The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot (The Black Watch) was amalgamated with the 73rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot. It was known as The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) from 1881 to 1931 and The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) from 1931 to 2006. Part of the Scottish Division for administrative purposes from 1967, it was the senior Highland regiment. It has been part of the Scottish, Welsh and Irish Division for administrative purposes since 2017.
Origin of the name
The source of the regiment's name is uncertain. In 1725, following the Jacobite rebellion of 1715, General George Wade was authorised by George I to form six "watch" companies to patrol the Highlands of Scotland, three from Clan Campbell, one from Clan Fraser of Lovat, one from Clan Munro and one from Clan Grant. These were to be "employed in disarming the Highlanders, preventing depredations, bringing criminals to justice, and hindering rebels and attainted persons from inhabiting that part of the kingdom." Francis Hindes Groome states in his Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1901) that the watch was "embodied in a field [in Aberfeldy] in 1739".Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Graphic and Accurate Description of Every Place in Scotland , Frances Hindes Groome (1901), p. 24 The force was known in Gaelic as Am Freiceadan Dubh, "the dark" or "black watch".Simpson, p. 114–115
This epithet may have come from the uniform plaids of dark tartan with which the companies were provided. Other theories have been put forward; for instance, that the name referred to the "black hearts" of the pro-government militia who had sided with the "enemies of true Highland spirit",Parker, p. 13–14 or that it came from their original duty in policing the Highlands, namely preventing "blackmail" (Highlanders and reivers demanding extortion payments to spare cattle herds).Trevor-Roper, p. 205
History The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot (The Black Watch) was amalgamated with the 73rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot to form two battalions of the newly named Black Watch (Royal Highlanders). The 42nd became the 1st Battalion, and the 73rd became the 2nd Battalion.
The 1st Battalion saw action at the Battle of Tel el-Kebir in September 1882 during the Anglo-Egyptian War. It was in combat again during the Mahdist War, at the First and Second Battles of El Teb in February 1884, the Battle of Tamai in March 1884 and at the Battle of Kirbekan in February 1885. They were stationed in India from 1896, but were sent to South Africa for service during the Second Boer War. After the war ended in June 1902 with the Peace of Vereeniging, 630 officers and men left Cape Town on the SS Michigan in late September 1902, arriving at Southampton in late October, when they were posted to Edinburgh.
The 2nd Battalion were posted to South Africa in October 1899, following the outbreak of the Second Boer War. The battalion suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Magersfontein in December 1899. After the end of the war, about 730 officers and men left Point Natal for British India on SS Ionian in October 1902, where, after arrival in Bombay, they were stationed in Sialkot in Umballa in Punjab.
In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve; the regiment now had one Reserve and five Territorial battalions.These were the 3rd Battalion (Special Reserve), with the 4th (City of Dundee) Battalion at Parker Street in Dundee (since demolished), the 5th (Angus and Dundee) Battalion at Bank Street in Brechin, the 6th (Perthshire) Battalion at Tay Street in Perth (since demolished), the 7th (Fife) Battalion at Market Street / City Road in St Andrews (since demolished) and the 8th (Cyclist) Battalion at Perth Road in Birnam (all Territorial Force)
First World War
Regular Army The 1st Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 1st Brigade in the 1st Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front. It saw action during the Retreat from Mons in August 1914, the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914 and the First Battle of the Aisne later in September 1914; it also took part in the advance to the Hindenburg Line in September 1918.
The 2nd Battalion landed at Marseille as part of the Bareilly Brigade in the 7th (Meerut) Division in October 1914 for service on the Western Front. It took part in the defence of Givenchy in December 1915 and then moved to Mesopotamia later that month and saw action during the siege of Kut in Spring 1916, the fall of Baghdad in March 1917 and the Battle of Istabulat in April 1917. It transferred to Palestine in January 1918 and took part in the Battle of Megiddo in September 1918.
Territorial Force The 1/4th (City of Dundee) Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the Bareilly Brigade in the 7th (Meerut) Division March 1915 for service on the Western Front and, following heavy losses at the Battle of Neuve-Chapelle in March 1915 and the Battle of Festubert in May 1915, amalgamated with the 2nd Battalion in September 1915.
The 1/5th (Angus and Dundee) Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 24th Brigade in the 8th Division for service on the Western Front. It also saw action at the Battle of Neuve-Chapelle in March 1915 and the Battle of Festubert in May 1915.
The 1/6th (Perthshire) Battalion and the 1/7th (Fife) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 153rd Brigade in the 51st (Highland) Division in May 1915 for service on the Western Front. They saw action at the Battle of the Ancre Heights in October 1916.
New Army 8th (Service) Battalion The 8th (Service) Battalion was raised in Perth by Lord Sempill of Fintray who had previously served with the Black Watch in the Sudan. Recruiting commenced on 21 August 1914 and the ranks were filled by 3 September 1914. The 8th was the senior battalion in the 26th Infantry Brigade, which in turn was the leading brigade of the 9th (Scottish) Division, the first division of Lord Kitchener's New Army. As such, the 8th (Service) Battalion can claim to be the vanguard of the "First Hundred Thousand" men in Kitchener's K1 Army. The battalion officially formed at Albuera Barracks in August 1914 before moving to Maida Barracks in September 1914. A core cadre of experienced regular and ex-regular officers, warrant officers and non-commissioned officers formed the backbone of the new unit. The enlisted men came mainly from the cities, farms and collieries of Fife and Forfarshire. 16 January 1915 saw the 26th Infantry Brigade move from Aldershot to Hampshire with the 8th Battalion billeted at Alton. On 22 January 1915 Lord Kitchener inspected the battalion, along with the rest of the 9th (Scottish) Division during downpour of rain on Laffan's Plain (now Farnborough Airport). The battalion marched to Oxney Farm Camp near Bordon on 21 March 1915 to undertake a final musketry course where the 8th Battalion Machine Gun Section obtained the highest score in the brigade. In early May 1915, the battalion received the long-awaited orders to proceed overseas to France.
The machine-gun section and battalion transport led the way, sailing to Le Havre via Southampton on 9 May with the bulk of the battalion following on 10 May sailing to Boulogne via Folkestone. The whole battalion then travelled on by train to Arques near Saint-Omer arriving in the early hours of 11 May, from here they heard the distant rumble of the guns at Ypres for the first time. The battalion entered the trenches for the first time on 4 July 1915, relieving the 5th (Service) Battalion of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders in the front line East of Festubert, they were relieved in turn on 7 July 1915 by 10th (Service) Battalion of the Highland Light Infantry. In this short four day introduction to trench warfare, the battalion lost three men killed and seven wounded.
On 25 September 1915, the battalion took a leading role in the opening actions of the Battle of Loos. During three hard days of fighting at Loos, the battalion lost 19 officers and 492 other ranks either killed or wounded. This included the commanding officer Lt Col Lord Sempill, the Second in Command Major J. G. Collins, three of the four Company Commanders and the Regimental Sergeant Major W. H. Black. Another notable casualty at Loos was Captain The Hon. Fergus Bowes-Lyon, the elder brother of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon who would later marry the future king George VI.
The 8th (Service) Battalion spent the rest of the war in the trenches of the Western Front and took part in a number of key battles.
1916 – Battle of Bazentin Ridge 1917 – First battle of the Scarpe, Third Battle of the Scarpe, First Battle of Passchendale 1918 – First Battle of Bapaume, Battle of Messines, First Battle of Kemmel Ridge, Second Battle of Kemmel Ridge, Fifth Battle of Ypres, Battle of Courtrai
Following the armistice, demobilization began on 27 December 1918 and men were released in batches during the following months. In mid-August 1919 the remnants of the battalion returned to England, sailing from Calais to Folkestone before marching to Shorncliffe where trains were boarded to Brocton Camp. Demobilization continued and on 15 November 1919, the battalion was reduced to cadre strength. Following the dispersal of the remaining officers and other ranks, the commanding officer, adjutant and quartermaster returned to the Black Watch Depot in Perth where the battalion was officially disbanded in mid-December 1919. During active service between 1915 and 1918 the 8th (Service) Battalion lost a total of 169 officers (69 killed/93 wounded/8 missing) and 3,597 other ranks (1,123 killed/1,673 wounded/510 missing). The bravery of the 8th is reflected in the number of gallantry decorations awarded, this includes 7 Distinguished Service Orders, 32 Military Crosses, 38 Distinguished Conduct Medals, 6 Meritorious Service Medals and 137 Military Medals.
9th (Service) Battalion The 9th (Service) Battalion was raised from an initial draft of 200 men sent from Perth to join the 8th (Service) Battalion at Aldershot on 6 September 1914. As the 8th Battalion was already fully manned, permission was granted to form a second unit from the drafts reaching the 8th Battalion between 6 September and 9 September, forming part of Kitchener's K2 Army. This became the 9th (Service) Battalion under the command of Major T.O. Lloyd, an ex-regular Black Watch officer who had retired from 1st Battalion in 1909.
The new battalion lacked experienced officers and Lord Sempill, the commanding officer of 8th Battalion, consented to transfer one of his three regular officers to 9th Battalion to act as adjutant. At company level, almost all of the officers were newly commissioned second lieutenants with no prior military experience. The same was true of the non-commissioned officers, with the exception of the RSM, two former colour sergeants and a few old and bold ex soldiers, all NCO's were new to the army and promoted to acting rank on the recommendation of their company commander.