No. 201 November 2020 100 YEARS of REGIMENTAL HISTORY
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No. 201 November 2020 THE RED HACKLE 1921 - 2020 100 YEARS OF REGIMENTAL HISTORY HELP THOSE WHO HAVE GIVEN SO MUCH By leaving a gift in your Will you can give back to soldiers, veterans and their families for life. Find out more about leaving a gift in your Will to ABF The Soldiers’ Charity. T: 0207 901 8912 E: [email protected] W: soldierscharity.org/legacies ABF The Soldiers’ Charity is a registered charity in England and Wales (1146420) and Scotland (039189). Registered as a company limited by guarantee in England and Wales Photo © Naomi Gabrielle Photography (07974609). Registered Offi ce: Mountbarrow House, 12 Elizabeth Street, London SW1W 9RB No. 201 42nd 73rd November 2020 THE RED HACKLE The Chronicle of The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment), its successor The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, The Affiliated Regiments and The Black Watch Association Private Paul Lowe was killed in Iraq in November 2004. His brothers always wanted to have a lasting memorial for Paul and so raised money to allow them to have a mural painted. It is in their home village of Kelty in Fife. NOVEMBER 2020 THE RED HACKLE 1 2 THE RED HACKLE NOVEMBER 2020 THE Contents Editorial .............................................................................................................................................. 3 Regimental News ............................................................................................................................... 4 RED HACKLE The Black Watch Museum and Friends of The Black Watch Castle and Museum .................. 10 Book Reviews ................................................................................................................................... 13 Correspondence ............................................................................................................................... 14 Obituaries ......................................................................................................................................... 17 Articles .............................................................................................................................................. 30 The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland ............................................ 49 51st Highland, 7th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland .................................................. 62 The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada .......................................................... 64 Black Watch Battalion Army Cadet Force .................................................................................... 67 Association News ............................................................................................................................. 71 Editorial We live in interesting times and much of the news in this edition has been affected by the Coronavirus pandemic. I have been editor for thirty editions and this will be my last, spanning a period of extraordinary change from 2005 to 2020. I hope that readers will not mind too much if I look back over the last fifteen years? The Chronicle of Before doing so, you may find it interesting to note that the first Red Hackle Magazine was produced in April 1921 and that the magazine continued to be published until July The Black Watch 1939. The Second World War intervened and there was a six year gap, the next edition (Royal Highland Regiment) being published in January 1946. Since then, the Magazine has been published every its successor year with four, three, two or just one edition a year and so 2020 marks the 100th year The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion of publication. The Royal Regiment of Scotland The 2005 editions recorded the 1st Battalion’s deployment to Iraq on OP BRACKEN, the machinations surrounding the merger of the old Scottish Division Regiments into The Affiliated Regiments the Royal Regiment of Scotland and the deaths of five men who were killed in action in and 2004; Sergeant Stuart Gray and Privates Kevin McHale, Paul Lowe, Scott McArdle and The Black Watch Association Pita Tukutukuwaqa. Lastly, in that year the Iraq Memorial in the grounds of Balhousie Castle was dedicated and those names are recorded at the home of the Regiment. By 2006 the magazine recorded the final exploits of the 1st Battalion The Black Watch November 2020 (Royal Highland Regiment) and on the 28th of March 2006 the Regiment was no longer No. 201 part of the Order of Battle of the British Army. A new portrait of the Colonel-in-Chief was unveiled in 2007. Privates Scott Kennedy and Jamie Kerr were killed in action in Iraq and in the following year, a memorial was dedicated in the grounds of Balhousie Castle for the soldiers of The Black Watch, 3rd Published for The Black Watch Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland. By 2008 the purchase of Balhousie Castle, enabled by a grant from the Association was on the horizon and the Heritage Appeal was launched in 2009. In the same year the Black Watch battalion deployed to Afghanistan and sadly Sergeants Sean Binnie and Gus Millar, Bombardier Craig Hobson and Privates Robert McLaren and Kevin Elliott were killed and Corporal Tam Mason died of his wounds. The Heritage Appeal was very much alive in 2010 and in 2011 many of the responsibilities of the Regimental Trustees were passed to the Trustees of the Association. The Old Colours of the 1st Battalion were marched off parade in Edinburgh in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen and a dinner for surviving 2nd World War veterans was held in Perth. METHOD PUBLISHING By 2012 the Heritage Lottery Fund had given a grant of £778k to the Appeal Fund, 64 Main Street, Golspie, the Black Watch Battalion were undertaking their second tour in Afghanistan and in Sutherland, Scotland KW10 6TG June the Old Colours of the 1st Battalion The Black Watch and the 1st/51st Highland Telephone (01408) 633871 Volunteers were deconsecrated and laid up. The first volume of our Regimental history, “Highland Furies” was published and finally a dinner was held to mark the 60th to whom all enquiries regarding anniversary of the Battle of the Hook. advertising should be addressed. Work began on the commissioning of a statue at Black Watch Corner in 2013 and in June the new Museum and extension to Balhousie Castle was opened. In May 2014 Editorial Matter and Illustrations three hundred members of the Regimental family gathered in Ypres to attend a Service © Crown Copyright of Dedication of the statue at Black Watch Corner and in July the Duke of Rothesay officially opened the museum. The Great War Memorial Wall was established in the grounds of Balhousie Castle in Design and Typography 2015 to mark the deaths of every Black Watch officer and soldier killed during the Great © Method Publishing 2020 War and the Black Watch battalion deployed to Cyprus in support of the UN. Lastly in 2015, the Association held a Northern Ireland OP BANNER dinner to mark forty five years since the first deployment in 1970. In 2016 the Castle hosted the hugely successful “Poppies: Weeping Window” and over 120,000 people visited the exhibition. The Regimental Trust and Wavell Appeal Funds were wound up and a dinner to honour our National Servicemen was held in Perth. NOVEMBER 2020 THE RED HACKLE 3 Volume two of the Regimental history “Fighting in the Front Line 1899 - 2006” was published in 2017. The magnificent statue of the Black Watch piper of the 51st Highland Division was installed in the Castle grounds and the memorial to the old Queens’ Barracks was unveiled in Perth. A party also attended the unveiling of the memorial to the 6th Battalion at Monte Scalari in Tuscany. The Black Watch battalion had deployed in the New Year of 2018 to Iraq in a security role. November marked the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War and a large contingent of Black Watch veterans marched at the Cenotaph in London. The major event for 2019 was the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Association. A Kirk Service and lunch was held but events planned for 2020 have been cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Over the last fifteen years the magazine has recorded the deaths of many old friends and comrades. The Association remains vibrant and relevant but like any voluntary organisation, relies heavily on a few people to make Branches operate effectively. Without the commitment of those volunteers and the small number of Association staff we would not be in the strong position that we now enjoy. I have been supported by many people and I offer my grateful thanks to them all but especially to Major Ronnie Proctor. The Castle and Museum, supported by the Friends have taken great strides and have won many awards and accolades but they require more support from Black Watch men as volunteers. In years to come the Castle and Museum will be the lasting heritage to the service of many thousands of men who have served in the ranks of the Regiment and I would encourage you to support it. There are some interesting articles in this edition, ranging from so far unpublished letters written by Major Sandy Leslie MC during the Second World War, a report on a Great War memorial near Crieff, a fascinating extract from the memoires of Major General Neil McMicking when he served in Russia during the Revolution, two contemporary articles written by serving officers and lastly a report of the celebration of the liberation of Vught in October 1944. The opinions expressed in the articles of the magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily