The Old Bank Road drill hall is a military installation in

Golspie Golspie ( , ) is a village and parish in Sutherland, Scottish Highlands, Highland, Scotland, which lies on the North Sea coast in the shadow of Ben Bhraggie. It has a population of around 1,350. History The name derives from the Old Norse, ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

History

The building was designed as the headquarters of the 1st Sutherland (The Sutherland Highland) Volunteer Rifle Corps and completed in 1892. This unit evolved to become the 5th (The Sutherland and Caithness) Battalion, the

Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's) The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, the Duke of Albany's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw service ...

in 1908. The battalion was mobilised at the drill hall in August 1914 before being deployed to the Western Front. The battalion amalgamated with the 4th Battalion, the Seaforth Highlanders to form the 4th/5th Battalion, The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's), with its headquarters at the Old Bank Road drill hall in Golspie, in 1921. The 4th Battalion and 5th Battalion operated separately from 1939 and 1941, when they amalgamated again after the surrender at

Saint-Valery-en-Caux Saint-Valery-en-Caux (, literally ''Saint-Valery in Pays de Caux, Caux'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region in northern France. The ad ...

. After 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 ...

, the combined battalion amalgamated with 6th (Caithness and Sutherland) Battalion and 7th (Morayshire) Battalion to form 11th Battalion, The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's), with D Company of the 11th Battalion based at the Old Bank Road drill hall. The 11th Battalion then amalgamated with the 4th/5th Battalion, The

Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders or 79th (The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. It amalgamated with the Seaforth Highlanders (the Duke of Albany's) to form ...

to form the home defence battalion of the Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) in 1967. The home defence battalion of the Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) was in turn absorbed into the

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 R ...

in 1969; the building continued to be used on an occasional basis until 1980 since when it has been left to decay. It is now considered to be at risk.

References

{{reflist Drill halls in Scotland Buildings and structures in Sutherland Golspie