No. 161 May 2016
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No.161 May2016 THE REDHACKLE Treatyourselfand your family to theperfect highland holiday. You’ve earned it. Theperfect highland retreatinthe heartofRoyal Deeside Freshclean air, greathospitality, breathtaking viewsand so much to do.Treat yourself to theperfect highlandholiday at Douneside House, acharmingScottishcountry houseoffering holidayssubsidised by The MacRobertTrust forall servingand retiredofficersofthe armedservices andthe reserves. Perfectfor youngfamilies with excellentfacilities includingspa,pool, gymand indoor gamesarea. Forreservationsand details of ourspecial offersavailable throughout theyearcontact Paul Middlemiss on +44 (0)13398 81230 or email [email protected] See independent reviews on tripadvisor.co.uk/douneside additionaldiscount is available to thoseonr&r or potl DounesideHouse Tarland,Aberdeenshire, AB34 4UL Scotland w: www.dounesidehouse.co.uk t: +44 (0)13398 81230 e: [email protected] No. 161 42nd 73rd May 2016 THE RED HACKLE The Chronicle of The Black Wa tch (Royal Highland Regiment), its successor The Black Wa tch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, The Affiliated Regiments and The Black Wa tch Association Balhousie Castle will host Poppies: Weeping Window from 30 June to 25 September 2016. This hugely popular project by artist Paul Cummins was first displayed at The Tower of London in 2015. MAY2016 THE RED HACKLE 1 Scotland’s BEST KEPT Step through the blast Secret doors to discover aworld of Cold Warsecrets! “the cold warisn’t thawing” richard m. nixon -1964 Troywood, St Andrews, Open 7daysfrom 10am Fife, KY16 8QH Tel: 01333 310301 SECRETBUNKER.CO.UK Contents The Editorial .............................................................................................................................................. 3 Red hackle Regimental News ............................................................................................................................... 4 The Black Watch Museum and Friends of The Black Watch...................................................... 11 Correspondence ............................................................................................................................... 13 Book Review..................................................................................................................................... 14 Obituaries ......................................................................................................................................... 15 Articles .............................................................................................................................................. 19 The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland ............................................ 24 51st Highland, 7th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland.................................................. 38 The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada .......................................................... 42 Black Watch Battalion Army Cadet Force .................................................................................... 44 Association News ............................................................................................................................. 46 Editorial The best and most recent news is that Balhousie Castle will host the “Poppies: Weeping Window” by artist Paul Cummins and designer To mPiper. Weeping Window is acascade The Chronicle of comprising several thousand handmade ceramic poppies which will “pour” from one of the castle turret windows to the ground below. This project is awonderful opportunity for the Castle The Black Watch and Museum and will run from 30 June-25 September 2016 and Ihope that many readers will (Royal Highland Regiment) come and visit this extraordinary display or volunteer to help host the visitors. its successor The Association has been busy and the many social events show just how vibrant the The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion organisation is. The normal round of Branch Dinners, Burns’ Suppers and the Edinburgh The Royal Regiment of Scotland and Lothians Branch ceilidh bring together many old friends. Perhaps the most interesting gatherings were the OP BANNER Dinners that were held in Perth and London. The two The Affiliated Regiments dinners celebrated the fact that the 1st Battalion had first deployed to Northern Ireland in 1970 and and 45 years had passed since that tour. We also remembered Lance Corporal Edwin Charnley The Black Watch Association who was killed in Belfast in November 1971 and Private Mark Carnie who was killed serving with 1st Battalion The Queen’s Own Highlanders in July 1978. The Chairman of the Association, Colonel Alex Murdoch also led apilgrimage to Auchy Les May 2016 Mines to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Loos. No.161 The Black Watch Battalion has undergone aperiod of reorganisation after it reformed in November, having returned from asuccessful UN tour in Cyprus. Their focus has moved to re-role training, as Light Mechanised Infantry. This has required aperiod of amongst other things, driver training, as vehicles such as the Husky, RWIMIK+ and Foxhound are to be used. Published for The Black Watch 28 March 2016 marked the tenth anniversary of the major reorganisation of the Infantry and Colonel David Arbuthnott has written athoughtful article called “The Te nth Anniversary”; To mmy Moles has researched the 51st Highland Division tactical flashes and seeks your help in identifying what flash the 1st Battalion The Black Watch wore on their battledress in 1940; he has written another interesting piece on the Glen Orchy Rifle Corps. Finally, The Friends of the Museum have had an extensive programme of lectures over the winter months and the programme for 2016 looks equally interesting. Method Publishing sutherland Press house, golspie, sutherland, scotland KW10 6RA telephone (01408) 633871 Fax(01408) 633876 to whom all enquiries regarding advertising should be addressed. The opinions expressed in the articles of the magazine arethose of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy and views, official or otherwise, of the Regimental Association or the MOD. This publication contains official Editorial Matter and Illustrations information. It should be treated with discretion by the recipient. ©Crown Copyright “The RedHackle”ispublished everysix months in Mayand November.Contributions large and small will always be welcome. They should be typewritten in double spacing on one side of the paper only.Photographs, cartoons and sketches of Regimental interest arealso welcome and will be returned if requested. Design and Typography All material for inclusion in the various issues must reach the Editor not later than 1April and 1October ©Method Publishing 2016 respectively. From 1January2013, bulk orders aresupplied at arate of £7 per copy.Individual copies aresent out to permanent subscribers, both in the UK and abroad, at asubscription rate of £14 annually for UK subscribers, £30 annually to Europe and £30 annually Worldwide by airmail. AGift Aid Scheme is available for individual subscribers who aresubject to UK tax. The magazine fund benefits from tax reclaimed in this way.All subscriptions should be sent to the Editor,The RedHackle Magazine, Balhousie Castle, HayStreet, PerthPH1 5HR, and those interested in the Gift Aid Scheme, will on request be provided with the correct forms for completion. MAY2016 THE RED HACKLE 3 CONGRATULATIONS To Major WAColquhoun on his provisional selection for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel in 2016. To Major RFSandford on his provisional selection for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel 2016. To Captain TJTowler on the award of the QCVS in the Operational Awards List. He served from November 2014-May 2015 as the SO3 Current Ops Plans in the Combined Joint Ta sk Force which was responsible for international joint operations in Iraq and Syria. OFFICERS COMMISSIONED INTO THE BLACK WATCH (ROYALHIGHLAND REGIMENT) AND STILL SERVING ON 28 MARCH 2016 After The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) was merged into the Royal Regiment of Scotland, we published alist of all those officers serving in the Regiment on 27 March 2006, the day before the merger. There were 75 names. Since then 52 officers have retired and as at 28 March 2016 the list consists of 24 names: Brig AJAitken Regimental News A/Brig JCRoddis Col RRELindsay Col LRMacDuff FORECAST OF EVENTS 2016/2017 Col BMAWrench DATE EVENT LOCATION Lt Col AVCooper Lt Col DCClose 2016 Lt Col MJFEwing 23 April BW Association AGMPerth Lt Col RSJHedderwick 23 April WOs and Sgts Dining Club AGM Lt Col ADMacGillivray and Dinner Perth Lt Col AMPhilp 7May Al Basrah Dinner Edinburgh Lt Col RFSandford 14 May Aberfeldy Dinner Inverness Lt Col DMSheldrick 20 May Friends’ Cocktail Party Balhousie Castle Lt Col NKGTomlin 4June Officers and Ladies Lunch Ballathie Maj JRPBailey House Hotel Maj CMBBroadbent 13 June Officers and Ladies Lunch London Maj DWBruce Retires 2July 2017 14 June Golf vA&SH Roxburghe Maj WAColquhoun 17 June Black Watch Association Muckhart Maj NPColquhoun Golf Meeting Golf Club Maj BCooper 18 June Regimental Reunion Perth Maj AJColville 01 July Somme Vigil Edinburgh Maj SPDallard 21 July Ticonderoga Day Fort George Maj JEKelmanson 25-27 July LCpl Morrison Interment Nr Arras Maj SGSmall 28 July Somme Memorial Service Thiepval War Memorial INSTALLATION OF MAJOR GENERAL MLRIDDELL- 18 September Angus Branch Standard WEBSTER CBE DSO AS GOVERNOR OF Rededication Newtyle EDINBURGH CASTLE 18 September Fife