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 Reserve battalions in the Royal Regiment of Scotland, along with 52nd Lowland (6 SCOTS), a similar unit located in the Scottish Lowlands. Originally formed as the 51st Highland Volunteers in 1967, as a result of the amalgamation of Territorial Battalions within the infantry Regiments of the Highland Brigade, the name commemorated the 51st (Highland) Division of the Territorial Force, within which many of the Regiment's antecedent Territorial Battalions served during the First and Second World Wars.

History

Origins and First World War

The current Battalion traces its lineage back to the reserve Rifle Volunteer units that were originally raised in the Scottish Highlands as part of the Victorian Volunteer Force by Lord Lieutenants in every county. These included Highland units from the north-west of Scotland such as the Argyllshire Rifle Volunteers, the Inverness-shire Rifle Volunteers, the Ross-shire Rifle Volunteers and the Sutherland Rifle Volunteers. However, the lineage also includes elements of the Forfarshire Rifle Volunteers, the Perthshire Rifle Volunteers, the Fifeshire Rifle Volunteers, the Elginshire Rifle Volunteers, the Aberdeenshire Rifle Volunteers, the Banffshire Rifle Volunteers, the Renfrewshire Rifle Volunteers, and the Clackmananshire Rifle Volunteers. The current unit is the direct descendant of the infantry battalions that made up the 51st (Highland) Division, of which Highland Rifle Volunteer units became a part. This division was formed as part of the Haldane Reforms, which integrated the Volunteer Force, Militia and the Yeomanry into the nascent Territorial Force, created by the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907. These units saw action as part of 51st Highland Division at the Battle of the Somme, the Battle of Arras, the Third Battle of Ypres and the Battle of Cambrai in France during the First World War.

Interwar period and Second World War

After the Armistice, the Territorial Force and its formations were disbanded. It was re-established, by the Territorial Army and Militia Act 1921, as the Territorial Army however, and the original Highland Territorial Battalions were reconstituted, although there were several amalgamations. During the Second World War these units again saw action as part of 51st (Highland) Infantry Division but many troops were detained as prisoners of war in Germany after more than 10,000 members of the division were taken prisoner at St Valery.

Post-war restructuring and Cold War

In August 1946 the 51st (Highland) Division was disbanded. Shortly afterwards however the formation was revived as part of the 51st/52nd (Scottish) Division, created via an amalgamation with the 52nd (Lowland) Division. They once again became a Territorial Division upon demobilisation in 1948. In 1950, the 51st/52nd (Scottish) Division was split, restoring the independence of the 51st Highland Division, which took regional command of Territorial Army units based in the Scottish Highlands, including the TA infantry battalions of the Highland Brigade regiments. British forces contracted dramatically as the end of National Service took place in 1960, as announced in the 1957 Defence White Paper. As a result, on 20 July 1960, a reorganisation of the TA was announced by the War Office.

The 1966 Defence White Paper and after

This was followed by complete reorganisation as announced in the 1966 Defence White Paper. The 51st Highland Volunteers were formed in 1967 from the amalgamation of territorial battalions of regiments in the Highland Brigade. It was a TAVR II (NATO reserve role) unit with headquarters located at Perth, Scotland. 51st Highland Volunteers c.1967 In 1969, the three TAVRIII (Home defence) battalions were reduced in size and amalgamated into the 51st Highland Volunteers, forming three additional companies: On 1 April 1971, the 51st Highland Volunteers split into two battalions. A third battalion was subsequently formed on 1 April 1975. 51st Highland Volunteers c. 1975 In 1981, the 3rd Battalion effectively became the Territorial battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders; in 1995, it became the 7th/8th (V) Battalion of that regiment. The 2nd Battalion became the 3rd (V) Battalion of The Highlanders. A Z (Home Service Force) Company was formed in 1984 at Perth, Kirkcaldy and Dundee. A number of re-organizations and company re-locations also occurred in the 1980s. Between 1992 and 1993, the remaining elements of 1st Battalion, the 51st Highland Volunteers were again reorganised. 51st Highland Volunteers c.1993 The 1st Battalion was subsequently redesignated (in 1994) as the 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment). The regiment was re-formed in 1999 by the amalgamation of all three battalions (viz 7/8 Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 3 The Highlanders, and 3 Black Watch) into a single battalion, the 51st Highland Regiment (51 HIGHLAND), in consequence of the reforms of the Territorial Army in the Strategic Defence Review. It had one support company and five rifle companies. 51st Highland Regiment c.1999 As part of the Delivering Security in a Changing World review of the British Army, on 28 March 2006, the 51st Highland Regiment became the 7th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (also known as (7 SCOTS)).

Current structure and operations

The battalion headquarters is based at Queen's Barracks in Perth. The Highland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland (Reserve) is administered by the battalion, as well as the unit's own battalion Pipes and Drums. Under the Army 2020 Refine, the battalion was paired with 3 SCOTS as a light infantry battalion. The battalion is currently made up of one support company and three rifle companies: **51st Highland Volunteers, 7th Battalion c.2021 **

Lineage