The Royal Regiment of Scotland 

    Regimental Miscellany   

Colours:

Colours of a Regiment are its most treasured and respected possession. They bear the foremost battle honours of the Regiment and the insignia and devices to mark its most prized associations and honours.

The colours of each battalion are differentiated by a Roman numeral. The Queen’s Colour is the Union Flag and displays 32 Battle Honours. The Regimental Colour is blue and displays 46 Battle Honours and 5 honorary distinctions. The Regiment has the remarkable distinction of having a third colour, the Assaye Colour, which is carried on parade by 2 SCOTS.

Battle Honours:

The Regiment has amassed 339 Battle Honours. The first Battle Honour was awarded to the The Royal Scots, now 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland at the Battle of Tangier in 1680. The most recent was awarded to the 1st Battalion the Black Watch in Iraq in 2003.

Regimental Motto:

The motto ’Nemo Me Impune Lacessit’  is inextricably linked with the Order of the Thistle, and has been designated by the Statutes of the Order as the motto of that Order since at least the 17th century. The motto translates as ’No one provokes me with impunity’. ( or as some prefer "wha' daur meddle wi' me?"

Regimental Music:

Music is an essential part of Regimental life. Each of the 7 battalions has its own Band of Pipes and Drums manned by soldiers from the Regiment who receive their musical training at the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming in Edinburgh. The Regiment has its own Military Band manned by musicians from the Corps of Army Musicians. The Regiment also has two TA Military Bands based in Edinburgh and Perth.            

 

Regimental Days:

The Royal Regiment of Scotland celebrates Formation Day (28th March, when our 1st Regiment was raised in 1633 and all our Regiments merged in 2006) as a whole; and each of the battalions celebrate days that are pertinent to their antecedent regiments. Full details are in "A Soldier's Handbook".

The Golden Lions:

The Regiment has its own freefall parachute display team. The Golden Lions is manned by soldiers on attachment from all battalions of the Regiment. They are based in Edinburgh and conduct spectacular parachute displays all over the country.     

 If you'd like to go see them in action, look up their diary of displays; use this link: 

 GOLDEN LIONS DIARY

Regimental Museums:

There are Regimental Museums across all of Scotland. They are located as follows:

• The Royal Scots Museum: Edinburgh Castle
  The Kings Own Scottish Borderers Museum: The Barracks, Berwick-upon-Tweed
  The Royal Highland Fusiliers Museum: 518 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow
  The Black Watch Museum, Balhousie Castle, Perth
  The Highlanders Museum, Fort George, near Inverness
  The Gordon Highlanders Museum, St Luke’s, Aberdeen
  The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum, Stirling Castle 

Regimental Kirk:

The Canongate Kirk (The Kirk of Holyroodhouse) on the Royal Mile in
Edinburgh is the Regimental Kirk.

The Regimental Collect
God of our fathers,
Whose hand shapes the coastlands and hills of home,
fashion likewise our lives.
Guard the Royal Regiment of Scotland; keep us brave in battle,
resolute in adversity, loyal to comrade and Crown;
that inspired by the faith and cross of Saint Andrew,
we might secure lasting peace and eternal rest;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen

Uniform:                        

   Capbadge...    

The capbadge is made up of the Saltire (silver diagonal cross taken from the National Arms of Scotland) the Lion Rampant (from the Royal Arms of Scotland) the Crown of Scotland (as housed in Edinburgh Castle) and the Regimental Motto: ‘‘Nemo Me Impune Lacessit’’ (Latin for ‘‘No one provokes me with impunity’’).

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   Tartan...  Tartan was first worn in the British Army when the Highland regiments were raised. The normal uniform was the Government or 42nd tartan (Black Watch). But as the Highland regiments proliferated, they sought to encourage their individual identities by introducing differences into the Government tartan. The Regiment wears the Government 1A tartan.

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   There are many other items of Uniform - and interesting bits of history for them. If you have an interest, you'll find them all documented in the booklet "A Soldier's Handbook" , on sale to raise funds for the Regimental Charity.

There is also an extremely informative and very comprehensive booklet, with full colour illustrations, entitled "Dress Regulations" .  You can get these from the Regimental Association. Click on this link to visit the Association's pages.

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