The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a

line infantry Line infantry was the type of infantry that formed the bulk of most European land armies from the mid-17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Henri de la Tour d ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with 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 line infantry, of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of England ...

, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment), the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment), the Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons), the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's), 52nd Lowland Regiment, and 51st Highland Regiment to form the

Royal Regiment of Scotland The Royal Regiment of Scotland (SCOTS) is the British Army Order of Precedence, senior and only current Scottish regiment, Scottish line infantry Regiment#British Army, regiment of the British Army Infantry. It consists of three regular (form ...

. However, after just a few months the battalion merged with the Royal Scots Battalion to form the

Royal Scots Borderers The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland (1 SCOTS) was a battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The battalion formed on 1 August 2006 when its antecedent regiments - the Royal Scots and the King's Own Scottis ...

History

Early history

The regiment was raised on 18 March 1689 by David Leslie, 3rd Earl of Leven to defend Edinburgh against the Jacobite forces of James VII. It's claimed that 800 men were recruited within the space of two hours. The regiment's first action was at the

Battle of Killiecrankie The Battle of Killiecrankie, also known as the Battle of Rinrory, took place on 27 July 1689 during the Jacobite rising of 1689, 1689 Scottish Jacobite rising. An outnumbered Jacobitism, Jacobite force under Ewan Cameron of Lochiel, Sir Ewen Ca ...

on 27 July 1689. Although this battle was a defeat for the

Williamite A Williamite was a follower of King William III of England (r. 1689–1702) who deposed King James II and VII in the Glorious Revolution. William, the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, replaced James with the support of English Whigs. On ...

army, the Jacobite commander,

John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee John Graham, 7th of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount Dundee (21 July 1648 – 27 July 1689) was a Scottish soldier and nobleman, a Tory and an Episcopalian. As Graham of Claverhouse, he was responsible for policing southwest Scotland to suppress religi ...

(

Bonnie Dundee Bonnie Dundee is the title of a poem and a song written by Walter Scott in 1825 in honour of John Graham, 1st Viscount of Dundee, John Graham, 7th Laird of Claverhouse, who was created 1st Viscount Dundee in November 1688, then in 1689 led a Ja ...

), was killed by a volley fired by Leven's Regiment, bringing an end to James II's attempt to save his throne in Scotland. The regiment was judged to have performed well and was granted the privilege of recruiting by beat of drum in the City of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

without prior permission of the provost. Soldier of 25th regiment 1742

For a period it was known as Semphill's Regiment of Foot, the name under which it fought at the

Battle of Fontenoy The Battle of Fontenoy took place on 11 May 1745 during the War of the Austrian Succession, near Tournai, then in the Austrian Netherlands, now Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Maurice, comte de Saxe, Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Ar ...

in 1745 and the

Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby endi ...

in 1746. When the British infantry were allocated numerical positions in the 'line' of Infantry the regiment was numbered 25th Regiment of Foot (based on its formation date) in 1751. The regiment fought at the Battle of Minden on 1 August 1759 with five other regiments; this battle honour was celebrated by the regiment each year on 1 August. The 25th was the county regiment of

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

in 1782 when it became known as the 25th (Sussex) Regiment of Foot. The regiment was awarded the right to bear the emblem of the Sphinx for their role in the Battle of Alexandria in 1801. Its recruiting area was moved to the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

region in 1805 from when the regiment became known as the 25th (the King's Own Borderers) Regiment of Foot.

Victorian era

The regiment was not fundamentally affected by the

Cardwell Reforms The Cardwell Reforms were a series of reforms of the British Army undertaken by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell between 1868 and 1874 with the support of Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone. Gladstone paid little attentio ...

of the 1870s, which gave it a depot at Fulford Barracks in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

from 1873, or by the Childers reforms of 1881 – as it already possessed two battalions, there was no need for it to amalgamate with another regiment. The regiment moved to Berwick Barracks in July 1881. Under the reforms the regiment became The King's Own Borderers on 1 July 1881. A 3rd,

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

, Battalion was formed as the Scottish Borderers Militia, with headquarters at

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

. The regiment became The King's Own Scottish Borderers in 1887. During the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dy ...

in 1878 to 1880, the regiment formed part of the 2nd division which was renamed the ''Khyber Line Force'' while guarding the lines of communication between

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

and

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

. The 3rd (Militia) battalion was embodied in January 1900 for service in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, and 998 officers and men embarked for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

on the SS ''Kildon Castle'' two months later. Most of the battalion returned home in June 1902. In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

and the latter the

Special Reserve The Special Reserve was established on 1 April 1908 with the function of maintaining a reservoir of manpower for the British Army and training replacement drafts in times of war. Its formation was part of the military reforms implemented by Ri ...

; the regiment now had one Reserve and two Territorial battalions. The Bachelor's Walk massacre happened in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, on 26 July 1914, when a column of troops of the King's Own Scottish Borderers were accosted by a crowd on Bachelor's Walk. The troops attacked "hostile but unarmed" protesters with rifle fire and bayonets - resulting in the deaths of four civilians and injuries to in excess of 30 more.

First World War

The 1st Battalion was serving in

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

, India when the war broke out. After returning to England it landed at Cape Helles in

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

as part of the 87th Brigade in the 29th Division in April 1915. After being evacuated from Gallipoli in January 1916 it moved to

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

in Egypt and then landed at

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

in March 1916 for service on the Western Front. It saw action at the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

in autumn 1916, the

Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (; ; ), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele ( ), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies of World War I, Allies against the German Empire. The battle took place on the Western Front (World Wa ...

in autumn 1917, the Battle of Lys in April 1918 and the Battle of Cambrai in October 1918. During the

Home Rule Crisis The Home Rule Crisis was a political and military crisis in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that followed the introduction of the Government of Ireland Act 1914, Third Home Rule Bill in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom ...

in 1914, the 2nd Battalion was stationed in Dublin as part of 13th Brigade in the 5th Division. A detachment of the battalion was responsible for killing four and wounding 38 unarmed civilians during an altercation with a crowd on the day of the

Howth gun-running The Howth gun-running ( ) was the smuggling of 1,500 Mauser rifles to Howth harbour for the Irish Volunteers, an Irish nationalist paramilitary force, on 26 July 1914. The unloading of guns from a private yacht during daylight hours attracted a ...

in July 1914. It then landed at

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

in August 1914 for service on the Western Front and saw action at the

Battle of Mons The Battle of Mons was the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force (World War I), British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in the First World War. It was a subsidiary action of the Battle of the Frontiers, in which the Allies of World W ...

in August 1914, the

Battle of Le Cateau The Battle of Le Cateau was fought on the Western Front during the First World War on 26 August 1914. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army had retreated after their defeats at the Battle of Charleroi (21–23 A ...

also in August 1914 and the

First Battle of the Aisne The First Battle of the Aisne () was the Allied follow-up offensive against the right wing of the German First Army (led by Alexander von Kluck) and the Second Army (led by Karl von Bülow) as they retreated after the First Battle of the ...

in September 1914. It later saw combat at the

Second Battle of Ypres The Second Battle of Ypres was fought from 22 April – 25 May 1915, during the First World War, for control of the tactically-important high ground to the east and the south of the Flanders, Flemish town of Ypres, in western Belgium. The ...

in May 1915, the Battle of the Somme in November 1916, the

Battle of Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...

in April 1917, the Battle of Passchendaele in November 1917 and the Battle of Lys in April 1918. The regiment's two Territorial Force units, the 1/4th (Border) Battalion and the 1/5th (Dumfries & Galloway) Battalion, landed in Gallipoli as part of the 155th Brigade in the 52nd (Lowland) Division in June 1915. After being evacuated from Gallipoli in January 1916 they moved to Egypt and then took part in the Third Battle of Gaza in November 1917 before landing at Marseille in April 1918 for service on the Western Front. The 6th (Service) Battalion landed at

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

as part of the 28th Brigade in the 9th (Scottish) Division in May 1915 for service on the Western Front. It saw action at the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used Chemical weapons in World War I, ...

in September 1915, the Battle of the Somme in November 1916, the Battle of Arras in May 1917 and the Battle of Passchendaele in November 1917. The 7th (Service) Battalion and the 8th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 46th Brigade in the 15th (Scottish) Division in July 1915 for service on the Western Front. They fought at the Battle of Loos in September 1915, the Battle of the Somme in November 1916, the Battle of Arras in May 1917, the

Battle of Pilckem Ridge The Battle of Pilckem Ridge (31 July – 2 August 1917) was the opening attack of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The British Fifth Army (United Kingdom), Fifth Army, supported by the Second Army (United Kingdom), Second Army o ...

in August 1917, the Second Battle of the Somme in August 1918 and at the Second Battle of the Marne also in August 1918.

Second World War

The British Army in the Normandy Campaign 1944 B6683

In the period between the wars, the regiment's regular battalions were sent all over the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

to Ireland, Egypt and Hong Kong but were quickly recalled home at the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in September 1939. The 1st Battalion landed in France as part of the 9th Brigade in the 3rd Infantry Division in September 1939 for service with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF); it took part in the

Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

in June 1940 and the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

in June 1944 and saw action at the

Battle for Caen The Battle for Caen (June to August 1944) was a military engagement between the British Second Army and the German in the Second World War for control of the city of Caen and its vicinity during the Battle of Normandy. Caen is about inland f ...

later that month. The 2nd Battalion moved to

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

as part of the 89th Brigade in the

7th Indian Infantry Division The 7th Infantry Division is a war-formed infantry Division (military), division, part of the British Indian Army that saw service in the Burma Campaign. History The division was created on 1 October 1940 at Attock, under the command of Major-ge ...

in September 1943 for service in the

Burma Campaign The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...

and saw action at the Battle of the Admin Box in February 1944 and the

Battle of Imphal The Battle of Imphal () took place in the region around the city of Imphal, the capital of the state of Manipur in Northeast India from March until July 1944. Empire of Japan, Japanese armies attempted to destroy the Allied forces at Imphal and ...

in July 1944. The 4th and 5th Battalions landed at

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo language, Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. The Fortification, walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth ...

as part of the 155th Brigade in the 52nd (Lowland) Division in June 1940 for service with the British Expeditionary Force; after evacuation from

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

later in the month they took part in Operation Infatuate in November 1944 and the subsequent capture of

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

in April 1945. The British Army in North-west Europe 1944-45 BU2437

The 6th Battalion took part in the Normandy landings as part of the 44th Brigade in the 15th (Scottish) Division in June 1944 and saw action at the Battle for Caen later that month and then advanced into Germany. One of its heaviest losses during the war was at the ill-fated

Battle of Arnhem The Battle of Arnhem was fought during the Second World War, as part of the Allies of World War II, Allied Operation Market Garden. It took place around the Netherlands, Dutch city of Arnhem and vicinity from 17 to 26 September 1944. The Alli ...

in which the 7th Battalion, as part of the 1st Airlanding Brigade of 1st Airborne Division, suffered 90% casualties in September 1944; they defended the perimeter in

Oosterbeek Oosterbeek is a village in the eastern part of Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Renkum in the province of Gelderland, about west of Arnhem. The oldest part of Oosterbeek is the Benedendorp (Lower Village), on the northern bank ...

against 2nd SS Panzer Corps.

Post war

After the Second World War, the regiment served internal security duties in the British Mandate of Palestine and was reduced to a single battalion around 1948. The regiment was part of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

forces that saw action at the First Battle of Maryang San in October 1951 during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. Private Bill Speakman was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

for his actions during the Second Battle of Maryang-san. The regiment was deployed during the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...

in the late 1950s. The regiment was deployed to

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

as the garrison battalion in Aden on internal security duties in February 1962. In April 1964, within three months of its return to the UK and during the 24 hours of its first day as the Spearhead Battalion of the UK Strategic Reserve, it was deployed back to Aden in response to the Radfan Campaign in what had become the

Federation of South Arabia The Federation of South Arabia (FSA; ') was a federal state under British protectorate, British protection in what would become South Yemen. Its capital was Aden. History Originally formed on April 4, 1962 from 15 states of the Federation ...

. Within a year of its return to the UK in May 1965, the regiment was again deployed overseas in response to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

's aggression in

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

against newly formed

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. The regiment was at first deployed in Hong Kong, replacing a Gurkha battalion sent to Borneo, then to the Jungle Warfare School at Kota Tinggi in Malaysia in August 1965. The regiment were then deployed in the mountainous and primary jungle areas of Sarawak in October 1965. Shortly after its return to the UK the regiment was posted to

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

in June 1967. It was subsequently regularly posted to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

as part of

Operation Banner Operation Banner was the operational name for the British Armed Forces' operation in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 2007, as part of the Troubles. It was the longest continuous deployment in British military history. The British Army was initia ...

during

the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

and suffered casualties during the 1989 Derryard attack which killed two of its men. It took part in the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

in 1991 but was one of the few Scottish regiments not deployed to the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

: it was being mainly stationed in Northern Ireland instead. The regiment also served in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Operation Telic Operation Telic (Op TELIC) was the codename under which all of the United Kingdom's military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on ...

in 2003.

Restructuring of the infantry

Until 2004 the regiment was one of five in the line infantry never to have been amalgamated, the others being The Royal Scots, The Green Howards, The Cheshire Regiment and The Royal Welch Fusiliers. When five Scottish regiments were amalgamated to form the

on 28 March 2006, the

Battalion and the King's Own Scottish Borderers Battalion initially maintained their identities as separate battalions. However almost immediately the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

moved to amalgamate the two battalions. This was not a new idea: the origins of the combined entity,

, dates from the 1990 ''

Options for Change Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in summer 1990 after the end of the Cold War. Until this point, UK military strategy had been almost entirely focused on defending Western Europe against the Soviet Armed Forces ...

'' review, when it was initially announced that the Royal Scots and King's Own Scottish Borderers would amalgamate. That amalgamation was subsequently rescinded. The Royal Scots Battalion and King's Own Scottish Borderers Battalion duly amalgamated on 1 August 2006 – upon their amalgamation, the new battalion took the name Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland.

King's Own Scottish Borderers Regimental Museum

The King's Own Scottish Borderers

Regimental Museum In countries whose armies are organised on a regimental basis, such as the British Army, army of the United Kingdom, a regimental museum is a :Military and war museums, military museum dedicated to the history of a specific army regiment. List of ...

is located in Berwick Barracks,

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

Honours

The battle honours are: *

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

(1695);

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...

(1759); Egmont-op-Zee (1799);

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

(1801);

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

(1809);

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

(1878–80);

Chitral Chitral () is a city situated on the Kunar River, Chitral River in northern area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Lower Chitral District, and was previously the capital of Chitral District, and before ...

(1895); Tirah (1897–98); Paardeberg,

(1899–1902). *

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

, Aisne 1914,

Ypres 1914 Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

, Ypres 1915, Ypres 1917, Ypres 1918, Loos,

Somme 1916 __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media *Somme (book), ''Somm ...

, Somme 1918, Arras 1917, Soissonnais-Ourcq,

Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (, Siegfried Position) was a German Defense line, defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in France during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to ...

, Gaza. *

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

Sword Beach Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord. The Allied invasion of German-occupied Fra ...

, Odon,

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

, Flushing,

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

, Bremen,

( Ngakyedauk Pass,

Imphal Imphal (; , ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (officially known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the former Kingdom of Manipur, surrounded by a ...

, Irrawaddy). * Kowang-San (1951–52);

(1991). Civic honours are: *Freedom of the town of

(1953).

Colonel-in-Chief

The colonel-in-chief was: *1937: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, CI, GCVO, GBE

Colonels of the Regiment

Colonels of the Regiment were:

Earl of Leven's, or Edinburgh, Regiment of Foot

*1688–1694: Lt-Gen. David Melville, 3rd Earl of Leven *1694–1711: Lt-Gen. James Maitland *1711–1715: Brig-Gen. William Breton *1715–1721: F.M.

Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon Field Marshal Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon, PC (1675 – 20 December 1740) was a British army officer and politician. After serving as a junior officer at the Battle of the Boyne during the Williamite War in Ireland and at the Battle of L ...

*1721–1732: Brig-Gen. John Middleton *1732–1745: Gen.

John Leslie, 10th Earl of Rothes General John Leslie, 10th Earl of Rothes KT (169810 December 1767) was a senior British Army officer who became Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Irish Army between 1758 and 1767. Military career Born the eldest son of John Hamilton-Leslie, 9 ...

, KT *1745–1746: Brig-Gen. Hugh Sempill, 12th Lord Sempill *1746–1747: Lt-Gen. John Lindsay, 20th Earl of Crawford *1747–1752: Gen. William Maule, 1st Earl of Panmure

25th (Edinburgh) Regiment of Foot - (1751)

*1752–1761: Lt-Gen. William Home, 8th Earl of Home *1761–1762: Lt-Gen. Sir Henry Erskine, Bt

25th (the Sussex) Regiment of Foot - (1782)

*1762–1805: Gen. Lord George Henry Lennox

25th (the King's Own Borderers) Regiment of Foot - (1805)

*1805–1831: Gen. Charles FitzRoy *1831–1856: Gen. Sir Henry Frederick Campbell, KCB, GCH *1856–1862: Lt-Gen. Sir Henry Somerset, KCB, KH *1862–1882: Gen. Henry Dive Townshend

York Regiment (King's Own Borderers) - (1881)

*1882–1903: Gen. William Craig Emilius Napier

King's Own Scottish Borderers - (1887)

*1903–1905: Lt-Gen. Somerset Molyneux Wiseman-Clarke, CB *1905–1910: Gen. Sir Frederick William Edward Forestier-Walker, KCB, GCMG *1910–1923: Lt-Gen. Sir Charles Louis Woollcombe, KCB, KCMG *1923–1928: F.M. Sir Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE *1928–1938: Brig-Gen. Duncan Alwyn Macfarlane, CB, DSO *1938–1944: Maj-Gen. Sir Edward Nicholson Broadbent, KBE, CB, CMG, DSO *1944–1954: Maj-Gen. Eric Grant Miles, CB, DSO, MC *1954–1961: Maj-Gen. James Scott-Elliot, CB, CBE, DSO *1961–1970: Lt-Gen. Sir William Francis Robert Turner, KBE, CB, DSO, DL *1970–1980: Brig. Francis Henderson Coutts, CBE *1980–1985: Brig. Andrew Dewe Myrtle, CB, CBE *1985–1990: Brig. Robert William Riddle, OBE *1990–1995: Brig. Colin Grierson Mattingley, CBE *1995–2001: Maj-Gen. Timothy Toyne Sewell *2001–2006: Maj-Gen. John Cooper, DSO, MBE

Football

The 1st Battalion's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team was a member of the

Irish Football League Irish commonly refers to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the island and the sovereign state *** Erse (disambiguati ...

for one season, 1903–04, while the battalion was stationed at the

Victoria Barracks, Belfast Victoria Barracks was a military installation in New Lodge, Belfast in Northern Ireland. History The barracks were completed just before the Irish Rebellion in 1798. In 1873 a system of recruiting areas based on counties was instituted under th ...

Gallery

TalbotCokeCabCard2-383x600.jpg, John Talbot Coke, second-in-command of the KOSB in the Sudan campaign, who went on to be a general officer in the Second Boer War Bill Speakman VC.JPG, Sergeant Bill Speakman, who was awarded the Victoria Cross in the Korean War. KOSB 004 crop.jpg, Cap badge, King's Own Scottish Borderers KOSB 001 crop.jpg, Cap badge, King's Own Scottish Borderers King's Own Scottish Borderers Memorial, North Bridge Edinburgh.JPG, King's Own Scottish Borderers Memorial, North Bridge Edinburgh

References

External links

6th Bn., King's Own Scottish Borderers Historical Reenactment Unit
(archived 16 February 2012)
KOSB WWII historical reenactment unit

(archived 28 June 2014) {{Authority control Scottish regiments Military of Scotland 1689 establishments in Scotland Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in the Korean War Regiments of the British Army in World War I Regiments of the British Army in World War II Military units and formations established in 1689 Military units and formations in Berwick-upon-Tweed Museums in Northumberland Regimental museums in England Military units and formations disestablished in 2006 2006 disestablishments in the United Kingdom R