Royal colours ceremony marks end of military era

Published on Saturday 2 July 2011 18:02

CENTURIES of proud military tradition were laid to rest yesterday in a ceremony that saw the Queen present The Royal Regiment of Scotland with its first stand of colours, the totemic flags that were once a rallying point in battle.

The new colours will take the place of those that were carried for hundreds of years by the old Scottish regiments that were controversially amalgamated in 2006 to form Scotland's single infantry unit.

The presentation of the new colours consigned the individual colours once carried by The Black Watch, The Royal Highland Fusiliers, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, The King's Own Scottish Borderers and The Royal Scots to the history books.

As colonel-in-chief of the new Royal Regiment of Scotland, the Queen made the presentation in Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, where six of the seven battalions of the new RRS paraded. They were accompanied by veterans of the regiments that were merged to create the RRS, who marched with the serving soldiers to the sound of the pipes and drums.

Missing were the soldiers of The Highlanders, 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 SCOTS), who are serving in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, it was the first time six battalions have been on parade at the same time.

The Queen inspected the ranks of 650 soldiers from a Range Rover. In her speech she described the ceremony as "the turning of a page in the history of a regiment" that signified the closing of "one glorious chapter for Scotland's infantry".

Accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, she paid tribute to the "courage, example and duty" shown by Scottish infantry soldiers in the service of their country.

The Queen touched each of the new colours - urging the troops to "guard them well" - before presenting them to the regiment.

Brigadier Charles Grant, colonel of 7 Scots, said: "This is the culmination of the very best of Scottish soldiering and brings together the very best of the old and new. The colours are a tangible embodiment of the spirit of a battalion or a regiment and act as the rallying point."

The new colours follow the traditional pattern and consist of two large flags.One is known as the Queen's colour, which records 32 battle honours from the First and Second World Wars that are common to two or more of the old regiments that were merged to form the RRS.

The other is called the regimental colour and can contain up to 46 battle honours won by the Scottish regiments either side of the two world wars, ranging from 16th-century campaigns to the 2003 war in Iraq.

Over the years, the historic regiments that now make up the one Scottish infantry regiment have accumulated 339 battle honours, the first being won by The Royal Scots at the Battle of Tangier in 1680.

Although none of the battle honours has been lost as a result of amalgamations, there is not enough room for them all to be displayed on the new colours. The choice of battle honours to be featured was made by representatives of the regiments and the curator of Scotland's National War Museum.

The demise of the old colours was greeted with dismay by those who opposed the amalgamation of the regiments.

Lieutenant-Colonel Stuart Crawford, who headed the "Keep Our Scottish Battalions" campaign, said: "Those of us who are disappointed to see the old regiments disappear feel very sad about this. But I suppose if you joined the Royal Regiment of Scotland six months ago, you wouldn't know any different.

"There is no way that you could get all the battle honours on one set of colours. I assume there must have been some horse trading over which ones should be included."

Major Bob Ritchie, formerly of the Black Watch, said: "War veterans on parade, me included, are really not interested in a singular colour being presented to the new (regiment]. We are simply on parade to take back into custody our cherished regimental colour, march it off parade with dignity and give it its final resting place. It is a piece of history that we veterans did not want and never thought possible."

The parade was watched by Captain Alexander Logie, 34, a former soldier who served with The Highlanders.

"It's a shame to see the old colours go," Logie said. "My old regiment is currently serving in Helmand, so maybe they'll come back with a battle honour to add to the new colours."

Colours embody the spirit of the regiment and, although they are no longer carried into battle, they are guarded with pride and treated with reverence. When they are replaced they are laid up in museums, churches or other places of regimental significance. A standing order is still in place to destroy the colours if they are in danger of being captured by the enemy.

Brigadier Mel Jameson, the former producer of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, said: "I am extremely proud of all these very fine Scottish infantry regiments.

"They have a history second to none, going back through the centuries, and on this very special day I would send them every possible good wish for the future.

"Speaking as someone who knows these regiments very well, I wish them well."