The Scottish Horse | |
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The Scottish Horse Capbadge |
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Active | 1900-1956 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | Army |
Type | Yeomanry |
Role | Formation Reconnaissance Infantry Artillery Army Air Corps |
Size | One Regiment |
Colors | Black and Gold |
March | The Scottish Horse The Garb of Old Gaul |
Engagements | Anzio |
Insignia | |
Regimental Tartan (Murray of Atholl) |
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Stable Belt Colours |
The Scottish Horse was a Yeomanry Regiment of the British Territorial Army from 1900 to 1956 when it was amalgamated with The Fife and Forfar Yeomanry.
Raised in South Africa in 1900 for service in the Second Boer War the regiment saw heavy fighting in both the Great War as the 13th Battalion of The Black Watch and in World War II as part of The Royal Artillery.
Today the combined regiment is perpetuated by "C" Squadron (FFY/SH) of The Queen's Own Yeomanry based in Cupar, Fife and 655 Squadron Army Air Corps.
The Scottish Horse were raised for the South African War in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg and expanded to two regiments.
The 1st and 2nd Scottish Horse were formed from Australian volunteers plus drafts from Scotland and South Africa. In 1902 both regiments were disbanded at Edinburgh Castle, after repatriating Australians and discharging South Africans.
Later in 1902 The Scottish Horse were reconstituted as two regiments by the Duke of Atholl, both claiming descent from the original Scottish Horse:
Returning to Scotland after the Second Boer War, initially, as an Imperial Yeomanry Regiment of four Squadrons the Scottish Horse was made the county Yeomanry Regiment for Perthshire, Aberdeenshire, Elgin, Nairn, and Argyllshire. By 1908 the Scottish Horse had been expanded to two Regiments (eight Squadrons in total) with its Headquarters at Dunkeld co-located with the Headquarters of the 1st Regiment.
The 1st and 2nd Scottish Horse were expanded with the creation of the 3rd Regiment in August 1914 and the Scottish Horse Brigade was then formed with these three Regiments in September 1914.
By January 1915 the Scottish Horse Brigade was attached to the 50th Division, on coastal defence duties in the UK.
By August 1915 the regiment was ready for foreign service and took part in dismounted landings at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli on 2 September 1915, attached to 2nd Mounted Division.
December 1915 saw the 1st,2nd and 3rd Regiments evacuated from Gallipoli and moved to Egypt. Due to heavy casualties the Scottish Horse Brigade was absorbed into 1st Dismounted Brigade on Suez Canal defences in Feb 1916.
On 29 September 1916 the 1st and 2nd Regiments formed an infantry battalion. Just over two weeks later, on 15 October 1916, it became known as 13th (Scottish Horse Yeomanry) Battalion, the Black Watch. The 3rd Regiment was formed into the 26th Squadron, the Machine Gun Corps and continued to serve in Egypt before being re-titled as a company and posted to the Lovat's Scouts Battalion of the Cameron Highlanders.
The 13th (Scottish Horse Yeomanry) Battalion of The Black Watch were sent to fight in Salonika as part of the 81st Brigade in 27th Division. It was during this time that the water colour titled "Sport In War" was painted showing the Officers of the 13th Regiment hunting in Macedonia just after returning from a raid on Hungarian Lines.
With victory looming on the Macedonia front the Regiment was transferred to 149th Brigade, 50th Division in the Western Front in June 1918. They remained on this front until the end of the war.
Three more Regiments were formed in August and September 1914 and attached to 1st Scottish Horse Mounted Brigade. They were converted into cyclist units in July 1916 and remained in the Great Britain until 1918 when they were moved to Ireland.
In 1920 the Scottish Horse was reconstituted as part of the Territorial Army with its HQ again at Dunkeld.
The Regiment started the war as reconnaissance mounted cavalry. However the horses were withdrawn at Dunkeld and after a brief wait the Scottish Horse were formally dismounted.
In 1940 The Scottish Horse Regiment was split to become the 79th (The Scottish Horse) Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery and 80th (The Scottish Horse) Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery.
During the war, the regiment won a Distinguished Service Order, 14 Military Crosses, an OBE, 7 MBEs, 2 Distinguished Conduct Medals, 19 Military Medals and 83 Mentions in Despatches.[1]
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In 1947 the Scottish Horse rejoined the Territorial Army list with its HQ back at Dunkeld.
They were transferred from the Royal Artillery to become part of the Royal Armoured Corps. At this time the Regiment was made up of two squadrons of Scottish Horse and the third from the Lovat Scouts.
This merger was to be short lived and by 1949 the Lovat Scouts had been roled as Artillery, leaving both the Scottish Horse and The Royal Armoured Corps.
In 1956 an amalgamation was announced with the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry and on 31 October 1956 the Scottish Horse became part of a new Regiment known as the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry/Scottish Horse.
The battle honours were displayed on the guidons of the Scottish Horse, which are now laid up in Dunkeld Cathedral.
The battle honours were carried forward on to the guidon of the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry/Scottish Horse and are represented today on the guidon of the Queen's Own Yeomanry.
Lt William John English VC (later Lt Col) was awarded the Victoria Cross for his heroism on 3 July 1901 in South Africa whilst serving as a Lieutenant in The Scottish Horse.
The citation read:
This officer, with five men, was holding the position at Vlakfontein on 3 July 1901 during an attack by the Boers. Two of his men were killed and two wounded, but the position was still held, largely owing to the lieutenant's personal pluck. When the ammunition ran short, he went over to the next party and obtained more; to do so he had to cross some 15 yards of open ground, under a heavy fire at a range of from 20 to 30 yards.
List of Colonel Commandant (1900–1920)/ Honorary Colonels (1920–1956) |
List of Commanding Officers |
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South Africa (1900–02) |
The Duke of Atholl KT PC GCVO CB DSO | |
Imperial Yeomanry (1902–1914) |
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The Great War (1914–1919) |
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Scouts and Yeomanry (1920–39) |
Lt Col RA Bartram MC | |
79th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery (1939–45) |
The Duke of Atholl KT PC GCVO CB DSO The Duchess of Atholl DBE DCL LL.D FRCM |
Lt Col RA Bartram MC |
80th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery (1939–45) |
Lt Col RMT Campbell-Preston | |
Armoured Reconnaissance (1947–56) |
The Duchess of Atholl DBE DCL LL.D FRCM Col RA Bartram MC |
Lt Col TG Cooper 4/7 DG Lt Col Lindsay DSO Lt Col RMT Campbell-Preston Lt Col M Lyle |
Other Notable Commanders and Soldiers
This table shows how the Regiment's place in the Army List moved through its history
Year | Preceded by | Title | Followed By |
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1913 | The Lovat Scouts (Dragoons) |
The Scottish Horse (Dragoons) |
unknown |
1916 | 12th (Labour) Bn of The Black Watch |
13th (Scottish Horse) Bn of The Black Watch |
14th (Fife and Forfar Yeomanry) Bn of The Black Watch |
1939 | 78th (Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry) Medium Regt of RA |
79th and 80th (Scottish Horse) Medium Regt of RA |
84th (Sussex) Medium Regt of RA |
1955 | East Riding of Yorkshire Yeomanry (Royal Armoured Corps) |
The Scottish Horse (Royal Armoured Corps) |
Royal Regiment of Artillery(Volunteers) |
The cross of St Andrew with a sprig of laurel on one side and a branch of juniper leaves on the other. The King's and in turn Queen's crowns on top were later additions.
A long schooling whip with silver top was carried by all Officers and SNCOs
The Duke of Atholl's Tartan, Murray of Atholl, was worn by the Officers and Men in various forms of dress.
The evening mess dress for Officers included a kilt. Junior Officers wore their family tartan but once an Officer reached Field Rank (Major or above) that he was expected to wear the Regimental Tartan.
Pipers (known as Trumpeter on the Establishment) wore the Tuliibardaine Tartan.
Full Dress: Slouch hat with kakhi and black silk in the pogri (only the Commanding Officer would wear the silk Murray of Atholl tartan in the pogri) a cap badge with backing of yellow/red or blue (depending on if with soldier was in 1st 2nd or 3rd Regiment) and black cock feather
Working Dress: The Atholl Bonnet, a tam o'shanter type headdress in navy with a green, white and red check band, with red tourrie (bobble) on top.
Black belt with three gold stripes - colours taken from The Duke of Atholl's crest.
The newly raised Scottish Horse appeared in full dress uniform for the first time in May 1903, on the occasion of a visit by King Edward VII to Edinburgh. The new uniform comprised the slouch hat shown above, a light khaki-drab tunic piped in yellow and khaki overalls (tight fitting cavalry trousers) also with yellow piping. The shade of yellow used was that of the body of the Scottish Standard. This uniform, worn for both parade and ordinary duties, was practical and smart but plain by the standards of the period.
In 1908 a more elaborate full dress was adopted in "Atholl Grey" (a light grey with slightly violet tint). Tunic and overalls were in this distinctive colour, with collars, shoulder straps, piping and trouser stripes in yellow. The slouch hat continued to be worn, with black cock's tail feathers. This uniform was worn by all ranks for ceremonial and church parades, plus walking out dress for other ranks, until the outbreak of war in 1914. There were also special uniforms for pipers, and for optional mess wear by officers and sergeants[2].
The khaki field service dress adopted 1908-10 was of regular British Army pattern but the retention of the Atholl bonnet by all ranks and a number of minor features such as three buttoned cuffs and some yellow piping enabled the Regiment to retain a distinctive appearance.
The Atholl Grey uniform was worn by officers during the 1920s and 1930s when attending Royal Levees and on certain social occasions. The Scottish Horse, in common with the other Yeomanry regiments, wore standard khaki for most other occasions after 1914.
The pipe band of the Scottish Horse was largely drawn from the musician of the Atholl Highlanders
South Africa - Transvaal Scottish Regiment
Additional References not fully devoted to the Regiment
The Cathedral contains a memorial to the Scottish Horse and a book of remembrance with the names off all who fell in the World Wars. In addition both of the guidons of the Scottish Horse are also lain up in the Cathedral. Each year on Remembrance Sunday the Regimental Association participates in the Church service in Dunkeld.
The memorial was built after a proposal in 1917 by the Duke of Atholl in Edinburgh Castle contains a memorial and book of remembrance to all Scottish Regiments including the Scottish Horse.
Two identical statues both in the shape of a Cross of Iona with a superimposed claymore and lion rampant in bronze. The inscription reads "Nemo me impune lacessit 1900". One is on the esplanade at Edinburgh Castle and the other is on Caledonia Hill, Kensington Ridge Johannesburg. The later is cared for by the Transvaal Scottish Association
The Castle contains some of the Murray family's personal actifacts relating to the various family members's time in time in the Regiment
The Regimental Archive is extensive and it is held held at The Chapter House, Dunkeld Cathedral and can be viewed by appointment. Dunkeld Cathedral Chapter House
An LMS Royal Scot Class express passenger locomotive number 6129 was named after the Regiment. It was commissioned in September 1927 and decommissioned in June 1964[3].