Dates for your Diary - The Royal Scots

The
Thistle
Journal of The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment)
Volume 27 – Number 1 May 2007
Welcome to the new Thistle, a magazine that is geared to all who served in
The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment). It is slimmer, easier to read and
focussed primarily on the activities of old Royals, especially in the fine
Branches of the Association, which provide such comradeship, support and
fun. Each of the Branches is flourishing with membership steadily
increasing and it has been heartening to see volunteers stepping forward
to take leadership positions and other key posts.
In the 1st Battalion it will not surprise you to hear that, under Lt Col Bob Bruce’s
leadership, the Battalion continues to shine and thrive, building a cracking
good reputation - fully manned, fighting fit, smart and efficiently preparing
themselves for operations with 4 Mechanised Brigade later this year. Do read
the article – the Battalion is in excellent order and offers youngsters
tremendous opportunities. What could be better than being based in
Edinburgh, in receipt of a good overall salary (much improved in the last pay
award) plus the prospect of further financial bonuses such as £2,400 for a 6-
month operational tour (in the past soldiers would almost forfeit pay for the
opportunity of operations!), take part in tremendous training opportunities,
not only in the UK but also in Germany, Poland, Kenya and (this month) Belize,
and enjoy great sport (especially rugby) and adventure training. I mention this because even though the Battalion is
fully manned we must not take our foot off the recruiting pedal – the Regiment needs every soldier.
Over the past year we have quietly and efficiently been ensuring that our history is in good order and up-to-date. Last
November the Lord Lieutenant of Midlothian, Mr Patrick Prenter, kindly planted a tree, to replace a previous tree
planted by Princess Mary, in Glencorse Barracks. Our Regimental Museum has been reconfigured and updated to
reflect our change in status and our link to The Royal Regiment of Scotland. Looking ahead, on 26 April the old 8th
Battalion Colours, which have been lodged for safekeeping at Glencorse Barracks and then Regimental Headquarters,
will be laid up, in the presence of The Princess Royal, in the Tweeddale
Council Building, Peebles. Then on 9 May The Princess Royal has
Dates for your Diary
May 19 Rugby Sevens, Dreghorn
June 10 Southern Section, Summer Lunch
June 15 Officers’ Cocktail Party
July 25 Minden Day Events, Dreghorn
Sep 29 Association Dinner
Sep 30 Musselburgh Races
Oct 5 Officers’ Regimental Dinner
Nov 5 Opening Garden of Remembrance
Nov 10 Southern Section Cross Planting
Nov 11 Remembrance Sunday
kindly agreed to unveil a new plaque on the recently refurbished and
updated Regimental Monument in Princes Street Gardens. And lastly,
Lt Col Bob Paterson is making good progress in the writing of the final
chapter of the Regimental history.
In addition we continue to provide our full support to the new
Regiment, especially the 1st Battalion at Dreghorn. The next two
major events will be The Royal Scots 7s on Saturday 19 May and the
Minden Day Parade on 25 July. Both events promise to be highly
enjoyable.
In closing I hope that you will agree that your old Regiment is in
good order. The Association continues to gain strength and along
with the Benevolent Committee, provide tremendous support and
comfort to old comrades and their families. If, for some reason, you
have yet to join the Association I urge you do so now.
Brigadier R L Scott-Bowden MBE ADC
www.theroyalscots.co.uk

1st Battalion
The Royal Regiment of Scotland
The 1st Battalion of The Royal Regiment of Scotland has been together for over 7 months. We have
developed a strong sense of identity, founded firmly on the pedigree of our antecedents, and our
programme for the next year and a half has helped us focus on a strong operational sense of purpose.
For The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment) and The King’s Own Scottish
Borderers, much of the first half of 2006, while both 1st Battalions were
deployed on operations, was spent in preparation for our merger. The focus
in the second half of the year was on consolidating the new Battalion. This
involved the relocation of half of the team from Omagh to Edinburgh and the
relocation of elements from Omagh and Edinburgh to other SCOTS battalions
in Britain, Northern Ireland and Germany. The process was a significant
challenge. We tried to ensure that postings were coordinated for the benefit
of each individual’s career and that soldiers and their families were placed
where they wished to go. It was never going to be possible to be 100%
successful in this latter respect but we took great pains to accommodate
peoples’ wishes and to try, wherever possible, to avoid compulsory postings. There were a lot of moving parts to be
managed and the process is not yet complete, but it will be concluded by the time these notes are published.
On our formation we became the light infantry battalion of 4th Armoured
Brigade which, on 1 December 2006, re-roled to become a Mechanized Brigade.
The Brigade HQ is in Germany and our geographic mal-location has seen us
spending a considerable amount of time on the road and in the air between
Edinburgh and Osnabruck. This has all been time well spent and we are fortunate
that the Commander and his team are developing some exciting concepts for the
employment of light-roled infantry that will see us in the thick of any action on
operations. We are to be the Brigade’s experts on Counter-Insurgency
Operations, Heliborne Operations and operations in complex terrain, such as
jungles and forests, towns and villages and the desert. These are great jobs for a
light infantry battalion and the Jocks are keen to get stuck into them.
Our departure from 52 Infantry Brigade was marked by a visit from Brigadier
Andy Mackay and Captain David Goodacre, his SO3 G3 O&D/Plans, during which
they accompanied the Battalion on the Friday morning march up the Pentland
Hills. It was a quintessentially infantry business-like affair and at its conclusion
the Brigadier accepted a presentation to mark our departure to pastures new.
Our training focus has been on the individual and section and we reached
Christmas leave having achieved our objectives and ready to launch into more
ambitious collective training. En route to this point we entered 2 teams into the
Cambrian Patrol competition, both of which were awarded silver medals. We will
seek to exploit this success in the 2007 exercise and secure at least one gold medal.
On the home front we have been trying to establish our name as a new
team and to consolidate the close links we have enjoyed over the years
in our traditional recruiting areas. We have also been engaged with both
the Erskine Hospital, raising money and hosting some of its patients and
staff for church services and games, and the West Lothian Toy
Appeal.The year will be busy for us, as it will for all Battalions in the
Regiment. We have just completed our conversion to BOWMAN and are
about to test our new skills and our planning processes at CAST. We will
then deploy to Belize for 6 weeks of intensive training as a Battle Group.
This will culminate in a test exercise under our Brigade Headquarters; if
we are successful we will achieve Collective Training Level 4 and be
page 2
www.theroyalscots.co.uk

eady to begin specific
operational predeployment
training on
our return to UK. We will
also have the additional
and rather prestigious
task of forming the
Brigade’s Surveillance
Company for operations
at the end of the year.
In late 2007 we will
deploy on operations,
recovering in the summer of 2008. This will be our first operational tour as 1SCOTS. We were fortunate to have had a
period of consolidation in the latter half of 2006, during which we built our new team. That period is now over and
we are very much looking forward to establishing our operational credentials.
Changes to the Museum
The Regimental
Museum was closed for
the first two weeks of
March so that we could
make some alterations
to the displays. We
have made additions
to the World War I
cases, increased our
coverage of World War
2 by having new
separate cases to cover Part of the North West Europe case
the 2nd Battalion in
Hong Kong and the 1st Battalion in Burma and used the
existing World War 2 case to display artefacts from the
7th/9th, 8th and 12th/2nd in North West Europe.
We have brought our
story up-to-date by
acknowledging the
demise of the
Regiment on 28
March 2006 and the
formation of The
Royal Regiment of
Scotland. Finally,
hidden behind a
graphic we have a
mannequin (nude
save only for brogues
and hose) which we
will expose once we
have a uniform from
the new Regiment in
which to dress him.
Congratulations
In March Colonel Martin Gibson received the
Institute of Directors Voluntary Sector Director
of the Year award for his work as Chief Executive
of Erskine.
Glencorse Gates
Major Ian Johnstone’s work to improve the area
inside the gates has continued with a small wall
to back the central garden completed and a
beech hedge inside the perimeter fence to
follow which will eventually screen the barrack
block. He has also instigated a programme to
improve the general appearance of the garden.
Thanks to his sterling work we now have a
Remembrance Garden inside our gates which
will develop with time.
Additions to the
Monument
The work on the Regimental Monument in West
Princes Street Gardens has been completed and
the new plaque was formally unveiled by Her
Royal Highness The Princess Royal on 9 May. A
more detailed report and photograph will
appear in the next issue.
28 March 2006 Exhibit page 3

8th Battalion Colours
Colours were presented to the 8th Battalion at Glencorse
on 23 September 1950 by HRH The Princess Royal. When
the battalion amalgamated with the 7th/9th to form the
8th/9th, these Colours were lodged in the Officers’ Mess
at Glencorse until the barracks ceased to have a training
function when they were recovered to the Regimental
Museum. They were finally laid up in the Council
Building, Rosetta Road, Peebles on 26 April in the
presence of Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal. This
ceremony was part of a larger visit programme to the
building organised
by the Lord
Lieutenant. A small
representative party
from The Regiment
and particularly
former members of
the 8th Battalion
were in attendance,
including Colonel
Chay Corsar who, as
a young subaltern,
had received the
Regimental Colour in
1950.
Bessbrook Memorial
In 1996, whilst the 1st Battalion was in South Armagh on
its 9th operational tour in the Province, a memorial
stone was dedicated in memory of the four Royal Scots
killed in South Armagh by terrorists. As a result of
“normalisation” the Bessbrook Mill Base has been closed
and the site is to be redeveloped. The stone has
therefore been moved to a more secure environment in
the Memorial Garden in Palace Barracks.
Rain Stops the Races
An inch of rain falling in 6 hours forced the cancellation
of racing at Musselburgh after just three races when the
jockeys felt that it was unsafe to continue. Despite the
weather a good number of the Regimental family
attended and many took advantage of the facilities of
the Queen’s Stand where food and drink were available,
the racing could be watched on the television monitors
and bets placed without getting wet. Many of the
Regimental party got their day off to a poor start when,
showing loyalty to the Colonel of the Regiment, they put
their money on “Robbie Scott” in the first race;
unfortunately he did not run fast enough and was
unplaced. We hope for better weather on 30 September
for this year’s meeting.
Pontius Pilates Bodyguard
Work on Volume 3 (2000-2007 “Last Post and Reveille”) is progressing well. Over 50% has now been written and work is
about to start on sourcing the maps and photographs. No decisions have yet been taken over production and marketing
but it is hoped that the final volume will be published in the autumn (ready for Christmas).
Remembrance
A short ceremony was
held at Glencorse on 11
November when a
small group from
the Regimental family
Jim Ford and Tommy Byrne at the
opening of the Garden of
Remembrance
witnessed the
Lord Lieutenant of
Midlothian, Mr Patrick
Prenter, lay a wreath
on behalf of the
Regiment at the
Memorial Gates followed by Lieutenant Colonel Bruce
on behalf of 1 SCOTS. The party then moved into the
Barracks where Mr Prenter planted a tree to replace
one, originally planted by HRH The Princess Royal in
1929, which had been removed during the
refurbishment of the barracks.
page 4
Lord Lieutenant at the gates
The Tree Planting

Regimental Association
War-Time Section Notes
The war-time Sections of the Regimental Association consisting of the following:
1RS (1939 – 45) Section - Chairman: Pete Dakers
2RS (Hong Kong) Section - Chairman: Captain Jim Ford CB MC
12th/2nd RS Section - Chairman: Albert Gourdie
8RS Section: - Chairman: Jimmy Cornwall
7th/9th RS Section - Chairman: Captain Jack Storie MC
continue to be administered centrally at Home Headquarters under the control of Captain Bill Sutherland,
supported by Sue Brown and Eileen Morris in the main office. This includes the organising of “centralised”
functions – in the main, the Lunch in May, the Dinner in late September and Remembrance Day events in
November, Membership Lists, running the accounts for those Sections still with “active” accounts and the issue
of annual Section newsletters in December enclosing new Membership Cards.
A very successful Gathering/Reunion Dinner was held at The Royal Scots Club on Saturday 23 September last year –
a total of 95 attended. Brigadier Robbie Scott-Bowden travelled up from Warminster to attend the Dinner and after
the meal gave a speech updating those present on a number of Regimental matters and summarised how the recent
formation of The Royal Regiment of Scotland was progressing. He made two presentations at the Dinner – Purves
Memorial Prize to Mr Charlie McGrogan (Young Royals Section) and a gift to Mr George Simmonds from the Members
of the 8th Battalion Section to commemorate his period as Chairman on handing over the reins to Mr Jimmy
Cornwall.
The following events are planned for 2007:
Fri 27 Apr - Regimental Association AGM.
Wed 9 May - Unveiling of plaque – RS Monument Princes Street Gardens.
Sat 12 May - Lunch at the Royal Scots Club (details have been issued).
Wed 25 Jul - MINDEN Day Events at Dreghorn Barracks.
Sat 29 Sep - Gathering/Reunion Dinner at the Royal Scots Club.
Sun 30 Sep - Royal Scots Race Day – Musselburgh Racecourse.
Mon 5 Nov - Opening of Garden of Remembrance Princes St Gardens.
Sun 11 Nov - Remembrance Sunday.
Details of those who have died since the publication of the November 2006 issue of the Thistle are recorded later in
this issue.
All correspondence for members of the war-time sections should continue to be sent to Captain Bill Sutherland at the
following address:
Captain (Retd) W G Sutherland
Home Headquarters
The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment)
The Castle,
Edinburgh
EH1 2YT
Tel: 0131 310 5016
page 5

The Young Royals
Edinburgh Section on Remembrance Sunday
Since the last Thistle in November we have had our usual round of events starting with the Beating Retreat at
Dreghorn which was duly performed by our Association Pipe Band. This was followed by a great night in the
Sergeants’ Mess which of course now belongs to The Royal Scots Borderers. The RSM, Bob Stuart, made us feel
welcome and promised to support the Young Royals whenever he can. I can confirm Bob was true to his word and
has granted us permission to use the Mess for our next Ladies Welcome Night to be held in October 2007.
At the AGM, which was held at the community centre in Dreghorn Barracks at the end of October 2006, our Chairman
George Mullholland stated his intention to resign due to personal reasons. George has been a very hands-on
Chairman and it has been a very successful tenure. Knowing the Young Royals George will not be allowed to go with
a whimper and if I were in his shoes I would prepare for the bang! George you have been warned.
Our usual round of Christmas dances was held in December with the Edinburgh and West Lothian Sections leading
the way. Before we knew it we were into 2007 and the Burns Night was upon us. This year there was an extra twist to
the tale with Andy Kyle proposing to Liz Judge. It was a great way to get out of learning his address to the guests.
We all wish them well and are looking forward to the wedding in September.
In February a couple of our members, Sam Soave & Andy Fitzpatrick, took on the arduous task of walking from
Prestonpans British Legion to the Whitburn British Legion, a distance in excess of 30 Miles, although it took them 13
hours it must be remembered that Sam is no spring chicken and Andy could certainly play Mother Goose. The
benefactor of their efforts was The Royal Scots Benevolent Society (a further report appears below).
As we go to press I am pleased to say that our Standard Bearer Party is to accompany the Association Pipe Band to
an event in Genoa, Italy. In charge for this trip will be Sonny Walker who will be telling us all about it in the next
Thistle. Unable to make this trip due to height restrictions on Italian military planes (5’0”) was Harry “Tavish” Wright.
I am sure Harry will get me back in the next issue!
Before I go I must thank those who have supported me in the last year. After what must seem a frustrating couple of
years for Dykes and Anna McKinnon the East Lothian Section is again taking shape under the guidance of Tom Logan
and George Higgins. In the last 3 months attendance at the meetings has increased from less than 5 to nearer 20.
Watch this space for a Northern Section.
The Young Royals Membership is standing at 210, which is tremendous bearing in mind this time last year it was 130.
It is up to us all to make sure we do our best to encourage former Royals to join us. Have a good 2007.
page 6

Reunion 2007. Friday (13 April) was a day that I will
look back upon as a “How did we get away with it
day?” First of all Paddy Barnes had a call from our
usual DJ to say that he had broken down in Blackpool
and would not be able to make it. I had visions of
Harry Wright and myself having to dust down the
Flannigan and Allen costumes, or even worse …
seeing if we could arrange a Karaoke. Luckily, the
Bainfield Club had a firm based in Livingston that they
use to supply their acts for a Saturday night. After a
quick call and a wee dose of Valium, all was well with
the world and we had a DJ who was coming over from
Glasgow, so we could relax. Nae chance. Our resident
chef, Thomasino Stotto, could be heard muttering in
the kitchen … this cooker is “daein ma heid in”. I
thought “Here we go, salads all round tonight”.
Anyone who had the curry, and it was the business,
should think of Tam and how much effort he had put
into it. Needless to say the big man deserves much
praise for all that he has done for the Young Royals in
the last few years. I find it hard to believe that we will
have to fork out for someone to provide the reunion
buffet next year. (Please Tam just one more year.)
After all the hullabaloo we settled down and enjoyed
another great night. Jan Strudwick was looking good,
although she is still suffering from a stiff back.
General Mark, not to be outdone, also had a stiff back,
but he had a stiff upper lip as well! (Officers … what
would we do without them!)
I would like to thank Kate and Jimmy Ovens for once
again organizing the raffle for us; some cracking
prizes. Thanks to Tam Stott for a tremendous buffet,
to Bill Leith for assisting in the preparation and to wee
Harry …for being wee Harry.
Tam Douglas
Charity Walk – Young
Royals Section Members in
Aid of The Royal Scots
Benevolent Society
L-R Sam Soave, Robbie Todd and Andy Fitzpatrick.
On 18 February a team from the Young Royals
Section of the Regimental Association (Andy
Fitzpatrick, Sam Soave and Robbie Todd) completed
a sponsored walk (fully kitted out in DPM Combats
with rucksack) from Prestonpans (East Lothian) to
Whitburn (West Lothian), to raise fund for The Royal
Scots Benevolent Society.
A fantastic effort! A cheque for the amount of
£1225.40p was presented to Captain Bill Sutherland
(Secretary of The Royal Scots Benevolent Society) at a
short presentation which took place at Home
Headquarters, Edinburgh Castle, on Friday 23 March.
Southern Section
The Southern Section began the Remembrance Week in
style with a number of members being present for the
opening of the Garden of Remembrance. Alan Dunn
was our front man and met HRH The Duke of
Edinburgh. On Saturday evening Ros Trafford Roberts
kindly took our short service at the Regimental plot, General Bob Richardson gave the ‘Exhortation’ and Pipe Major Ian
Fleming played the lament, ‘Flowers of the Forest’. Some 50 people attended. We then moved by tube to RV in a pub which
the Chairman missed altogether, in part because it was closed. Instead members, using their initiative, gathered in the
hostelry next door. Victor Lucas, our Yeoman Warder, met us and then took us on a blood-curdling tour around the Tower.
After an excellent supper and some drinks in the Yeoman Warders’ mess we witnessed the Ceremony of the Keys.
Next morning 25 of us assembled on Horse Guards Parade with General Philip as our right hand marker carrying our
wreath. Our contingent had pride of place at the head of column ‘A’ and so, with the sun shining, we enjoyed an
outstanding view of the Service before the March Past. Due to Finlay Maclean’s lobbying of the BBC we were well
mentioned in the commentary. Amongst our ranks were three Second World War veterans: Ian Munro MC, John Myles
who served with 1 RS in Burma and Les Womack ex RSF. Headdress and turn-out were of a high order. Our drill
sergeant, Alistair Ritchie, did his best to keep us in step even giving the order to change step as we marched away
from the bands near the Cenotaph and back towards Horse Guards where HRH The Duke of Kent took the salute.
We then retired to the Army and Navy Club joining our ladies with numbers rising to a record 42 and starting with a glass
of champagne courtesy of Fiona Drysdale. Thanks to Finlay Maclean’s arrangements we then had a buffet lunch in a room
of our own accompanied by much laughter and jokes of dubious taste and origin. Our President proposed a toast to ‘the
fallen of the Royal Scots and the future of the 1st Battalion of The Royal Regiment of Scotland’. General Bob then gave a
very interesting address pointing out that it had been a great privilege for him as a previous Colonel of The Royal Scots
to present new badges and hackles on 28 March 2006 to the 1st Battalion in Dreghorn Barracks where some 58 years before
he had first joined The Royal Scots. Whereas then there had been 144 battalions in the Army, by next year there would
only be 36. He paid tribute to the quality of young Officers, Warrant Officers and Senior NCOs now serving and said that
whilst many had stayed with the new 1 st Battalion some had gone to other battalions of The Royal Regiment of Scotland
taking with them the standards of The Royal Scots. He then referred to the Association and how it could play its part in
the new Regiment. Finally he urged members of the Southern Branch to ‘treasure the past and embrace the future’.
page 7

The Royal Scots Benevolent Society
Chairman: Major D J C Meehan
Secretary: Captain W G Sutherland
The Royal Scots Benevolent Society (Charity Number SC 011397) was inaugurated in 1919 immediately after the Great
War. By means of donations and legacies a Fund was gathered.
Since its inception the Society has assisted over 17,000 families, for various reasons, from Boer War Veterans to
serving soldiers (which includes former Royal Scots who now serve with The Royal Regiment of Scotland). In case of
need, any former Royal Scot, his widow or other dependants may apply for assistance and all cases will be
investigated and considered. Applications for assistance should be made to:
Secretary, The Royal Scots Benevolent Society, c/o Home Headquarters
The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), The Castl,e EDINBURGH EH1 2YT
Extracts from the Balance Sheet will be published in the November issue of the Thistle.
Constitution – Changes which have occurred as a result of the formation of The Royal Regiment of Scotland on
28 March 2006.
A number of changes to the Constitution had to be made as a result of the formation of The Royal Regiment of
Scotland on 28 March 2006. These Changes were approved by both the Trustees and Members at Extraordinary
General Meetings held in Edinburgh on Friday 31 March 2006 and have now been published.
There have been some changes to the Objects of the Society and the detail as contained in the Revised Constitution
is as follows:
“Objects”
The objects of the society shall be as follows:
a. to help to conserve, promote and celebrate the position, prestige, history, traditions and privileges of The Royal
Scots (The Royal Regiment) (hereinafter referred to as “the Regiment”) as the First Regiment of Foot and the
Senior Regiment of the Line in the British Army.
b. to provide financial assistance to persons serving or who have served in the Regiment in any rank (hereinafter
referred to as “soldiers”), whose full-time service is about to end, to soldiers who are in part-time service and to
former soldiers, to help them to obtain employment;
c. to provide financial assistance or gifts in kind to former soldiers, their widows, children and other dependents,
(being soldiers widows, children and dependants who are in distressed or needy circumstances).
d. to provide financial assistance or gifts in kind to the fiancée and natural children of soldiers who have died while
a serving member of the Regiment, and who are in distressed or needy circumstances;;
e. to grant small pensions to former soldiers and their widows, being former soldiers or widows who are aged or
infirm;
f. to contribute to organisations of which former soldiers who are in distressed or needy circumstances have been
or are likely to be beneficiaries;
g. to contribute to any Trust established for purposes that are exclusively charitable provided such Trusts have
objects that include the promotion of the improvement, efficiency or welfare of Regiments of the Armed Forces
of the Crown or units thereof.
The Royal Regiment of Scotland
For those former Royal Scot Officers and Soldiers now serving in The Royal Regiment of Scotland please be assured
that, as you have previously subscribed via the Day’s Pay Scheme to The Royal Scots Benevolent Society, should you
or your dependants be in distressed or needy circumstances, you will still be eligible to apply for help.
Your Day’s Pay Scheme to The Royal Scots should have ceased with effect 28 March 2006, the formation date of The
Royal Regiment of Scotland and, by now you should have been asked to complete the relevant forms agreeing to
give One Day’s Pay to the newly formed Welfare Fund of The Royal Regiment of Scotland.
In all cases, if an applicant served in 2 or more Regiments during his service, any grant given is divided on a prorata
basis.
page 8

Domestic Occurrences
Deaths
ALEXANDER:
On a date in September 2006 in St Andrews aged 75,
W R Alexander, former 2Lt in the 1st Battalion (National
Service).
ALLFREY:
On 17 December 2006, Alfred Charles Allfrey, formerly
1 RS 1939-45 and member of the Regimental Association.
BEAUCHAMP:
On 24 January 2007, Jim Beauchamp, formerly 8th
Battalion and member of the Regimental Association.
BURKE: (Belated Entry)
On 22 February 2006, Thomas Burke, formerly 2 RS
(Hong Kong) and member of the Regimental
Association.
BYRNE:
On 16 November 2006, Tommy Byrne, formerly a Piper in
2 RS (Hong Kong) and member of the Regimental
Association.
CHARTERIS:
On 19 November 2006 in Cape Town, Maj J D Charteris,
aged 92, formerly 1 RS.
COMBE:
On 14 December 2006, Peter Combe, formerly 8RS and
member of the Regimental Association.
EGAN:
On 30 March 2007, Tom Egan, formerly 6th Bn RSF and
Honorary Member of the Regimental Association.
FLANNERY:
On 16 October 2006, Martin Flannery of Sheffield,
formerly 1 RS (39-45) and member of the Regimental
Association.
GARRIOCK:
On 30 March 2007, William Garriock, formerly 8th
Battalion and member of the Regimental Association.
HAMILTON:
On 25 January 2007 at Livingston, Ronald (Ronnie)
Hamilton, formerly MTWO 1RS and member of the
Regimental Association.
HARPER:
On 8 June 2006, Norman Harper, formerly 7th/9th
Battalion and member of the Regimental Association.
LETFORD: (Belated Entry)
On 21 July 2006, Terence Letford, formerly 2 RS (Hong
Kong) and member of the Regimental Association.
LUKE:
On 16 January 2007, Robert (Rab) Luke, formerly
12th/2nd Bn, member of the Regimental Association and
volunteer at the Royal Scots Museum, Edinburgh Castle.
MACKILLOP: (Belated Entry)
In 2004, Mr N MacKillop of Dunbar, formerly 12/2
Battalion and member of the Regimental Association.
MALONEY:
On 13 November 2006 in Canada, Tom Maloney,
formerly 7th/9th Battalion.
McKAY:
On 19 December 2006, William McKay, formerly 7th/9th
Battalion and member of the Regimental Association.
MURPHY:
On 21 September 2006, Francis Murphy aged 89 yrs,
formerly 1RS (39-45) and member of the Regimental
Association.
PAGE:
On 4 November 2006, Captain J L Page, formerly 1RS
(39-45) and member of the Regimental Association.
RIDDELL:
On 27 March 2007, Stan Riddell, formerly NRPS CQMS
A Coy and 2 Coy 2/52 Lowland Volunteers.
ROGER:
In Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on 31 March 2007,
Maj George Roger, formerly 1 RS Regimental Band
(Band Cpl in 70’s) and Director of Music Highland Band.
SPOONER:
On 3 March 2007, Bill Spooner, formerly 2RS (HK) and
member of the Regimental Association.
SYCKELMOORE: (Belated Entry)
In July 2003 in Croydon, Surrey, Bob Syckelmoore,
member of the Southern Section of the Regimental
Association.
WAIDE:
On date unknown in West Croydon, James Waide,
formerly 2RS (HK) and member of the Regimental
Association.
WALKER:
On 10 January 2006, James Walker, formerly 7/9RS and
member of the Regimental Association.
WALKER:
On 31 August 2005, Samuel Walker, member of the
Southern Section of the Regimental Association.
WESTERN:
On 10 January 2007 in Bradford, Sydney Western,
formerly 8th Battalion and member of the Regimental
Association.
Births
BRODIE:
On 27 February 2007 to Andy and Christel Brodie, a
daughter, Chloe Lucile.
page 9

Infantry Junior
Leaders Battalion
There has been an IJLB Association for some years with
over 480 members but it has recently undergone a
major relaunch and has a new website and forum
www.ijlb.co.uk. They are actively recruiting new
members; you can join online or contact :
Dave Midcalf, The Maltings
Pound Street, WARMINSTER
Wiltshire BA12 8JR. Tel: 01985 300919
Military Scotland
Jim Eaton, a former member of
the 7th/9th Battalion, has
republished a map that he
originally illustrated in the 1970s.
It shows the cap badges of the
Regiments of the 20th Century
and the Military organisation in
Scotland of 1890 when there were over 100 different
units – Regular, Yeomanry, Militia, Volunteers and
Auxiliaries. It also displays the former Regimental
system showing individual Territorial Districts,
Depots and Battalion Headquarters. This map, which
measures 25” by 19”, is available from either Home
Headquarters or The Royal Scots Club for £7.95
(inclusive of postage and packing). All profits will go
to support the work on The Royal Scots Monument.
Correction
In the November issue of The Thistle I listed on page
329 the names of the Regimental Sergeant Majors of
the 1st Battalion since 1949. Regrettably I missed out D
McMeekin who took over from L Gilbert. (Mea culpa.)
e-Thistle
Copies of this and future issues of The Thistle as
they are published will be available on our
Regimental website at www.theroyalscots.co.uk.
If you are content to receive your copy solely in this
format rather than as hard copy please let us know.
Keep in Touch
Please ensure that you keep us up to date with your
contact details:
Home Headquarters,
The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment),
The Castle, EDINBURGH EH1 2YT Tel: 0131 310 5016
rhqrs@btconnect.com www.theroyalscots.co.uk
Eaton Hall
Over 15,000 National Service Officers were trained and
commissioned at Eaton Hall between 1947 and 1958. Two
of its graduates have written and compiled a book “Call
to Arms”, the major part of which consists of over 100
diverse, often amusing, personal accounts and
reminiscences of cadets’ experience during their
training. This book will entertain any former cadet or
member of staff who passed through this establishment.
Copies of the book are available at £25 from:
Ronnie Adam, Upper Garden Cottage, Yair
GALASHIELS TD1 3PW. Tel: 01896 850648
Cheques should be made payable to EHOCS Book
Account. This is a not for profit initiative and all
surplus will be donated to the Army Benevolent Fund.
Great Scottish Walk
Sunday 10 June 2007
Team Entry from Home Headquarters
Home Headquarters are entering a team of 6 in the
Great Scottish Walk (12 mile course), which is to take
place on Sunday 10 June 2007 in Edinburgh. The team
will comprise of the following:
Colonel Dick Mason (Regimental Secretary)
Captain Bill Sutherland (Assistant Regimental
Secretary) - Team Captain
Lance Corporal Garry Leask (Museum Shop)
Mrs Eileen Morris (Administrative Officer)
Mrs Sue Brown (Typist)
Mr Keith Spence (Museum Volunteer)
Our nominated charity to benefit from our
fundraising is:
“Regimental Association (Welfare Fund),
THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF SCOTLAND”
If you wish to be sent a copy of the “Official
Sponsorship Form” for the event please ring Home HQ
on 0131 310 5106 or email; rhqrs@btconnect.com
Alternatively, you can forward a cheque to the
amount you wish to sponsor the team to Home HQ,
made payable to: “REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION FUND,
THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF SCOTLAND”. Completed
sponsor forms and monies should be sent to:
Home Headquarters
The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment)
The Castle, EDINBURGH EH1 2HT
Your support is very much appreciated.
page 10

The Royal Scots Club
2006 has been another successful year for the Club. Turnover topped
the £1M mark yet again and our profitability has meant that we have
been able to continue to enhance the fabric and furnishing of the
Club as well as add extra benefits for our members.
We have recently replaced the carpet throughout all the meeting
rooms, the Dining Room, The Hepburn Suite, the lounge and all the
staircases and corridors. The Members Entrance floor has been
sanded and polished and is now looking very grand. Planning
permission has been sought for a disabled toilet on the ground floor
and to create a small Garden Room off the Cocktail Bar. Several of
our bedrooms have been redecorated and refurbished to ensure
they remain as comfortable as possible. Rates for overnight
accommodation are very competitive for both members and their
guests given the location of the Club and the standard of the
bedrooms. The Royal Scots Mews Cottage, our self-catering holiday
let, has also benefited from a full re-carpet and redecoration.
All our public areas, members’ only areas, bedrooms and meeting
rooms now have access to free wi-fi connectivity. All you need to do
is to collect a user name and password from reception and you can
log on to collect your e-mails and surf the internet from your laptop.
Membership of the Club has grown yet again and at the end of
2006 we had 1422 members. During the start of the year we were
also delighted to welcome 26 officers from 1 SCOTS Officers’ Mess
who are now full members of the Club.
Our social programme is well supported by our members and during the last season we have enjoyed a wide range
of topics for our monthly lectures from Brigadier Charles Ritchie on ‘BRIXMIS’ to Cdr Dairmid Gunn on ‘The Story of
Russian Ballet’. The members were privileged to have Lord Mackay of Clashfearn as their speaker at the St Andrews
Night Dinner; over 120 members and their guests enjoyed a Christmas lunch and a full house was well entertained by
the Leith Theatre Players at the annual Burns Supper. The Club Committee work hard to offer a variety of events to
cater for a wide range of tastes for the members throughout the year.
The Club’s events rooms are well used and we can happily cater for meetings and conferences for anything up to 120
delegates. Our private dining rooms are also popular for family occasions, weddings and company dinners.
The Royal Scots Club, 30 Abercromby Place, Edinburgh EH3 6QE. Tel: 0131 556 4270
info@royalscotsclub.com www.royalscotsclub.com www.mewscottage.com
SPECIAL OFFER
GULF PRINT
Was £60.00 Now £20.00
Limited Stock
If you are interested please contact the
Royal Scots Regimental Shop on 0131 310 5018
e-mail rhqrs@btconnect.com
We also have other Regimental memoriabilia available
page 11

As We Were
As the final act of the 350th Anniversary activities a time
capsule containing various documents was sealed and
placed in the vaults of The Bank of Scotland with the
intention that it should be opened on the 400th
Anniversary. In the event for obvious reasons it was
opened on our 373rd birthday and the documents
distributed early to the intended recipients. In the bottom
of the box was a letter from the late Colonel Bill Fargus of
which the following is an extract:
“As the capsule is sealed, I have a memory of The Royal Scots
dating back 60 years, starting at Aldershot in 1923 where my
father was 2IC of the 2nd Battalion. We lived in Wellesley
Road, and I clearly remember being taken by my governess
to see a CO’s parade in Goojerat Barracks, and to see my
father’s charger “Fusilier” and give him some sugar. Later I
lived at Glencorse Barracks, Maryhill Barracks, Glasgow and
Talavera Barracks, Aldershot until my father retired as CO of
the 1st Battalion in 1933.
There was then a 4 year gap until I was commissioned.
I served in the Regiment from 1938 until retirement in 1973
and subsequently for 10 years, until 31 August 1983, was
firstly Assistant Regiment Secretary and then Regimental
Secretary at Regimental Headquarters in Edinburgh Castle.
I should like to record a few thoughts and memories,
covering those 60 years, first of The Royal Scots, and then of
Army Life in general.
I spent most of the war with the 8th Battalion, who were quite
magnificent. I came home from Hong Kong in mid 1941, and
after a year instructing at an Officer Cadet Training Unit in
Dunbar was posted to the 8th Battalion and soon became
Adjutant, a post I held throughout the NW Europe campaign.
We trained hard, under Lt Col “Jumbo” Delacombe. He was
ruthless and a martinet. We did not like him, but he did a
wonderful job, and raised the standard of training to such a
pitch that when he was wounded in Normandy in July 1944,
the Battalion survived nearly 5 months, under a totally
incompetent (non-Royal Scot) CO, without any disaster
occurring. In 11 months of this campaign, the rifle companies
had 200% casualties. No officer and only one sergeant
survived from Normandy to the end. The fighting spirit of the
battalion never flagged. Never once did they fail to capture
their objective; we were the only battalion in the Army who
did assault crossings of the 3 major water obstacles, the
Seine, the Rhine and the Elbe.
It is strange that in my whole career, I only spent 9 months
with the 1st Battalion, commanding a company over a period
which included the ill-fated ‘Suez’ expedition of 1956. The
general public now believe this to have been a military
failure. This was far from the case. Militarily it was a
complete success, despite being launched by the politicians
at a moment designed to give the army impossible
administrative and logistic problems. It was sad that such a
fine officer as David Pinkerton, undoubtedly destined to be
a General, was killed so unnecessarily.
During my 10 years in Regimental Headquarters from 1973-83
I have seen more of the 1st Battalion than at any time in my
life. This has covered the tenures of 3 Colonels, Bill Campbell,
David Young and Bob Richardson, and 5 CO’s, Nigel Stisted,
Philip Davies, Stuart McBain, Francis Gibb and Mike Ashmore.
The battalion has been outstanding throughout this period.
It has been a busy time with seven tours in Northern Ireland,
and two major ceremonial events, the presentation of new
colours by HRH The Princess Anne in 1980, and the 350th
Anniversary Review by HM The Queen. Both events were
outstanding successes.
But there can have been no more splendid parade that the
Trooping of the Colour, and the firing of a Feu de Joie on 30
June 1983. Colonel Johnnie Johnston, a Grenadier, from the
Lord Chamberlain’s Office came several months in advance,
on behalf of The Queen, to approve the format of the parade,
and said quite openly that he thought we were being overambitious.
But he certainly had to eat his words. The Feu de
Joie was the greatest success. Few had ever seen this done
before, and it was fired with breathtaking precision, and it
sounded all the more impressive with Salisbury Crags behind
as a backdrop. During the review the Queen leant over to
Princess Anne who was sitting beside her, and remarked
“You will never see a better parade than this!”
I cannot help reflecting that in the 45 years since I joined the
Army, more changes must have come about than at any
other time in history. I joined the 2nd Battalion in Hong Kong
in March 1938. Little progress had been made since World
War One. The tempo was slow. ‘Professionalism’ in the Army
was non-existent. Apart from about 6 weeks in Camp each
year, and when firing on the range, work stopped at lunch
time, and thereafter time was devoted to fatigues, under
Sergeant Majors, and sport. Wednesday was a whole holiday
each week. But as subalterns we had to dine in Mess five
times a week, wearing Mess Kit on Mondays, Tuesday,
Thursdays and Fridays. The Regiment was at this time a
Machine Gun Regiment. We had three companies of Vickers
Guns, and one company, in theory, an Anti-tank company –
but in the absence of anti-tank weapons they were armed
with Lewis Guns. The Bren Gun was introduced into the Army
in 1939. We did our first training on the Bren Gun with
Czechoslovakian made guns captured from the Chinese as
they escaped over the border into Hong Kong from the
Japanese.
We had no mechanical transport, no radios and no mortars.
The first MT, about 8 trucks, and the first mortars arrived in
1938 and 1939. Movement on exercises was all on foot.
Baggage and stores were carried on mules of the Hong Kong
Mule Corps, with Indian leaders. In the more difficult terrain
we normally had to allot one entire company to mule
leading, the allotment for the Battalion being about 180.
The signal platoon communicated with signal flags and
heliographs. In static positions cable was laid for field
telephones.
A private soldier’s basic pay was 2/- (10p) per day. The only
extras he could get were 3d (just over 1p) a day Educational
Proficiency Pay, 3d Military Proficiency Pay and 3d Special
Proficiency Pay. After compulsory stoppages for Barrack
Damages and other items, it was rare for more than 10/-
(50p) a week to be paid over the pay table.
Since 1900 there has been a ‘Fargus’ serving in or on behalf
of the Regiment for 79 years. I now pass on and the only
family connection is my nephew by marriage Ian MacKichan.
I hope his career will be as enjoyable as mine.”