Hepburn House | |
---|---|
Edinburgh, Scotland | |
Coordinates | 55°57′47″N3°11′31″W / 55.96304°N 3.19201°W Coordinates: 55°57′47″N3°11′31″W / 55.96304°N 3.19201°W |
Type | Army Reserve Centre |
Site information | |
Owner | British Army |
Operator | The Royal Regiment of Scotland |
Site history | |
Built | 1912 |
Built for | War Office |
Architect | Thomas Duncan Rhind |
In use | 1912 – Present |
Garrison information | |
Occupants | A (Royal Scots Borderers) Company, 52nd Lowland, 6th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland Lowland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland University Royal Naval Unit East Scotland |
Hepburn House, also known as East Claremont Street Drill Hall, is a military installation in Edinburgh.
The building was designed by Thomas Duncan Rhind in the free Renaissance style as the headquarters of the 9th (Highlanders) Battalion the Royal Scots and completed in 1912. [1] The battalion was mobilised at the drill hall in August 1914 before being deployed to Western Front. [2]
The battalion amalgamated with the 7th Battalion to become the 7th/9th (Highlanders) Battalion, The Royal Scots, with its headquarters at the Dalmeny Street drill hall but with elements at the East Claremont Street drill hall, in 1922. [3] The 7th/9th Battalion and the 8th Battalion amalgamated to form the 8th/9th Battalion, still at the Dalmeny Street drill hall but with representation at the East Claremont Street drill hall, in 1961. [3] The 8th/9th Battalion was reduced to company size as A (Royal Scots) Company, the 52nd Lowland Volunteers in 1967 and this unit in turn evolved to become HQ (Royal Scots) Company, Lowland Volunteers in 1995. [4]
After the Dalmeny Street drill hall was decommissioned in the late 1990s, this unit, in its new designation as A (Royal Scots) Company, 52nd Lowland Regiment, became based at the East Claremont Street drill hall in 1999. [4] This unit evolved further to become A (Royal Scots Borderers) Company, 52nd Lowland, 6th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, still based at the East Claremont Street drill hall, in 2006. [4] The building, which is known as Hepburn House after Sir John Hepburn, founder of the Royal Scots, remains an active Army Reserve Centre. [5]
The Royal Scots, once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regiment existed continuously until 2006, when it amalgamated with the King's Own Scottish Borderers to become the Royal Scots Borderers, which merged with the Royal Highland Fusiliers, the Black Watch, the Highlanders and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders to form the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
The 2003 Defence White Paper, titled Delivering Security in a Changing World, set out the future structure of the British military, and was preceded by the 1998 Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and the 2002 SDR New Chapter, which responded to the immediate challenges to security in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001. Published under the then Secretary of State for Defence, Geoff Hoon, the report effectively introduced a series of cutbacks to core equipment and manpower and the scaling back of a series of future capital procurement projects. This was justified due to the implementation of a policy termed Network Enabled Capability. The review also outlined a major restructuring and consolidation of British Army Infantry regiments.
The hackle is a clipped plume or short spray of coloured feathers that is attached to a military headdress, with different colours being associated with particular regiments.
The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers, the Black Watch, the Highlanders, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 52nd Lowland Regiment, and 51st Highland Regiment to form the Royal Regiment of Scotland, becoming the 2nd Battalion of the new regiment. However, after just a few months the battalion merged with the Royal Scots to form the Royal Scots Borderers. In 2021, the battalion was disbanded and its personnel transferred to the 1st Battalion, Ranger Regiment.
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.
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.
The Scottish Division was a British Army Infantry command, training and administrative apparatus designated for all Scottish line infantry units. It merged with the Prince of Wales' Division, to form the Scottish, Welsh and Irish Division in 2017.
A Scottish regiment is any regiment that at some time in its history has or had a name that referred to Scotland or some part thereof, and adopted items of Scottish dress. These regiments were created after the Acts of Union in 1707 between England and Scotland, either directly serving Britain during its various wars, or as part of the military establishments of Commonwealth countries. Their "Scottishness" is no longer necessarily due to recruitment in Scotland nor any proportion of members of Scottish ancestry.
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.
The Royal Regiment of Scotland is the senior and only Scottish line infantry regiment of the British Army Infantry. It consists of three regular and two reserve battalions, plus an incremental company, each formerly an individual regiment. However, three regular battalions maintain their former regimental pipes and drums to carry on the traditions of their antecedent regiments.
Walcheren Barracks is a drill hall located at Hotspur Street in Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland. It is located adjacent to the site of the former Maryhill Barracks.
A large regiment is a multi-battalion infantry formation of the British Army. First formed in the 1960s, large regiments are the result of the amalgamation of a number of existing single-battalion regiments, and perpetuate the traditions of each of the predecessor units.
The Lowland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland is a Military band in the Territorial Army and one of three Military bands in the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The band is based at the East Claremont Street drill hall in Edinburgh and is administered by 52nd Lowland, 6th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland. The other two bands in the Regiment are the regular Regimental Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, which is based at Dreghorn Barracks in Edinburgh and is administered by the Royal Corps of Army Music, and the other is the territorial Highland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, which is based at Queen's Barracks in Perth and administered by 51st Highland, 7th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland.
The Dalmeny Street drill hall in Edinburgh, was built as a military drill hall in 1901, and between 2003 and 2010 was redeveloped as community arts and education centre under the name TheOut of the Blue Drill Hall. The drill hall is protected as a category A listed building.
The 155th Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service in both the First and the Second World Wars. Assigned to the 52nd (Lowland) Division, the brigade saw active service in the Middle East and on the Western Front during the First World War. During the Second World War, now the 155th Infantry Brigade, it continued to serve with the 52nd Division in Operation Dynamo, and later in North-western Europe from late 1944 until May 1945.
221st Mixed Brigade was a Scottish Home Service formation of the British Army that served under various titles throughout World War I.
The Paton Street drill hall is a military installation in Galashiels, Scotland.
The 6th Battalion, Royal Scots, was a unit of Britain's part-time Territorial Force. Beginning as a Volunteer unit formed from teetotallers in the city of Edinburgh in 1867, it later became affiliated to the Royal Scots. During World War I it served in the Senussi Campaign and on the Western Front. Postwar it was converted into a medium artillery battery.
The 9th Battalion, Royal Scots was the highland (kilted) battalion of the Royal Scots. Formed in 1900 as a part-time Volunteer Force battalion in Edinburgh, in 1908, as part of the Haldane Reforms, it became a Territorial Force battalion. During the First World War it served on the Western Front. Post-war it was amalgamated with the 7th Battalion to form 7th/9th Royal Scots. Notable members of the battalion include James Pearson, Arthur Farrimond, Jimmy Broad, Robert Dudgeon, Walter Lyon, FCB Cadell and William Geissler.