Product Description

The Black Watch was formed at Aberfeldy in Perthshire in the early eighteenth century as an independent security force, or 'watch', to guard the approaches to the lawless areas of the Scottish Highlands. Instantly recognisable due to the famous red hackle cap badge and the traditional dark blue and green government tartan kilt from which it got its name, The Black Watch was renowned as one of the great fighting regiments of the British Army and served with distinction in all major conflicts from the War of Austrian Succession onwards. In a highly controversial move, the regiment served under the operational control of the US Army during the counter-insurgency war in Iraq in December 2004. The Black Watch prided itself on being a 'family regiment', with sons following fathers into its ranks, and this new concise history reflects the strong sense of identity which was created over the centuries. In 2006, as part of a radical review of the country's defence policy, The Black Watch was amalgamated into the new Royal Regiment of Scotland. This new account of the famous regiment is therefore a timely memorial to its long and distinguished history.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #120133 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

About the Author
Trevor Royle has built up an outstanding reputation as a historian of war and empire. His recent books include The Civil War: The War of the Three Kingdoms 1638-1660, Patton: Old Blood and Guts and the ground-breaking Crimea: The Great Crimean War 1854-1856. He lives in Edinburgh.

Customer Reviews

Concise yet lacking little!
Formed in 1725 as an independent security force (or watch) their initial task was to guard the lawless areas of the Scottish Highlands. From those dark years through to the present day, the Black Watch has served its country fearlessly and has earned the enviable reputation as being one of the finest fighting regiments in the British Army.

Brave men of the regiment added many battle honours to the regimental colours over the years- they are of course too numerous to mention them all here, however historically famous names such as Alma, Sevastopol and waterloo, together with Egypt, South Africa, Ypres, Arras, Loos, Somme, Cassino, Tobruk and El Alamein will be familiar to many and need no further elaboration in respect of the hardships suffered and the gallant actions fought . In post war years, the regiment saw active service in Korea, Kenya, Cyprus, Northern Ireland, Kosovo and more recently in Iraq. Other unusual accolades include them being the last Resident battalion in Hong Kong and were present there in 1997 when the British flag was lowered for the last time. Rather unusual is the fact that 8 Pipers of the regiment also led the funeral procession of the late President John F Kennedy !

This excellent concise history follows Trevor Royale's previous publication detailing the history of the Royal Scots-another distinguished Scottish regiment who, along with the Black Watch were "swallowed up" in 2006 (as part of the government's radical defence policy), into the newly formed Royal Regiment of Scotland. Despite this volume's compactness and most attractive price, the author has successfully managed to cover nearly 300 years of distinguished service in enough detail to provide the military historian, collector and family history researcher with a host of invaluable information. In common with his previous volume, this title has some excellent colour and black and white plates too, together with an appendix that includes a fully comprehensive index, a Regimental Family Tree, a full list of battle honours together with citations for the Victoria Cross together and details of regimental marches, badges and tartans.

All in all, a very useful reasonably priced volume that will appeal to a wide range of readers, especially those with an interest in this regiment.