1st Battalion The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders   Edinburgh 1984 - 1986

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          The move from Cyprus to Redford Barracks, Edinburgh took place at the beginning of February 1984. The first and most keenly felt difference was the climatic change. The four and a half hour flight from Cyprus brought, for some, a drop in temperature from 19-20 degrees centigrade at Akrotiri to 8 or 10 degrees centigrade at Turnhouse. Many of the quarters which had not been occupied for up to six months were very slow to warm up. During leave everyone discovered that the cost of living had risen and without LOA and cheap wine there was something of a financial drought.

            On return from leave the battalion faced up to a change in role. Although the garrison fatigues were a familiar feature in Cyprus, Public Duties for many was new. In a very short space of time it was necessary to fit the new No 1. dress jackets and alter greatcoats. This process continued often right up to the evening prior to each new Castle Guard. In the early days the large Battalion square was rarely empty and a high standard of drill was attained. Quite soon after taking over the Castle Guard the Battalion was receiving very favourable comments on the drill and turnout of those involved.

            Public duties commitments did not just involved Castle Guards but also a Guard of Honour in Dumbarton, guards of honour for HM High Commissioner to the General Assembly, guards at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, an excellent guard of honour for the arrival of Her Majesty in Scotland and house guards at the palace throughout her stay. Briefly there was a detectable decline in standards particularly in arms drill and it was realised that high standards of drill can only be maintained by constant and consistent practice. A certain amount of training had intruded but drill was quickly re-established with the result that the Guard of Honour and Holyroodhouse guards were generally immaculate. The battalion will continue its public duty commitments through the summer by supporting the Military Tattoo and furnishing Her Majesty The Queen's Guard at Balmoral.

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The operational role of the battalion as a Home Defence battalion offered another change from its role in Cyprus. Home Defence was a popular new topic in military circles with many theorists. The problems of defending the home base when they were examined in detail were far greater than first imagined. Battalion TAORs were far larger than in Ireland and in terms of troops to task the Army can only meet its commitments by the creation of mysterious organizations such as CGRs and GSUs. Almost before completing its leave the battalion was asked to play in Exercise STAGE COACH, a nationwide CPX. As an introduction to its tasks as a Home Defence Battalion the exercise — mainly for battalion headquarters — could not have been better. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that the battalion’s TAOR almost exactly matched that of the regimental recruiting area. It was a pleasure to meet and work with police representatives from Strathclyde and to get to know our new brigade headquarters staff. Since that time the Ops Officer has spent many happy hours cruising around Argyllshire on the pretext of doing his reconnaissance.

            Despite the pressure of public duties and the requirements of home defence exercises, the battalion managed to train. Each company managed to get two weeks away on training areas as diverse as Warcop and Otterburn or Garelochhead and Barry Buddon. These training sessions, mainly involving field firing, despite their detrimental effect on our drill have been greatly enjoyed by the companies. The opportunities for such training are rare and the break in routine has been very beneficial for morale. In addition a number of cadres for individual training have been run including a standard two signals cadre, an SF cadre, driving cadres, 1st aid cadres, NBC instructors cadre and a JNCO cadre. The battalion competed in the Army in Scotland ski meeting with some success and qualified for Bisley at the Army in Scotland Skill at Arms meeting which it also organized. On the sporting side it was disappointing to be knocked out of the Infantry Cup but 22

SAS proved the old adage "who scores wins". However the battalions individual novice boxers covered themselves in glory at the Army Championships producing five semi-finalists, one best loser, one losing finalist and one champion. Pte Graham of A Company is the most recent winner of the Stirling Cup. He helped enhance the reputation of the regiment by being a consistent member of Scotland's Junior Rugby squad. In amongst all this hard work the battalion (Tac HQ and two companies) managed to squeeze in a one week tour of duty at Greenham Common. 

VISIT OF HM THE QUEEN

On the 6th of July the Battalion was honoured by a visit from Her Majesty The Queen. Her Majesty arrived to be greeted by the impressive sight of all ranks, except for the Holyrood House and Castle Guards and a small number on essential duties, drawn up on stands in front of the main building of Redford Infantry Barracks. The Colonel of the Regiment welcomed Her Majesty and after he had presented Mrs Palmer, Lieutenant Colonel Thomson, Major and Mrs McVittie, Captain Keate and W01 Bain the Commanding Officer invited The Queen to join the Battalion for a photograph. Once the photograph had been taken Her Majesty visited the Sergeants' Mess where she met members and their wives informally in the garden before going to the Officers' Mess for lunch.

            The Commanding Officer's aim was to show Her Majesty 'behind the scenes' glimpses of battalion life and the normal range of training possible in barracks. Her Majesty clearly found this fascinating and spent double the programme time in the Tailors Shop and Main Kitchen and was surprised, interested and amused by the Ballater Guards' Eightsome Reel practice. A visit to the gymnasium, where Her Majesty saw physical training in progress and sportsmen who had represented the Battalion were presented to her, was followed by seeing support platoons in action. After the MILAN anti tank missile simulator was demonstrated to The Queen, the Secretary of State for Scotland, The Right Honourable George Younger (ex 7^th Bn.) took the controls scoring a hit on the moving tank target. Her Majesty then met the Military Band before moving to the Officers' Mess lawns where the Families Officer escorted her amongst Battalion families and Her Majesty stopped and chatted to every family group. Preceded by the Pipes and Drums Her Majesty drove slowly out of the barracks her route lined by cheering soldiers who fell in behind her car after it had passed. Our Colonel in Chief arrived early and left late looking as happy and relaxed with her visit as we had been honoured and delighted by her presence. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                PROGRAMME OF THE VISIT

                                                                                                                                                                                                  THE REGIMENTAL REUNION 1984

The martial airs played by the Pipes and Drums of the 1st Battalion signalled the start of the Re-Union festivities. Since early morning streams of buses and cars had been drawing up on the main square of Redford Barracks depositing the various branch members, some rather bleary-eyed after the all-night journey. To some the return to Redford brought back personal memories of their early, soldiering days but for all there was the anticipation of meeting with old friends and comrades.

             The capriciousness of the British weather, meant that instead of the rain pouring continually from the skies, as it had been over the two previous days and forecast by the MET, black clouds gave forth the occasional heavy shower which was sufficient for the wet weather programme to be implemented. We were indeed fortunate that Redford Barracks has so much covered accommodation that in the end only two arena events were actually missed from a very full programme.The problem of catering for the soccer aficionados was overcome by installing large TV screens in the Study Centre where complete with bar, all could watch the Scotland v England International. Indeed, some who will remain unnamed were so settled near the bar that they saw nothing else until tea time. Just for the record the score was 1 -1 which was acceptable to all. Meanwhile down at the MT to hangar there was plenty to see. Using training shoes instead of boots the company Tug of War teams strained and heaved their way through a gruelling competition and it was fitting that SP Company should retain their winning championship form. At one stage it was thought that Harry Young was going to join his son on the rope. Watching the display of Uniforms, Big Andy Gilmour was seen to ponder over the NBC Suits — all we ever got was a gas mask! The brothers McGuire were seen discussing the finer points of weaponry whilst proudly Jimmy Malloch and Ina were taking snapshots of young Paul (Drummer Malloch). Even the regulars were surprised and impressed at the efficiency of the 3/51 (A and SH) Battalion of the Highland Volunteers. The mock casualty display was very professional. Recording everything for posterity was Jimmy Letham on holiday from Australia — and looking well too, but will he be able to identify the sons of Bert Swift, Joe Harkins, Willie Gallagher, Tam Begley or Eddie McKechnie, when he comes to view it? The video was also popular in the Gymnasium, or was it the attraction of another beer bar? however, the video tape was shown through several times at the audiences request. The I0 had uncovered some priceless old still photographs which were the cause of some ribaldry. The weather held off late in the afternoon and allowed the Golden Lions free-fall parachute team to drop into the arena, among whom was Cpl Taylor representing the Argyll interest. Once more it was the skirl of the pipes which heralded the close of the afternoon activities.

            The ceremony of Beating the Retreat brought back nostalgic memories of similar days gone by and there were quite a few wet eyes when after the wonderful interpretation of "Chariots of Fire" the bands played off to the Regimental Marches. The junior ranks dining room was put under frontal assault as over four hundred hungry guests came pouring through the doors. Mountains of haggis and neeps and countless trays of scotch pies quickly disappeared as ravenous appetites were satisfied. On the faces came, Charles Bogart, John Cree, Lester Piggott and Ormsby from Paisley, Faither Dever looking great, on they came recalling so many memories of distance places and forgotten names. Was the Quartermaster really too young for Dick Early to know? The dance which followed the evening meal was a happy and lively affair much enjoyed by young and old alike. The Military Band were their usual brilliant selves and the Cabaret so funny. Highland Dancing by the battalion Pipers and Drummers was a popular feature of the evening. Much thanks must go to W02 Hunter and BSM Smith and their teams who manfully struggled to find the winners of the prize draw and kept the evening going with a swing. Only too soon the night came to an end as the band struck up The Queen. The numbers who stayed on to pay vocal tribute was in part a measure of the success of the day.  To all those who came, some were friends, all were comrades of an earlier age it was a pleasure to have you spend the day with the first battalion. Your presence brought back so many long forgotten memories of younger days even if your stories had stretched a wee bit in the telling. If this is the stuff that Re-Unions are about — let's have some more of them!

Throughout the year individual and collective training continued, including cadres for JNCO's, signallers, mortarmen, anti-tank, assault pioneers, first aid and NBC instructors, drivers, GPMG(SF) gunners and even non-swimmers. Many people, including officers and NCOs, completed education and courses essential for the Battalion's expertise and in indeed for their own careers. Every rank has undergone the annual tests, which nowadays test weapon handling, marksmanship on two weapons, basic fitness, combat fitness, first aid and NBC.  Training at platoon and company level has taken us all over the Pentlands, and as far a field as Catterick, Warcop, Otterburn, Salisbury Plain, Cultybraggan, Barry Buddon, Garelochhead, Argyllshire, Wester Ross, and the Cairngorms. The Assault Pioneers built a walkway near Cape Wrath, the Signallers signalled from Benbecula, the mortars fired at Otterburn, the Anti Tank Platoon fired the MILAN missiles on Salisbury Plain and took part in Exercise Lionheart in Germany. All these culminated in the Battalion Skill at Arms Meeting in October. 

          The two major ceremonial commitments for 1984 were the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the Royal Guard at Balmoral. The Band, Pipes and Drums, and selected Jocks, took their place in every performance, and the Battalion provided the Tattoo Administrative Company, and of course the Castle Guard for protection, which has been one of our main duties throughout the year. B Company provided the basis for the Royal Guard at Balmoral. Other ceremonial commitments included Guards of Honour, Holyrood Guard for the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, The Queen's visit to Scotland, and the parade at Dumbarton to receive a pipe banner as freemen of the Burgh. Throughout the whole year of Public Duties, it is probably the Castle Guard and the many engagements fulfilled by our loyal Band, Pipes and Drums, which have been the constant factor. These commitments seldom let up and the Jocks have done well to maintain their high standard.

It has also been a year of sport. For the second year running the Battalion has won the Cyprus Walkabout, which must rank as one of the most punishing orienteering competitions in the world, involving a 70 mile round trip virtually from sea-level to the top of the Troodos mountains and back, with map and compass, at the double! The achievement of our three Jocks is recorded more fully elsewhere, and in recognition of their personal qualities the Commanding Officer promoted them to Lance Corporal.

            Elsewhere, individual soldiers have variously represented Scotland Under 19s and Army Colts at rugby, won an individual sculling gold medal at National level, and won the Army Individual Novice Boxing Championship. The Battalion has maintained one boxing team, three football teams, a hockey team, two rugby teams, a squash team and briefly even a cricket team. Many people have been involved in running events, including marathons, half marathons, the Karrimor Mountain Marathon and the Bens of Jura Hill Race. Sport within the Battalion is flourishing.  

                                                                                                                                                        Battalion Exercise Stanford

The climax to the training year was the three week period at Stanford Training Area in Norfolk, in November. The first week was devoted to NBC and live field firing by day and night at section and platoon level, during which everyone was subjected to overhead machinegun fire. In the second week the companies carried out tactical exercises and live firing attacks with the mortars firing in support. During this fortnight two days were set aside; one was Remembrance Sunday which was marked by a break in firing and an outdoor Battalion Church Parade, followed by Sports; the other was a full day devoted to the Inter Platoon Competition, which was a 'March and Shoot with a difference', incorporating stringent inspections, navigation, two water obstacles (one with aerial ropeway, one with assault boats), and a puzzling 'Broken Bridge' command task en route. It was a testing competition and the Anti Tank Platoon deserved their win. The final week at Stanford was the Battalion Exercise 'Sans Peur' in which we dug and camouflaged a complete battalion defensive position, wire and Mexe shelters, and were subjected to enemy chemical and ground attacks. Sadly the enemy air reconnaissance and air attacks did not materialise due to the RAF and USAF airfields being fogbound. From defence, the Battalion conducted a night withdrawal into a forest hide; the next night a Battalion night river crossing, then a day-long advance to contact, clearing West Tofts Village en route, and finally a dawn attack with 'big bangs' to seize Tottington Village. Throughout the exercise our 'enemy' was provided by 2nd Battalion 52nd Lowland Volunteers and our own TA battalion the 3rd Battalion 51st Highland Volunteers (A and SH), and we are most grateful to both these battalions for their contribution. It was a successful exercise and many old lessons were re-learnt. For many, it was a new experience to conduct an entire exercise in NBC suits.

     Throughout the year the Battalion has assisted in a host of events in Scotland, ranging from the Army Ski Championships at Aviemore, to the Army in Scotland Skill At Arms Meeting; the ACF/CCF Cadets Central Camp at Cultybraggan, the NATO Reserve Officers Shooting Competition, running the PQS1 Scottish TEWT to help prepare young officers for their Lieutenant-to-Captain promotion exam, fatigue parties at Holyrood and elsewhere, and assistance to the TA and many civilian organisations. 

If anyone has pictures they would like add. Please e-mail ayoung287@msn.com     

Edinburgh 1985

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Updated: 13 October 2014