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The Royal Scots

Royal Scots

Known as Régiment de Douglas (qv) 1635-1677

Commanding Officers:

1637 Col. Lord James Douglas
1645 Col. Archibald (Douglas), Earl of Angus
1655 Lt-Gen. Lord George (Douglas), 1st Earl of Dumbarton, KT
1688 Gen. Frederick Herman (Schomberg), Duke of Schomberg, KG [MGO 1689-90; killed at the Boyne]
1691 Col. Sir Robert Douglas, Bt (of Glenbervie) [killed at Steenkirk]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Royal Scots, the oldest Infantry Regiment of the Line in the British Army, was formed in 1633 when Sir John Hepburn under a Royal Warrant granted by King Charles I, raised a body of men in Scotland for service in France. By 1635 he commanded a force of over 8,000, including many who had fought as mercenaries in the "Green Brigade" for King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. It was by virtue of the Royal Warrant that the entire Regiment was considered as British; a regular force in a standing Army that could be recalled to Britain at will. And in 1661, the Regiment was summoned to Britain to bridge the gap between the disbandment of the New Model Army and the creation of a Regular Army, organized along the same lines as the British units in Foreign Service. The Regiment was thus the model for all others.

 

Since these early days the Regiment has served in many theatres all over the world and fought in many campaigns from Tangier to The War of Spanish Succession, The Napoleonic Wars and The Peninsular War to name but a few.

 

More recently the Regiment has seen conflict in both World Wars, the Gulf War 1991 and action in Northern Ireland with operational tours in Bosnia and Iraq. 

 

Our main role is as a Light Role Infantry Battalion specialising in the fields of jungle and mountainous warfare. This encompasses many infantry skills, so the oppotunities open to young men willing to join The Royal Scots is endless. With the best training anywhere in the world The Royal Scots offers an exciting and rewarding career.  
 

For the future (2005) structure, see Royal Regiment of Scotland

 

See also:
  • http://www.regiments.org/regiments/uk/inf/001RScot.htm
  • Regiment de Douglas
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