Fiona Connah 
Although 8th May 1945 marked the end of hostilities in Europe, the conflict in the Far East was not over. Thousands of Allied Forces continued to fight in Asia and the Pacific, while many languished in Japanese Prisoner of War camps. This included soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, The Black Watch who had been in … Read more
A selection of the artefacts on display in the ‘Spoils and Souvenirs’ exhibition The Black Watch Castle and Museum’s new exhibition, ‘Spoils and Souvenirs’ is now open. Just as we bring back souvenirs from our holidays, soldiers often returned home with keepsakes from overseas. This exhibition discovers the stories behind some of these objects and … Read more
One of the things I enjoy most about developing and researching special exhibitions for the museum is the unknown stories that are discovered. Our new exhibition, Spoils and Souvenirs, examines the significance of objects brought back by soldiers from war. Some are simply keepsakes, but others have darker connotations and origins. It was not unusual … Read more
represent all of the 8,960 Black Watch soldiers who lost their lives during the First World War.
When it comes to curating exhibitions we traditionally try to take a step back. Curators aim to describe a setting, tell a story using interesting and enlightening objects and ultimately remain objective. This always fails, of course. In every word of every panel and label there is an opinion or emotion. We simply cannot tell … Read more
A favourite painting of the Museum staff is the Marriage Portrait of Lieutenant Colonel James Stewart to Williamina Kerr 1803 by James Giles (b.1801-d.1870), as it is one of the few paintings in the collection which portrays a female. This is an oil painting on canvas, 102 x 75cm. This painting can be viewed by … Read more
As a Regimental Museum it is difficult, when wandering around the store, to avoid the occasional sharp, pointy thing, which always seem to be either at head, or elbow, level. All of us who work with the objects in storage have a story to tell about a particular item that is always ‘out to … Read more
The South African troops that relieved the 8th Battalion The Black Watch at the battle of Longueval pushed in to Delville Wood the next day. Despite brave and tenacious fighting they were unable to hold the position, despite reinforcement and support from the Scottish Brigade in reserve. They eventually marched out with two wounded officers … Read more
Pat Savage: Footballer & Soldier A Fife Footballers Great War Story Pat Savage was born at the Little Raith Colliery just on the South edge of Cowdenbeath in Auchtertool Parish on the 19th of November 1882. He was the son of pithead worker Elizabeth Savage, unfortunately his mother died when Pat was very young … Read more
The First World War archive at The Black Watch Castle and Museum holds a notebook that belonged to Private Ed Hall of The Black Watch, who served during the First World War. The notebook contains several poems, but this is a lovely poem, presumably composed with a wife or sweetheart back home in mind. We thought … Read more
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