The Black Watch Today
The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland is normally based in Fort George near Inverness – an 18th Century Fort looking out over the Moray Firth, and has taken on the role of Security Force Assistance.
The Battalion has had a presence both in the UK and across Europe. It had trained hard for operations, maintaining its conventional capability and upholding the reputation of the Battalion and Regiment. In addition to focusing on its own training and expertise – making use of centres such as the Jungle Training School in Brunei, it provided training assistance in Nigeria, the Gambia and elsewhere.
Over the coming year the Battalion is expecting to continue being involved in training with other nations and developing common operating procedures in order better to understand their requirements.
The Black Watch Battalion, as part of The Royal Regiment of Scotland, is actively recruiting and is constantly on the lookout for enthusiastic and able new officers and soldiers.
51st Highland, 7th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland – 7 SCOTS
The tradition of the Black Watch volunteer soldier lives on.
The recent re-structuring of the Army and the name change from Territorial Army to Army Reserve has not changed
the character of the soldiers. They still have the ethos and fighting spirit of their forefathers.
51st Highland, 7th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (7 SCOTS), who are headquartered in Perth, live on as direct descendants of the 4th (City of Dundee), 5th (Angus), 6th (Perthshire) and 7th (Fife) Battalions who forged their reputations in France and Flanders during the First World War (1914–1918) and again in France, North Africa, Italy and North West Europe from 1939-1945. With HQ Company based in Perth and A Company headquartered in Dundee, the old roots are still alive within the Battalion today as they serve alongside C Company (Inverness) and D Company (Dumbarton).
The soldiers in 7 SCOTS, many of whom have served on Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan (as well as other theatres like Cyprus, Kosovo, Former Yugoslavia etc.) are now drawn from Dundee, Angus, Fife, Perthshire and Aberdeenshire, as well as the Highlands, Stirlingshire and Dunbartonshire, and are working towards ever closer integration with their regular cousins in The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) and the other battalions in the Regiment.
Find out more about joining the Army Reserve
The Black Watch has a long and proud association with young people in its area.
There are two Army Cadet Force battalions with affiliations to The Black Watch. They are:
- The Angus and Dundee Battalion (which recruits from the County of Angus and the City of Dundee)
- The Black Watch Battalion (which recruits from Perth and Kinross, and Fife)
Each battalion provides instruction in a number of subjects including first aid, map and compass, fieldcraft, adventurous training and leadership.
In addition the cadets can participate in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme and there are opportunities to travel abroad, play sport and take part in a myriad of other activities.
Both battalions have active pipe bands and there is the chance to join a regimental wind and brass band.
Boys and girls aged 12 years and over can join as cadets. In addition there are opportunities for adults who wish to join as an instructor and put something back into the local community.
If you are interested in joining as a cadet or as an adult instructor, or to find put more about your local cadet battalion. Please call 01382-533349 (Angus and Dundee Battalion) or 01738-626571 (Black Watch Battalion).
As one might expect for a Regiment with such a huge global influence we’ve attracted many friends and admirers over the years. Our influence has spread throughout the Commonwealth and we had affiliations with Regiments in Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. As the links to the old Commonwealth countries have evolved and national armies have got smaller, the affiliations have changed but in March 2006 the Army List recorded the following alliances with The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment):
Canadian Armed Forces
The Prince Edward Island Regiment
The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada
The Lanark and Renfrew Scottish Regiment
Australian Military Forces
The Royal Queensland Regiment
The Royal New South Wales Regiment
New Zealand Army
1st and 2nd Squadron New Zealand Scottish, RNZAC
South Africa
Transvaal Scottish
Currently, we maintain a strong affiliation with The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada which predates Canada itself, having been formed in 1862.
In Australia links to the Royal Queensland Regiment and The Royal New South Wales (both reserve light infantry units) are maintained by The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland.
Sadly the links to New Zealand no longer exist as the New Zealand Scottish Regiment was disbanded and their Colours laid up in 2016.
In South Africa The Transvaal Scottish, another reserve infantry unit has been active since 1902.
Any friend of our affiliates is a friend of The Black Watch and is more than welcome at our Regimental Association Headquarters at Balhousie Castle in Perth.
