The Union Street drill hall is a military installation in

Keith Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

History

The building was designed as the headquarters of the 6th (Banff and Donside) Battalion, the

Gordon Highlanders Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

and was completed in around 1908. (The 1:2500, 2nd edition, Ordnance Survey Plan, published in 1904-1905, does not show the drill hall) The battalion was mobilised at the drill hall in August 1914 before being deployed to the Western Front. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the battalion amalgamated with the 5th Battalion to form the 5th/6th (Banff, Buchan and Donside) Battalion but with its headquarters located at

Bucksburn Bucksburn is an suburb of the city of Aberdeen, Scotland, named after the stream that flows through it. The stream is called Bucks Burn. Bucksburn was formerly a market village before being swallowed up by the spread of the city. The area is b ...

and without a company based at Keith. In 1967 C Company, 3rd (Territorial) Battalion, The Gordon Highlanders was formed at the Union Street drill hall in Keith. The presence at the Union Street drill hall was reduced to a detachment of Headquarters (Queen's Own Highlanders and Gordon Highlanders) Company, 2nd Battalion,

51st Highland Volunteers The 51st Highland Volunteers (51 HIGHLAND) is a battalion in the British Army's Army Reserve or reserve force in the Scottish Highlands, forming the 7th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, also known as 7 SCOTS. It is one of two Re ...

in 1971. This detachment became part of B (Highlanders) Company, 51st Highland Regiment in 1999 and was re-designated a detachment of B (Highlanders) Company, 51st Highland, 7th Battalion 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 ...

in 2006. The building still remains an active

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

Centre.

References

{{reflist Drill halls in Scotland Buildings and structures in Moray Keith, Moray