Liverpool Scottish In 1859 the United
Kingdom was threatened with invasion by Napoleon
III of France. This led to the raising of Rifle
and Artillery Volunteer Corps for the purposes
of meeting such an invasion. Queen Victoria
signified her acceptance of a Corps of
Volunteers under the title of 'The Liverpool
Scottish Rifle Volunteers (XIXth Lancashire)'.
There were two companies, a Lowland company
and a Highland company, which wore the MacKenzie
tartan. These units were, in general, equipped
and maintained at their own expense; members
paid a subscription and bought their own
uniforms and, in many cases, their commanders
maintained them at their own expense.
The Liverpool Scottish was formed as an
infantry battalion in 1900 in response to
the crisis of the Boer War. It was raised from
amongst the body of highly educated and
professional young Scotsmen in the city as the
8th (Scottish)
Volunteer Battalion, The King's
(Liverpool Regiment). There was an annual
subscription of 10 shillings (50p) and an
entrance fee of £2. The first Commanding Officer
was Colonel C. Forbes Bell. The Forbes tartan
kilt was adopted by the regiment and the
Highland full dress uniform featured a khaki
tunic with scarlet collar and facings together
with a feather bonnet or glengarry and tartan
plaid. A party of men went to South Africa with
the 4th Service Company of the Gordon
Highlanders and were attached to the 1st
Battalion of that regiment. With HQ established
in Fraser Street in the Liverpool city centre,
the home of the Scottish until 1967.
In 1914 the Liverpool Scottish was
mobilised at the outset of war and moved to
France on 1st/2nd November 1914, one of the
first Territorial battalions to do so. At this
stage of the war, officers still carried
swords.... but not for long!
VICTORIA
CROSS WINNER
FROM THE LIVERPOOL SCOTTISH
The Regimental Museum is the responsibility of
the Regimental Museum Trust, established in 1979
to protect the collection of artifacts which
have been acquired since the foundation of the
8th (Scottish) Volunteer Battalion, The King's
(Liverpool Regiment) in 1900. This and its
successor units have been known generally as
"The Liverpool Scottish". The Museum moved
from Forbes House in Childwall in 1999 where it
had reached provisional registration status with
the Museums and Galleries Commission. In its new
location (officially re-opened in November 2002)
it has been awarded 'Fully Registered' status by
Resource (Council for Museums, Libraries,
Archives and Libraries), the successor to the
MGC. It is affiliated to the Army Museums Ogilby
Trust and receives professional curatorial
advice from the National Museums and Galleries
on Merseyside. It receives no public funds on a
regular basis (though there have been some
recent specific purposes grants) and is
maintained otherwise entirely by voluntary
donations from well wishers, private regimental
sources and from those who have made use of its
research services. The Museum has occupied new
premises in Botanic Road, Liverpool and has now
re-established its displays. It will need to
raise substantial funds to ensure the proper
provision for display, conservation and storage
of its collection. The Museum is open to
visitors on a limited basis at present, normally
on a Wednesday afternoon/early evening (2pm to 6
pm and later by arrangement) and other times by
arrangement. A phone call to the Secretary or
Curator is advised beforehand to confirm
availability. See 'Visiting and Contact' page
The Chairman of the Museum Trust is Professor
Donald Ritchie CBE FRSE DL (Emeritus Professor
of Genetics, University of Liverpool). The
Honorary Secretary is Major IL Riley TD FSA Scot
(01925 766157), the Honorary Curator is Mr.
Dennis Reeves. (Tel: 0151 645 5717) and the
Honorary Treasurer is Major K. Ravenscroft
(contact via the Secretary)
The first major battalion action of the
Liverpool Scottish was on 16th. June 1915 in
what is officially known as 'The First Action at
Bellewaarde' which was designed to pin down
German reserves whilst there were British and
French attacks elsewhere. This action is known
in The Liverpool Scottish as 'The Battle of
Hooge'. Hooge is a village is a few miles East
of Ieper (Ypres), straddling the Menin Road. The
Liverpool Scottish, as part of 9th Brigade were
to take part in the second phase of the attack
on ground just North of The Menin Road between
(and including) Railway Wood (still to be seen)
in the North and a hedge row seen on the map
(just North of a feature known as Y-Wood to the
South which no longer exists). They were to be
the left hand battalion and to their right was
to be a battalion of the Lincolns. The
battalion's frontage appears to have been about
400 yards. The assembly position was on the line
of 'Cambridge Road', a feature which exists
today as a metalled track running North from the
Menin Road and a Liverpool Scottish memorial was
unveiled and dedicated here on Saturday 29th
July 2000 during the centenary year, a project
in which the Museum was actively involved.
In 1920, The Liverpool Scottish
reformed as the 10th (Liverpool Scottish)
Battalion, The King's Regiment (Liverpool) TA
but in 1937 was officially redesignated as The
Liverpool Scottish, The Queen's Own Cameron
Highlanders to become an integral Territorial
battalion of the Cameron Highlanders. The bonnet
badge changed to a Liverpool Scottish version of
the Cameron badge. Colours were presented to the
battalion by H.M. King George VI at Goodison
Park football ground in 1938. A second battalion
was formed immediately before the outbreak of
war in 1939. During the 1939-45 war, the 1st
Battalion of The Liverpool Scottish remained in
Great Britain but found many reinforcements for
The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders battalions
(and other Highland regiments) on active service
overseas. Additionally the 1st and 2nd.
Battalions of the Liverpool Scottish provided a
contingent for No. 4 Independent Company which
went to Norway in 1940 to face the German
invasion. Subsequently, many members served with
the Army Commandos including Captain Donald Roy
DSO, decorated for his courage and skill in the
raid on St. Nazaire in 1942 in which many other
Liverpool Scots took part. Donald Roy,
known as 'The Laird', insisted that his men wore
kilts both in training and in action.
The 2nd. Battalion, The Liverpool Scottish,
also supplied reinforcements for Highland
regiments and, after serving in a home defence
role, converted to the 89th Anti-Tank Regiment,
Royal Artillery, disbanding in 1946. The 1st.
Battalion served in Gibraltar from 1945 to 1947.
Another major Museum project has been to
identify the names and details of men of The
Liverpool Scottish who died serving with other
units such as 56th Recce Regt . This research
continues and any additional information would
be welcomed.
1947 - 1967 The 1st Battalion The Liverpool
Scottish reformed at the Fraser Street Drill
Hall in Liverpool in 1947 and, until its
disbandment in 1967 when the Territorial Army
was reorganised, it was firstly a motor
battalion and then an infantry battalion. In
April 1967, The Liverpool Scottish reformed
as V (The Liverpool Scottish) Company, 51st.
Highland Volunteers AVR II with battalion HQ in
Perth. The
company adopted the Highland Brigade bonnet
badge (a stag's head upon a saltire) worn on a
cloth Forbes tartan background and continued to
wear the blue hackle of The Queen's Own
Highlanders. The Forbes tartan kilt (as with all
other forms of dress) was retained. On leaving
Fraser Street, a new HQ for the Territorial
company was established at the TA barracks in
Score Lane in Childwall which had previously
been Signal House. It was renamed Forbes House.
The Liverpool Scottish tradition was thus
blended for the next twenty five years with that
of the famous 51st Highland Division.
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