Cooper Park drill hall, Elgin

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Cooper Park drill hall
Elgin, Scotland
Public Library - geograph.org.uk - 374186.jpg
Cooper Park drill hall, now part of Elgin Library
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Cooper Park drill hall
Location within Moray
Coordinates 57°39′02″N3°18′46″W / 57.65054°N 3.31274°W / 57.65054; -3.31274 Coordinates: 57°39′02″N3°18′46″W / 57.65054°N 3.31274°W / 57.65054; -3.31274
TypeDrill hall
Site history
Built1908
Built for War Office
In use1908 – c.2006

The Cooper Park drill hall is a former military installation in Elgin, Scotland.

Elgin, Moray former cathedral city and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland

Elgin is a town and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the floodplain. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190 AD. It was created a royal burgh in the 12th century by King David I of Scotland, and by that time had a castle on top of the present day Lady Hill to the west of the town. The people of Elgin are collectively known as Elginites.

Scotland Country in Northwest Europe, part of the United Kingdom

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain, with a border with England to the southeast, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the northeast, the Irish Sea to the south, and more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.

History

The building was designed as the headquarters of the 6th (Morayshire) Battalion, the Seaforth Highlanders and was completed in 1908. [1] [2] The battalion was mobilised at the drill hall in August 1914 before being deployed to the Western Front. [3]

Seaforth Highlanders military unit

The Seaforth Highlanders was a historic line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw service in World War I and World War II, along with many numerous smaller conflicts. In 1961 the regiment was amalgamated with the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders to form the Queen's Own Highlanders, which merged, in 1994, with the Gordon Highlanders to form the Highlanders. This, however, later joined the Royal Scots Borderers, the Black Watch, the Royal Highland Fusiliers and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders to create the present Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Western Front (World War I) Main theatre of war during the First World War

The Western Front was the main theatre of war during the First World War. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne. Following the Race to the Sea, both sides dug in along a meandering line of fortified trenches, stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier with France, which changed little except during early 1917 and in 1918.

After the Second World War, the battalion amalgamated with 5th (Caithness and Sutherland) Battalion and 7th (Morayshire) Battalion to form 11th Battalion, The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's), with B Company of the 11th Battalion based at the Cooper Park drill hall. [4] The 11th Battalion then amalgamated with the 4th/5th Battalion, The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders to form the home defence battalion of the Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) in 1967. [4]

World War II 1939–1945, between Axis and Allies

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from more than 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 70 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

Queens Own Cameron Highlanders

The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders or 79th Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. It amalgamated with the Seaforth Highlanders to form the Queen's Own Highlanders in 1961.

Queens Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons)

The Queen's Own Highlanders , officially abbreviated "QO HLDRS," was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. It was in existence from 1961 to 1994.

The home defence battalion of the Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) was in turn absorbed into the 51st Highland Volunteers in 1969 with a rifle platoon of C (Queen's Own Highlanders) Company, 2nd Battalion, 51st Highland Volunteers still based at Cooper Park. [5] The 51st Highland Volunteers split into two battalions in 1971 with the headquarters of the 2nd Battalion located at Cooper Park. [5] The 2nd Battalion was re-designated the 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion, The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons) with headquarters still at Cooper Park in 1995. [5] Following the Strategic Defence Review in 1998, the presence at Cooper Park was reduced to a single rifle platoon of B (Highlanders) Company, the 51st Highlanders Regiment. [5] The building was subsequently decommissioned and now forms part of Elgin Library. [1]

51st Highland Volunteers

The 51st Highland Volunteers is a battalion in the British Army's Army Reserve or reserve force in the Scottish Highlands, forming the 7th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, also known as 7 SCOTS. It is one of two Reserve battalions in the Royal Regiment of Scotland, along with 52nd Lowland, a similar unit located in the Scottish Lowlands.

Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons) infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland

The Highlanders, 4th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) was a British policy document produced in July 1998 by the Labour Government that had gained power a year previously. Then Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson, set out the initial defence policy of the new government, with a series of key decisions designed to enhance the United Kingdom's armed forces.

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52nd Lowland Volunteers

The 52nd Lowland Volunteers is a battalion in the British Army's Army Reserve or reserve force in the Scottish Lowlands, forming the 6th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, also known as 6 SCOTS. Due to its erstwhile association with the 1st Regiment of Foot, it is the senior Reserve line infantry battalion in the British Army. It is one of two Reserve battalions in the Royal Regiment of Scotland, along with 51st Highland, a similar unit located in the Scottish Highlands.

Gordon Highlanders line infantry regiment of the British Army (1881–1994)

The Gordon Highlanders was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed for 113 years, from 1881 until 1994, when it was amalgamated with the Queen's Own Highlanders to form the Highlanders.

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Lovat Scouts

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The Highland Brigade is a historical unit of the British Army, which has been formed and reformed a number of times. It recruited men from the Highlands of Scotland.

Scottish regiment

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Glasgow Highlanders

The Glasgow Highlanders was a former infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Territorial Force, later renamed the Territorial Army. The regiment eventually became a Volunteer Battalion of the Highland Light Infantry in 1881. The regiment saw active service in both World War I and World War II. In 1959 the Highland Light Infantry was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers. The Glasgow Highlanders was later amalgamated into the 52nd Lowland Volunteers in 1967.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Elgin, Cooper Park, Drill Hall". Canmore. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  2. ↑ "6th (Morayshire) Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 30 December 2005. Retrieved 24 June 2017.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  3. ↑ "Seaforth Highlanders". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  4. 1 2 "11th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders". Regiments.org. Archived from the original on 3 January 2006. Retrieved 24 June 2017.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Highland Volunteers". British Army units 1945 on. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
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