51st Highland Volunteers
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The 51st Highland Volunteers was a regiment and is now a battalion in the British Army's Territorial Army (TA) or reserve force in the Scottish Highlands, part of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. In contrast with the 52nd Lowland Regiment, a similar regiment located in the Lowlands of Scotland, the 51st Highland Volunteers were comprised of a number of infantry companies scattered in various regions of the Highlands. Both 51st Highland Volunteers and 52nd Lowland Volunteers were unique in that each of their companies was officially the reserve element of a regular infantry regiment in the Scottish Division.
The 51st Highland Volunteers were formed in 1967 with elements of the Highland Brigade, a unit fought in the Second World War. In 1997, however, the regiment was re-organized and became the 51st Highland Regiment.
The name commemorated that of the 51st Highland Division, which fought during the First and Second World Wars.
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[edit] Structure of the Regiment 1961-1971
The 51st Highland Volunteers were formed on 1 April 1967 with headquarters located at Perth, Scotland:
- B (Seaforth Highlanders) Company, located at Wick
- C (Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders) Company, located at Inverness
- V (Liverpool Scottish) Company, located at Liverpool
- No. 2 (Queen's Own Highlanders) Company, raised in 1969 and located at Inverness
[edit] 1971-1975
On 1 April 1971 the 51st Highland Volunteers split into two battalions. A third battalion was subsequently formed as well on 1 April 1975.
- 1st Battalion, 51st Highland Volunteers
- Headquarters located at Perth
- A (The Black Watch) Company, located at Dundee
- B (The Black Watch) Company, located at Kirkcaldy
- C (The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) Company, located at Grangemouth, formed from cadre 3rd Bn The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
- E (The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) Company, located at Stirling
- G (The London Scottish) Company, located at Westminster, London
- V (The Liverpool Scottish) Company, located at Score
- 2nd Battalion, 51st Highland Volunteers
- Headquarters located at Elgin
- A (Lovat Scouts) Company, located at Orkney and Shetland
- B (Queen's Own Highlanders) Company, located at Wick
- C (Queen's Own Highlanders) Company, located at Inverness, Dingwall, Fort William
- D (Gordon Highlanders) Company, located at Aberdeen, Laurencekirk
- G (Gordons) Company, located at Peterhead
- 3rd Battalion, 51st Highland Volunteers
- Headquarters located at Peterhead
- B (Queen's Own Highlanders) Company, located at Wick
- C (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) Company, located at Grangemouth
- D (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) Company, located at Dumbarton
[edit] 1980-ca.1994
In 1981 the 3rd Battalion effectively became the Territorial battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and in 1995 became the 7th/8th (V) Battalion of that regiment, while the 2nd Battalion became the 3rd (V) Battalion of The Highlanders.
A Z (Home Service Force) Company was formed in 1984 at Perth, Kirkcaldy and Dundee. A number of re-organizations and company re-locations also occurred in the 1980s. Between 1992-1993, the remaining battalion, the 51st Highland Volunteers were again reorganised:
- HQ Company at Perth
- A Company at Dundee
- B Company at Forfar
- K Company at Kirkcaldy
The regiment was subsequently redesignated in 1994 as the 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, The The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment).
[edit] 1999 onwards
51st Highland, 7th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (7 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the British Territorial Army.
The current regiment was formed in 1999 by the amalgamation of all three of the battalions, 7/8 A&SH, 3 The Highlanders, and 3 Black Watch, in consequence of the reforms of the Territorial Army. The Battalion Headquarters is based at Queen's Barracks in Perth and the battalion has four companies:
- A Company at Dundee, Stirling
- B Company at Peterhead, Elgin, Keith
- C Company at Wick, Stornoway, Kirkwall and Lerwick
- D Company at Dumbarton and Dunoon
As part of the restructuring of the British Army, the 51st Highland Regiment became the 7th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland which was formed on 28 March 2006.
