The Calcutta Scottish was a regiment of volunteers of Scottish descent raised in 1914 as an infantry regiment of the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

. The regiment formed part of the army reserves of the Auxiliary Force, India (AFI). The regimental dress uniform was Hunting Stewart tartan. The regiment was disbanded following

India's independence The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...

in 1947.

History

Formation

An attempt was made to raise two kilted companies of "Calcutta Scottish" within the Calcutta Rifles, but apparently without success. This may account for the date for the raising of the Regiment being given as 1 August 1911 in Major Donovan Jackson’s work ''India’s Army''. On 1 August 1914, The Calcutta Scottish Volunteers were formed as part of the Indian Volunteer Force. King's and Regimental Colours were awarded.

First World War

The regiment probably deployed only as individual reinforcements. Some officers are known to have gone to East Africa, but there is no other record of deployment as a unit. There is reference to Calcutta Volunteer Machine Guns armed with

Maxim gun The Maxim gun is a recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Stevens Maxim. It was the first fully automatic machine gun in the world. The Maxim gun has been called "the weapon most associated with imperial conquest" by historian M ...

s which may have included officers and men from the Calcutta Scottish. On 1 April 1917, the regiment was redesignated the 44th Calcutta Scottish. In 1919, the 44th was called out for over two months to deal with "communal riots".

Interwar period

On 1 October 1920, the regiment was redesignated The Calcutta Scottish (Army Auxiliary Force, India) and in 1921 included a Light Motor Patrol armed with Maxim guns (later

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

, then Lewis, then Brens) but mounted in private cars. In 1921 the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

visited the East in and on a visit to the city on 24 December inspected the Calcutta Scottish. In 1926 the unit was called out for over two months, (reason not known, possibly riots?) and was again inspected by the Prince of Wales in 1928. In 1930 the Calcutta Scottish was called out as an aid to the civil power for over two months, during which small detachments were deployed on 18 occasions.

Second World War

The regiment provided a detachment of four men for "

Operation Creek Operation Creek (also known as Operation Longshanks) was a covert military operation undertaken by Britain's Special Operations Executive in World War II on 9 March 1943. It involved a nighttime attack by members of the Calcutta Light Horse a ...

", a

SOE SOE may refer to: Organizations * State-owned enterprise * Special Operations Executive, a British World War II clandestine sabotage and resistance organisation ** Special Operations Executive in the Netherlands, or Englandspiel * Society of Opera ...

operation against Axis shipping in

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

in 1942. The lead unit was the

Calcutta Light Horse The Calcutta Light Horse was raised in 1872 and formed part of the Cavalry Reserve in the British Indian Army. The regiment was disbanded following India's independence in 1947. Operation Creek On reserve since the Boer War, they are most note ...

. In 1946 the regiment was reorganised to consist of an HQ, two companies and four motor platoons, and was disbanded in 1947 upon India's independence.

Uniform

* Badge: The Cross of St Andrew with the coat of arms of Calcutta superimposed, in the upper angle of the cross: a crown. * Jacket: 1920: Scarlet jacket with white facings. By 1946: Scarlet jacket with yellow facings. * Kilt: Hunting Stewart tartan. Rarely worn during World War II. *

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 ...

: 1914-20: Diced Green and white. By 1946: Royal blue with same colour ribbons (Argyle?). Also red and black check/diced. Sun helmets were also worn a lot of the time. * Hose Tops: 1914-20: Green and white. By 1946: Tartan with red flashes. Also red and black check/diced.

Accoutrements

* King’s and Regimental Colours: Passed originally to the London Scottish and in 1953 by them to the United Services Museum in

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

. * Regimental Silver: Passed originally to the

London Scottish Regiment The London Scottish was a reserve infantry regiment then a company of the British Army. In its final incarnation it was A (The London Scottish) Company, the London Regiment until, on 1 April 2022, soldiers in the company transferred to foot ...

and displayed in Edinburgh Castle in 1951. * Regimental Journal: ''Calcutta Scottish Regimental Chronicle''.

Operations

was described in the 1978 book ''Boarding Party'' by

James Leasor James Leasor (20 December 1923 – 10 September 2007) was a prolific British author, who wrote historical books and thrillers. A number of Leasor's works were made into films, including his 1978 book, ''Boarding Party'', about an incident from ...

. A "factional" account in which, for ostensibly deniable purposes, the

, reinforced by four members of the Calcutta Scottish, raided the neutral port of Marmagoa on 9 March 1943. In the port, the German ship ''Ehrenfels'' had been providing information to three German U-boats, on the movement of Allied shipping with the result that some 250,000 tons of British shipping had been sunk over a period of 45 days. After a journey from Calcutta, via Bombay, in the

hopper barge A hopper barge is a kind of non-mechanical ship or vessel that cannot move around by itself, unlike some other types of barges, that is designed to carry materials, like rocks, sand, soil and rubbish, for dumping into the ocean, a river or lake ...

''Phoebe'', the ''Ehrenfels'' was boarded and destroyed along with two other German ships, and one Italian ship. The film '' The Sea Wolves'', released in June 1981, was based on the book and starred Gregory Peck, Roger Moore, David Niven and Trevor Howard. It was filmed on location in Goa.

References

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 British Indian Army infantry regiments Military units and formations established in 1914 Military units and formations disestablished in 1947 Indian World War II regiments Scottish regiments