platoon and 6 Platoon of G (The London Scottish) Coy 1/51 Highland Vols. The relationship between the London Scottish and cadets was so good that the then unit commander Major John Smith MBE requested that the cadets be re-badged to London Scottish, the unit they proudly represent today.
Victoria Crosses were awarded to the following members of the London Scottish: Robert Edward Cruickshank, Charles William Train, and George Allan Mitchell
