The Lowland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland is a

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the tit ...

in the Territorial Army and one of three military bands in the

Royal Regiment of Scotland The Royal Regiment of Scotland is the British Army Order of Precedence, senior and only Scottish regiment, Scottish line infantry regiment of the British Army Infantry. It consists of three regular (formerly five) and two Army Reserve (United ...

. The band is based at the East Claremont Street drill hall in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and is administered by 52nd Lowland, 6th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (6 SCOTS). The other two bands in the Regiment are the regular Regimental Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, which is based at

Dreghorn Barracks Dreghorn Barracks are located in Edinburgh, Scotland. The barracks are situated at the southern edge of the city, south of Colinton, and adjacent to the Edinburgh City Bypass. History The present barracks complex was largely built in 1937–1939 ...

in Edinburgh and is administered by the

Royal Corps of Army Music The Royal Corps of Army Music (RCAM, widely known by its former acronym CAMUS) is a Corps of the British Army dedicated to the provision and promotion of military music. History The formation of the Corps of Army Music was triggered by a defen ...

, and the other is the territorial Highland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, which is based at

Queen's Barracks Queen's Barracks was a military installation in Perth, Scotland. History The barracks were established in the north west of the city as a home for cavalry regiments in 1793. It became the home to the 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) and it was ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and administered by 51st Highland, 7th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (7 SCOTS).

History

The band was originally formed in 1958 for service with the Territorial 7th/9th (Highlanders) Battalion of The

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regimen ...

(The Royal Regiment), based at the East Claremont Street drill hall in Edinburgh, and they wore a Hunting Stewart kilt, the uniform of the old 'Dandy 9th' (Highlanders) Battalion of the Royal Scots who, as Highlanders living in Edinburgh, refused to wear the Royal Scots' Lowland tartan

trews Trews (Truis or Triubhas) are men's clothing for the legs and lower abdomen, a traditional form of tartan trousers from Scottish Highland dress. Trews could be trimmed with leather, usually buckskin, especially on the inner leg to prevent w ...

. In 1961, the 7th/9th (Highlanders) Battalion was amalgamated with the 8th (Peebleshire) Battalion of The Royal Scots to become the 8th/9th Battalion and when the Territorial Army was reorganised into the Territorial Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) in 1967, the 8th/9th Battalion Royal Scots became part of the Royal Scots and Cameronians Territorials. This unit was itself disbanded in 1969 and its soldiers were transferred to the

52nd Lowland Volunteers The 52nd Lowland Volunteers (52 LOWLAND) is a battalion in the British Army's Army Reserve or reserve force in the Scottish Lowlands, forming the 6th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, also known as 6 SCOTS. Due to its erstwhile as ...

, which had also been raised in 1967. The band, supplemented by bandsmen from 278 Field Regiment Royal Artillery, was however put under the command of the City of Edinburgh University

Officer Training Corps The Officers' Training Corps (OTC), more fully called the University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), are military leadership training units operated by the British Army. Their focus is to develop the leadership abilities of their members whilst ...

and then became known as The Royal Scots (Territorial) Band East Lowlands. The band eventually followed the other elements of the old Royal Scots and Cameronians Territorials, also coming under the command of the 52nd Lowland Volunteers in 1970, retaining its name as the Royal Scots Territorial Band. When the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 52nd Lowland Volunteers were renamed as a result of the

Front Line First Front Line First: The Defence Cost Study was a UK programme of defence cuts announced on 14 July 1994 by then Defence Secretary Malcolm Rifkind. Front Line First was announced four years after Options for Change, which was a military draw-down a ...

reforms of the British Army in 1994, the band stayed with the redesignated 1st Battalion, which became The Lowland Volunteers in 1995 and subsequently the 52nd Lowland Regiment in 1999. As a result of the

Strategic Defence Review The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) was a British policy document produced in July 1998 by the Labour Government that had gained power a year previously. Then Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson, set out the initial defence policy of t ...

of 1998, the band was renamed as The Band of 52nd Lowland Brigade on 1 July 1999 and although it was administered by the new

52nd Lowland Regiment The 52nd Lowland Volunteers (52 LOWLAND) is a battalion in the British Army's Army Reserve or reserve force in the Scottish Lowlands, forming the 6th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, also known as 6 SCOTS. Due to its erstwhile as ...

, it had actually become a Brigade level asset. It did however retain the uniform and cap badge of the

. After the formation of The

on 28 March 2006, 52nd Lowland Regiment became the new Regiment's 6th Battalion and the band took the title The Lowland Band of The Royal Regiment of Scotland. Along with the Highland Band and six current

Pipes and Drums A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term pipes and drums, used by military pipe bands is also common. The most common form of pipe band consists of a section of pipers playing the Great Highland bagpipe, a ...

in the new Regiment, the Lowland Band continues to wear its antecedent uniform, the No. 1 pattern ceremonial dress of the Royal Scots, but now with the cap badge of the Royal Regiment of Scotland on the

Glengarry The Glengarry bonnet is a traditional Scots cap made of thick-milled woollen material, decorated with a toorie on top, frequently a rosette cockade on the left side, and ribbons hanging behind. It is normally worn as part of Scottish military ...

. The original regular Lowland Band of the

Scottish Division The Scottish Division was a British Army Infantry command, training and administrative apparatus designated for all Scottish line infantry units. It merged with the Prince of Wales' Division, to form the Scottish, Welsh and Irish Division in ...

was formed under the command of the

Corps of Army Music The Royal Corps of Army Music (RCAM, widely known by its former acronym CAMUS) is a Corps of the British Army dedicated to the provision and promotion of military music. History The formation of the Corps of Army Music was triggered by a defen ...

in 1994, and consisted of the amalgamated regular regimental bands of the three Lowland Scottish infantry regiments at the time, the

, the

King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own ...

and the

Royal Highland Fusiliers The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (2 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. Prior to 28 March 2006, the Royal Highland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment in its own right, c ...

. The band was itself amalgamated with the Highland Band of the Scottish Division in 2006, forming the regular Regimental Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Current activities

The Lowland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland takes part in military and civilian events all over the UK and the world on behalf of 6 SCOTS and the Royal Regiment of Scotland, including the Battalion's annual

Beating Retreat Beating Retreat is a military ceremony dating to 17th-century England and was first used to recall nearby patrolling units to their castle. History Originally it was known as watch setting and was initiated at sunset by the firing of a single ...

and

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...

ceremonies in

George Square George Square ( gd, Ceàrnag Sheòrais) is the principal civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of six squares in the city centre, the others being Cathedral Square, St Andrew's Square, St Enoch Square, Royal Exchange Sq ...

, the

Edinburgh Military Tattoo The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is an annual series of military tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and international military bands, and artistic performance teams on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle in the capital of S ...

and the Opening of the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

.Scottish Parliament article on the Lowland Band
The current Director of Music is Captain Phillip Wood, a former Bandmaster of the regular Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and Bandmaster of the Light Cavalry Band.

External links

6 SCOTS Battalion Webpage

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowland Band Of The Royal Regiment Of Scotland British ceremonial units Royal Corps of Army Music Musical groups established in 1958 Royal Regiment of Scotland Scottish ceremonial units 1958 establishments in Scotland