Tag: Royal Scots

Sight Scotland: Visually-impaired Drum Major will march with pride

Royal Scots Drum Major Calls Marching in Cenotaph Parade One of Life’s Proudest Moments

Andrew Keane, 78, from Livingston, who served over 24 years in the army, has thanked Sight Scotland Veterans for their life-changing support and for giving him the chance to march in the Cenotaph Parade again.

This November, 22 veterans from Sight Scotland Veterans will travel to London to take part in the Cenotaph Parade, a central event in the Remembrance Day commemorations.

For all these veterans, Remembrance Day is a profoundly personal and moving occasion—a time to honour the countless individuals who gave their lives for the freedoms we enjoy today. It is also a day to remember family members and friends who made great sacrifices, allowing us to live in peace.

Andrew explains: “I’ve been to the Cenotaph twice before with the Royal Scots and my late wife. This year, I’m very much looking forward to it—it will be one of the proudest moments of my life.

“I’ve recently taken up the post as Chairperson of the Sight Scotland Veterans Forum for the Linburn Centre, and it will be an immensely proud moment marching alongside my comrades from Sight Scotland Veterans.

“I was a very proud soldier and a very proud Drum Major. Now, I’m very proud to represent Sight Scotland Veterans.”

“I joined the Army in 1962 with the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). When the regiment was disbanded due to government cuts, I moved over to the Royal Scots, where I served until 1986. In total, I gave over 24 years of my life to the Army, and every moment was filled with pride, especially my time as a Drum Major.”

Reflecting on his military career, Andrew shares, “My time in service was quite traumatising. In 1966, I was blown up in Aden when two hand grenades were thrown at our Land Rover. My eyesight has never been quite right since then. I had to wear glasses, and I suffered from blurred vision for years after.

“It was horrendous, but as soon as I was out of the hospital, I was straight back out again with no counselling. I was also ambushed in Northern Ireland, which was another terrible experience. Again, there was no counselling offered, and now I’m dealing with PTSD. For a long time, I had flashbacks and nightmares, and I still do. It was only recently, with help from Combat Stress, that I started to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Following his military service, Andrew Keane embarked on an unexpected and rewarding journey, where his expertise leading him to a significant role overseas.

“After leaving the Army, I went on to teach military skills to the Sultan of Oman’s Royal Guard. It was supposed to be a short post, but I ended up staying for 12 years. The people were lovely, and it was an honour to serve them.

A New Beginning with Sight Scotland Veterans

“I was referred to Sight Scotland Veterans by Combat Stress, and it has been quite literally life changing for me.

“I go to the Linburn Centre every Tuesday, and I absolutely love it. I’ve tried all the activities—archery, shooting, and the gym. The gentle exercise really helps with my back. I’ve made so many good friends, and the atmosphere is always so positive. It just makes you feel good every time you come along. I really look forward to it every week.”

Andrew continues, “Sight Scotland Veterans is a fantastic charity. It gets veterans like me, who need a bit of help, out of the house, keeps us active both physically and mentally, and helps us form strong friendships. It’s been so good for my mental health, and I can’t thank them enough.”

Andrew recently had surgery to remove cataracts from both his eyes: “I suffered from cataracts and had my first surgery in 2022, followed by the second one last year. The difference it made to my life was like night and day. My eyesight still isn’t perfect, but it’s so much better than before. It’s amazing what a change it’s made.”

The Cenotaph Parade will take place on Sunday, 10 November 2024.

For more information, please visit sightscotlandveterans.org.uk or call 0800 035 6409.

1st July: Royal Scots remember the fallen of The Somme

The Royal Scots wreath laying service at the Scottish National War Memorial, Edinburgh Castle

Act of Remembrance to commemorate the 454 men of The Royal Scots who were killed at Contalmaison on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 108 years ago today.

Earlier this morning, Monday 1 July 2024, an Act of Remembrance took place in the Scottish National War Memorial at Edinburgh Castle to commemorate the 454 men of The Royal Scots who were killed at Contalmaison in Northern France, on the first day of the Battle of the Somme 1916, 108 years ago today.

At the exact same time today, a service was held at the memorial cairn in Contalmaison, France, by a party from McCrae’s Battalion Trust, accompanied by The Royal Scots Association’s Standard Party and a piper.

Colonel George McCrae raised the 16th Battalion of The Royal Scots (16 RS), which became known as McCrae’s Battalion, in Edinburgh in November 1914.  Many rallied to the call, enlisting to fight for King and Country, including players and supporters of Heart of Midlothian FC (the first players to sign up from all UK football clubs) as well as a number from Hibernian FC and many other Scottish football clubs.

The 15th Edinburgh Battalion of The Royal Scots, also raised in Edinburgh, by the Lord Provost, fought gallantly alongside McCrae’s Battalion at Contalmaison.

Elaine Hutton, granddaughter of Private Herbert Nisbet, who was brought up in Hillside Crescent in Edinburgh and served in 16 RS on 01 July 1916 at Contalmaison, and survived the War, attended the service.

Elaine Hutton said: “It was so important to be at the Scottish National War Memorial to remember my grandfather Herbert who served as a private soldier in McCrae’s Battalion on the First Day of The Somme 108 years ago today, along with my great uncle Cecil, who was killed on that day. We admire their courage and extreme loyalty.”

Private Herbert Nisbet’s brother Cecil, who had enlisted into 16 RS on 28th November 1914, was killed at Contalmaison on 01 July.  Herbert’s four brothers all served in The Royal Scots; three of them were killed in WW1.

At the end of the Remembrance Service wreaths were laid by representatives of The Royal Scots, Heart of Midlothian FC, Hibernian FC and McCrae’s Battalion Trust.

Scottish National War Memorial Chief Executive Susan Flintoff said: “So many families in Scotland were touched in some way by the Great War and it is very fitting that The Royal Scots were remembering those in their famous Regiment who gave their lives fighting for freedom on the Western Front on the 1st of July 1916”.

Brigadier George Lowder, President of The Royal Scots Regimental Association commented: “We must never forget those young men of The Royal Scots who died on The First Day of the Somme and in the months that followed”.

The Royal Scots commemorate fallen comrades from the Far-East Conflict

80th Anniversary of the Battle of Kohima

At 10:30 on Saturday 29 June 2024 The Royal Scots Regimental Association will lay wreaths and conduct a memorial service at Lauriston Castle, Edinburgh (EH4 6AD), to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Kohima and the Regiment’s role in one of the defining battles of the Second World War.

Regimental records show that between 4 April and 22 June 1944 1st Battalion The Royal Scots lost a total of 89 men – their names will be read out during the ceremony.  A further 200 were wounded, many seriously, in the intense fighting around Kohima.  

The Battle of Kohima was one of the most bitterly fought battles of the Second World War and a pivotal moment in the war against Japan in the Far East.  

The success of the British 2nd Division (including theRoyal Scots) and the Indian 5th Division ensured the safety of British India and turned the tide against Japanese forces in South East Asia.

On Saturday 29 June 2024 The Royal Scots contingent will form up in the Lauriston Castle car park at 10:30 and will march the short distance to the Royal Scots Memorial Garden behind a piper and their Association Standards.

All others are welcome to congregate at the Garden.  The service will commence at 10:50 and will be conducted by Reverend Ian May, the Padre of The Royal Scots Regimental Association.  

The wreath laying will be led by Brigadier George Lowder, President of The Royal Scots Regimental Association.

Malcolm Warrack, son of Lt Col Morren Warrack who fought at Kohima with the regiment, said: “A group of Royal Scots Veterans felt very strongly about the lack of some form of local memorial specifically for their fellow soldiers who did not come back from the Burma Campaign and Kohima in particular.

“George Rogers, Ian Henderson and Morren Warrack co-ordinated the preparation and creation of this Memorial Garden in the 1990s.  

“They spoke often about the “Forgotten Army” in the Far East so it is particularly fitting that 80 years later on 29th June 2024 we remember them.”

Brigadier Lowder added: “The Royal Scots feel very strongly that we should mark the battle of Kohima which witnessed some of the fiercest fighting of the war.

“Some Royal Scots who took part in crucial battles to delay the German advance to Dunkirk in May 1940 subsequently found themselves in the Far East where the war continued for a further 3 months after victory in Europe was declared in May 1945.  Many made the ultimate sacrifice; we will remember them.”

Gretna Rail Disaster Memorial Service

Commemorating those Royal Scots who perished in Britain’s worst rail disaster

On Saturday 25 May 2024, The Royal Scots Regimental Association will hold its annual Memorial Service at Rosebank Cemetery, Pilrig Street, Edinburgh, to remember all those who lost their lives in the Gretna Rail Disaster in May 1915, the worst rail disaster in the country’s history.

At approximately 06:49 on the morning of Saturday 22 May 1915 a troop-train carrying half (498 all ranks) of the 7th (Leith) Battalion, The Royal Scots (The Lothian Regiment) (7RS), who had been deployed to Gallipoli and were heading south, collided head on with a local passenger train.  

The passenger train had been ‘parked’, facing north, on the south-bound main line at Quintinshill, just North of Gretna, to allow a following express to overtake it. The troop train overturned, mostly onto the neighbouring north-bound mainline track and, a minute later, the Glasgow-bound express ploughed into the wreckage causing the troop train to burst into flames.

16. (7.16) The funeral procession of the 7th Battalion passing through Leith, 1915.

Three officers, 31 NCOs and 182 soldiers of 7th Battalion The Royal Scots, the driver and fireman on the troop-train, and 10 others, mostly from the express train, died and many more were injured in what was the worst rail disaster in the country’s history.

Led by their Pipe Band and the Association Standard Party, The Royal Scots Regimental Association will parade from the cemetery entrance on Pilrig Street at 10:45 on Saturday 25 May 2024.  

The service will be conducted by Rev Stephen Blakey, formerly padre of 1st Battalion, The Royal Scots, commencing at 10:55 at the Gretna Memorial which stands in the western corner of the cemetery.  All are most welcome to attend.

Brigadier George Lowder, President of The Royal Scots Regimental Association, said: “Amidst all the sacrifices and loss of The First World War, the tragic loss of 216 Members of 7 RS in the Quintinshill Rail Disaster in the early morning of 22 May 2015 en route to embarking for Gallipoli was a huge blow to The Regiment, to Leith, and to Edinburgh. 

“Leith marked their passing in a way that highlighted the close links between the Battalion and the Community. It was believed that every family in Leith was touched by the disaster and the Community continued to suffer as others injured in the crash subsequently died of their injuries.

“Our commemoration remembers not only those of 7RS who lost their lives but also the close tie between The Regiment and Leith that still endures today”.

Leith’s darkest day: still time to see Quintinshill exhibition

Gretna Railway Disaster 22 May 1915

rosebank

Leith Local History Society has produced an exhibition on the Quintinshill rail disaster in which 228 people – many of them soldiers from the local 7th (Leith)  Battallion Royal Scots – lost their lives.

You can  visit the exhibition at Ocean Terminal from noon – 5pm daily until 12 June. Admission is free.

Quintinshill Sturgeon

WW1 commemorations come to Leith

Activity to be held in Leith, Gretna, Stirling and Dundee this year

Rescue (1)

Leith, Gretna, Stirling and Dundee will host national events in 2015 to mark the centenary of First World War dates with particular resonance for Scotland and the Scots, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop announced yesterday.

  • The focus of the Scottish Commemorations Programme in its second year will extend from the capital to include other areas of Scotland whose communities are closely associated with the anniversaries being marked.
  • On May 22 and 23, Gretna and Leith in Edinburgh will mark the centenary of the Quintinshill Rail Disaster (pictured above), a train crash on the Caledonian Railway Mainline just outside the Border town that claimed the lives of 216 of the Leith-based 7th Battalion TheRoyal Scots, Territorial Force as they journeyed to Liverpool prior to sailing for Gallipoli. To this day Quintinshill remains the worst rail crash to have ever happened in the UK in terms of loss of life.
  • On June 4 and 6, Stirling will host a national commemoration to mark the 100-year anniversary of the date the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division arrived in Gallipoli after training in Stirling. The division, including many Scottish battalions, left from Larbert on 21 and 22 May and landed on the Gallipoli peninsula on June 4 to take part in the allied naval and military operation to force the Dardanelles which aimed to secure entry to the Black Sea and to the then capital of Turkey, Istanbul.
  • On September 26, Dundee will host a national event to commemorate the centenary of the start of the Battle of Loos, in which around 30,000 Scots fought. Battalions from every Scottish regiment fought in the Battle of Loos and suffered huge numbers of casualties. Of the 21,000 killed, over 7,000 were Scottish soldiers. Almost every town and village in Scotland was affected by the losses at Loos. Six Battalions of the Black Watch, mostly drawn from Dundee and its surrounding counties, took part. The 4th Black Watch, “Dundee’s Own”, suffered huge losses with 57% of men killed or wounded on the first day of battle. The beacon on top of the Dundee Law War Memorial is lit annually to remember the fallen.

Through the Scottish Commemorations Panel, Ministers are liaising with Stirling Council, Dundee City Council, City of Edinburgh Council, Dumfries and Galloway Council and the Royal Scots Regimental Association on arrangements for each event. Further details will be announced later in the year.

Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, said: “Throughout 2015 – the busiest year in Scotland’s five-year commemorations programme – we will continue to encourage people in all parts of Scotland to join with us to consider the impact of the First World War, which claimed the lives of more than 100,000 Scots and left many more injured or disabled.

“The Quintinshill Rail Disaster, Gallipoli campaign and Battle of Loos each had a profound and long-lasting impact on Scotland and it is right that we pause to remember each event, and the Scottish communities who were affected.

“The First World War had a significant and broad impact on our nation. Through our national commemorations the people of Scotland will have opportunities to reflect on its lasting social and civic legacy.”

Norman Drummond, Chair of the Scottish Commemorations Panel, said:

“This year commemorations will again be taking place all over Scotland to mark the centenary of events which had such a huge impact on the people of Scotland in the communities which were most affected.

“2015 will be the busiest year in Scotland’s five-year commemorations programme, and we will further pause to reflect on the horror of war, the service and sacrifice of our servicemen and women and of those at home, and the lessons we continue to learn from World War One.”