| King's Own Scottish Borderers | |
|---|---|
 Cap badge | |
| Active | 1689 – 1 August 2006 |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Scotland (1689–1707) Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) United Kingdom (1801–2006) |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Line Infantry |
| Size | One battalion |
| Part of | Scottish Division |
| Garrison/HQ | Berwick Barracks,Berwick-upon-Tweed |
| Mottos | In Veritate Religionis Confido (I put my trust in the truth of religion) Nisi Dominus Frustra (Without the Lord, everything is in vain) |
| Anniversaries | Minden – 1 August |
| Commanders | |
| Last Colonel-in-Chief | Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, GCB, CI, GCVO, GBE[1] |
| Notable commanders | John Cooper (Operation Banner, 1993–97) |
| Insignia | |
| Tartan | Leslie (trews) Royal Stewart (pipers kilts and plaids) |
TheKing's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB) was aline infantryregiment of theBritish Army, part of theScottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with theRoyal Scots, theRoyal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment), theBlack Watch (Royal Highland Regiment), theHighlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons), theArgyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's),52nd Lowland Regiment, and51st Highland Regiment to form theRoyal Regiment of Scotland. However, after just a few months the battalion merged with the Royal Scots Battalion to form theRoyal Scots Borderers.
The regiment was raised on 18 March 1689 byDavid Leslie, 3rd Earl of Leven to defend Edinburgh against theJacobite forces ofJames VII. It's claimed that 800 men were recruited within the space of two hours. The regiment's first action was at theBattle of Killiecrankie on 27 July 1689. Although this battle was a defeat for theWilliamite army, the Jacobite commander,John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee (Bonnie Dundee), was killed by a volley fired by Leven's Regiment, bringing an end to James II's attempt to save his throne in Scotland. The regiment was judged to have performed well and was granted the privilege of recruiting by beat of drum in the City ofEdinburgh without prior permission of the provost.[2]
For a period it was known asSemphill's Regiment of Foot, the name under which it fought at theBattle of Fontenoy in 1745 and theBattle of Culloden in 1746. When the British infantry were allocated numerical positions in the 'line' of Infantry the regiment was numbered25th Regiment of Foot (based on its formation date) in 1751. The regiment fought at theBattle of Minden on 1 August 1759 with five other regiments; this battle honour was celebrated by the regiment each year on 1 August. The 25th was the county regiment ofSussex in 1782 when it became known as the25th (Sussex) Regiment of Foot.[2]
The regiment was awarded the right to bear the emblem of the Sphinx for their role in theBattle of Alexandria in 1801. Its recruiting area was moved to theScottish Borders region in 1805 from when the regiment became known as the25th (the King's Own Borderers) Regiment of Foot.[3]
The regiment was not fundamentally affected by theCardwell Reforms of the 1870s, which gave it a depot atFulford Barracks inYork from 1873, or by theChilders reforms of 1881 – as it already possessed two battalions, there was no need for it to amalgamate with another regiment.[4] The regiment moved toBerwick Barracks in July 1881. Under the reforms the regiment becameThe King's Own Borderers on 1 July 1881.[5] A 3rd,Militia, Battalion was formed as theScottish Borderers Militia, with headquarters atDumfries. The regiment becameThe King's Own Scottish Borderers in 1887.[3]
During theSecond Anglo-Afghan War in 1878 to 1880, the regiment formed part of the 2nd division which was renamed theKhyber Line Force while guarding the lines of communication betweenKabul andPeshawar.[6]
TheSecond Boer War started in South Africa in October 1899, and the British government soon realised they needed larger forces to win the war. The 1st Battalion KOSB embarked for South Africa in early January 1900, and stayed there throughout the war, which ended in June 1902. 300 officers and men of the battalion returned home on the SSLake Manitoba in February 1903.[7] The 3rd (Militia) battalion was embodied in January 1900 for service in the Second Boer War, and 998 officers and men embarked forSouth Africa on the SSKildon Castle two months later.[8] Most of the battalion returned home in June 1902.[9]
In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming theTerritorial Force and the latter theSpecial Reserve;[10] the regiment now had one Reserve and two Territorial battalions.[11][3]
TheBachelor's Walk massacre happened inDublin, on 26 July 1914, when a column of troops of the King's Own Scottish Borderers were accosted by a crowd onBachelor's Walk. The troops attacked "hostile but unarmed" protesters with rifle fire and bayonets - resulting in the deaths of four civilians and injuries to in excess of 30 more.[12][13]
The 1st Battalion was serving inLucknow, India when the war broke out. After returning to England it landed atCape Helles inGallipoli as part of the87th Brigade in the29th Division in April 1915. After being evacuated from Gallipoli in January 1916 it moved toAlexandria in Egypt and then landed atMarseille in March 1916 for service on theWestern Front.[14] It saw action at theBattle of the Somme in autumn 1916, theBattle of Passchendaele in autumn 1917, theBattle of Lys in April 1918 and theBattle of Cambrai in October 1918.[15]
During theHome Rule Crisis in 1914, the 2nd Battalion was stationed in Dublin as part of13th Brigade in the5th Division.[14] A detachment of the battalion was responsible for killing four and wounding 38 unarmed civilians duringan altercation with a crowd on the day of theHowth gun-running in July 1914.[16][17]It then landed atLe Havre in August 1914 for service on the Western Front[14] and saw action at theBattle of Mons in August 1914, theBattle of Le Cateau also in August 1914 and theFirst Battle of the Aisne in September 1914.[15] It later saw combat at theSecond Battle of Ypres in May 1915, the Battle of the Somme in November 1916, theBattle of Vimy Ridge in April 1917, the Battle of Passchendaele in November 1917 and the Battle of Lys in April 1918.[15]
The regiment's two Territorial Force units, the 1/4th (Border) Battalion and the 1/5th (Dumfries & Galloway) Battalion, landed in Gallipoli as part of the155th Brigade in the52nd (Lowland) Division in June 1915. After being evacuated from Gallipoli in January 1916 they moved to Egypt and then took part in theThird Battle of Gaza in November 1917[15] before landing at Marseille in April 1918 for service on the Western Front.[14]
The 6th (Service) Battalion landed atBoulogne-sur-Mer as part of the28th Brigade in the9th (Scottish) Division in May 1915 for service on the Western Front.[14] It saw action at theBattle of Loos in September 1915, the Battle of the Somme in November 1916, theBattle of Arras in May 1917 and the Battle of Passchendaele in November 1917.[15]
The 7th (Service) Battalion and the 8th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the46th Brigade in the15th (Scottish) Division in July 1915 for service on the Western Front.[14] They fought at the Battle of Loos in September 1915, the Battle of the Somme in November 1916, the Battle of Arras in May 1917, theBattle of Pilckem Ridge in August 1917, theSecond Battle of the Somme in August 1918 and at theSecond Battle of the Marne also in August 1918.[15]
In the periodbetween the wars, the regiment's regular battalions were sent all over theBritish Empire to Ireland, Egypt and Hong Kong but were quickly recalled home at the outbreak of theSecond World War in September 1939.[15]
The 1st Battalion landed in France as part of the9th Brigade in the3rd Infantry Division in September 1939 for service with theBritish Expeditionary Force (BEF); it took part in theDunkirk evacuation in June 1940 and theNormandy landings in June 1944 and saw action at theBattle for Caen later that month.[15]
The 2nd Battalion moved toBurma as part of the89th Brigade in the7th Indian Infantry Division in September 1943 for service in theBurma Campaign and saw action at theBattle of the Admin Box in February 1944 and theBattle of Imphal in July 1944.[15]
The 4th and 5th Battalions landed atSaint-Malo as part of the155th Brigade in the52nd (Lowland) Division in June 1940 for service with the British Expeditionary Force; after evacuation fromCherbourg later in the month they took part inOperation Infatuate in November 1944 and the subsequent capture ofBremen in April 1945.[15]
The 6th Battalion took part in the Normandy landings as part of the44th Brigade in the15th (Scottish) Division in June 1944 and saw action at the Battle for Caen later that month and then advanced into Germany.[15]
One of its heaviest losses during the war was at the ill-fatedBattle of Arnhem in which the 7th Battalion, as part of the1st Airlanding Brigade of1st Airborne Division, suffered 90% casualties in September 1944;[18] they defended the perimeter inOosterbeek against2nd SS Panzer Corps.[15]
After the Second World War, the regiment served internal security duties in theBritish Mandate of Palestine and was reduced to a single battalion around 1948. The regiment was part of theUnited Nations forces that saw action at theFirst Battle of Maryang San in October 1951 during theKorean War.[19] PrivateBill Speakman was awarded theVictoria Cross for his actions during theSecond Battle of Maryang-san.[20] The regiment was deployed during theMalayan Emergency in the late 1950s.[21]
The regiment was deployed toAden as the garrison battalion in Aden on internal security duties in February 1962.[21] In April 1964, within three months of its return to the UK and during the 24 hours of its first day as the Spearhead Battalion of the UK Strategic Reserve, it was deployed back to Aden in response to theRadfan Campaign in what had become theFederation of South Arabia. Within a year of its return to the UK in May 1965, the regiment was again deployed overseas in response toIndonesia's aggression inBorneo against newly formedMalaysia.[21] The regiment was at first deployed in Hong Kong, replacing a Gurkha battalion sent to Borneo, then to the Jungle Warfare School atKota Tinggi in Malaysia in August 1965.[21]
The regiment were then deployed in the mountainous and primary jungle areas of Sarawak in October 1965.[21] Shortly after its return to the UK the regiment was posted toOsnabrück in June 1967.[21] It was subsequently regularly posted toNorthern Ireland as part ofOperation Banner duringthe Troubles and suffered casualties during the 1989Derryard attack which killed two of its men.[22] It took part in theGulf War in 1991 but was one of the few Scottish regiments not deployed to theYugoslav Wars: it was being mainly stationed in Northern Ireland instead.[23] The regiment also served inIraq onOperation Telic in 2003.[15]
Until 2004 the regiment was one of five in the line infantry never to have been amalgamated, the others beingThe Royal Scots,The Green Howards,The Cheshire Regiment andThe Royal Welch Fusiliers. When five Scottish regiments were amalgamated to form theRoyal Regiment of Scotland on 28 March 2006, theRoyal Scots Battalion and the King's Own Scottish Borderers Battalion initially maintained their identities as separate battalions.[24]
However almost immediately theMinistry of Defence moved to amalgamate the two battalions. This was not a new idea: the origins of the combined entity,Royal Scots Borderers, dates from the 1990Options for Change review, when it was initially announced that the Royal Scots and King's Own Scottish Borderers would amalgamate. That amalgamation was subsequently rescinded.[25] The Royal Scots Battalion and King's Own Scottish Borderers Battalion duly amalgamated on 1 August 2006 – upon their amalgamation, the new battalion took the name Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland.[26]
The King's Own Scottish BorderersRegimental Museum is located inBerwick Barracks,Berwick-upon-Tweed.[27]
The battle honours are:[3]
Civic honours are:
The colonel-in-chief was:
Colonels of the Regiment were:[3]
_-_David_Melville_(1660%25E2%2580%25931728)%2c_3rd_Earl_of_Leven%2c_Statesman_and_Soldier_-_PG_1528_-_National_Galleries_of_Scotland.jpg)
The 1st Battalion'sfootball team was a member of theIrish Football League for one season, 1903–04, while the battalion was stationed at theVictoria Barracks, Belfast.[29]
{{cite web}}:|archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link){{cite web}}:|archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) The depot was the 6th Brigade Depot from 1873 to 1881, and the 25th Regimental District depot thereafter
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
