Early days In winning the day, Chisholm and Logie used every reasonable tactic at hand. They were particularly adept at putting pressure at the highest possible level, usually the minister, thus circumventing the normal channels of the
Department of Militia and Defence. They continued this newly established tradition after the regiment was formed. When they wrote to the minister in 1904 concerning an account of $9.55 for plumbing in the officers' quarters, an exasperated senior aide wrote to Logie suggesting that "your Regiment should come into line . . . ." He went on to say, "It would be simply impossible to run this Department if other Regiments went about these matters as yours does." Nothing, however, changed. When in 1906 the Department of Customs insisted upon charging duty upon a snuff mull sent to the 91st by the British Argylls, Logie and Chisholm appealed to Chisholm's friend, Adam Zimmerman, MP, who took up their case with the Assistant Commissioner of Customs. A compromise was eventually reached. Chisholm began his service with the 91st on 16 September 1903 as its paymaster holding the rank of honorary captain. For the rest of his life, the regiment was a major part of his life. Logie served as the regiment's first commanding officer until 1911 so for a time Chisholm and Logie's office on James Street was an alternate battalion headquarters. Two evenings a week, Chisholm could be found at the James Street Armouries – the 91st was quartered in the recently built addition (designed in part by his architect brother-in-law Walter Wilson Stewart, also a member of the 91st). As well as the matters of weekly administration, there was an endless round of ceremonial functions and Chisholm took (and maintained) a particular interest in the Pipe Band. Finally, the 91st provided a rich social life in the elegant officers' mess, whether the normal course of socializing after weekly parades, full mess dinners, special functions, balls, or the annual celebration of
Hogmanay. In 1904, when
Douglas Cochrane, 12th Earl of Dundonald was still a
General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada, he was appointed an honorary colonel of the 91st Highlanders division, a title he held briefly before he was dismissed on the same year, which the dominion cabinet described as "Indiscretion and insubordination". Douglas became angry and argued with ministers at a dinner at Montreal, an argument which Douglas alleged that; ".. important parts of his reports for 1902 and 1903 were wrongfully suppressed by the minister of militia, contrary to his wishes. Sir Frederick Borden is charged by Lord Dundonald with falsehood in the house of commons. He declares the militia has been greatly neglected and lacks all that is necessary to make it efficient..".
The Great War During the
First World War, the regiment acted as a training unit providing 145 officers and 5,207 other ranks for service in the numbered battalions of the C.E.F., especially the
16th,
19th, and the
173rd Highlanders. The latter was broken up for reinforcements, much to the chagrin of its men. Although the Argylls perpetuate both the 19th and the 173rd, it is the former which provides the regiment its most intimate connection with the Great War. The 91st gave the 19th all four of its commanding officers and its Pipe Major,
Charles Davidson Dunbar,
DCM, a Pipe Major of international renown. As part of the 4th Infantry Brigade,
2nd Division, the 19th went from the mud and misery of Salisbury Plain, England, to the mud and blood of Flanders. The battalion saw its first action at
Saint-Eloi in April 1916 and went on to serve on the
Somme, at
Courcelette,
Vimy Ridge,
Hill 70, Passchendaele,
Drocourt-Quéant, and the
Pursuit to Mons. In December 1918, its pipe Band played a victorious
Canadian Corps across the
Rhine and into
Germany. The 19th has no official history published, however in 2016, a detailed history was published in the book “It Can't Last Forever – The 19th Battalion and the Canadian Corps in the First World War”, by David Campbell. The
19th Battalion (Central Ontario), CEF was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Great Britain on 13 May 1915. It disembarked in France on 15 September 1915, where it fought as part of the 4th Infantry Brigade,
2nd Canadian Division in France and Flanders until the end of the war and disbanded on 15 September 1920. The
173rd Battalion (Canadian Highlanders), CEF was authorized on 15 July 1916 and embarked for Great Britain on 14 November 1916. It provided reinforcements for the Canadian Corps until 4 January 1917, when its personnel were absorbed by the 2nd Reserve Battalion, CEF. The battalion disbanded on 1 September 1917. The 173rd Battalion was awarded the battle honour . The 3rd Battalion, CMGC, CEF, was formed in France on 23 March 1918 from the machine gun companies of the
3rd Canadian Division, the 7th Machine Gun Company, 8th Machine Gun Company, 9th Machine Gun Company and later the 15th Machine Gun Company. It provided machine gun support to the 3rd Canadian Division in France and Flanders until the end of the war and disbanded on 15 November 1920. When the awarding of his Victoria Cross was announced in the London Gazette on 12 February 1918, his surname was misspelled as "Mackenzie."
Inter-war years The regiment went through the inter-war years, endured the general militia reorganizations, and prospered. Not only was it large in numbers, (rarely below 400, at times exceeding 600) it benefited from a considerable cadre of First War veterans of all ranks. Tradition continued to play a pre-eminent role and the regiment enjoyed a visible civic profile through weekly parades on the streets, a close attachment to the city's elite, and the activities of three highly active bands (pipe — still under Dunbar, brass, and bugle).
The Second World War Details from the regiment were called out on service before the actual start of the war on 26 August 1939 and placed on active service on 1 September 1939 as The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) (Machine Gun), CASF (Details), for local protection duties. The details were formed as a battalion and designated The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's), CASF on 15 August 1940. It was redesignated the 1st Battalion, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) (Machine Gun), CASF on 7 November 1940 and then the 1st Battalion, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's), CASF on 1 February 1941. It served in Jamaica on garrison duty from 10 September 1941 to 20 May 1943, and embarked for Great Britain on 21 July 1943. On 26 July 1944, it landed in France as part of the
10th Canadian Infantry Brigade,
4th Canadian Armoured Division, and it continued to fight in North West Europe until the end of the war. The overseas battalion was disbanded on 15 February 1946. As a result, Friesoythe was almost totally destroyed or, as G.L. Cassidy put it, "The raging Highlanders cleared the remainder of that town as no town has been cleared for centuries, we venture to say." One German source estimates that 300 of 355 houses were totally destroyed, for a percentage rate of 84.5. Another source, the Brockhaus Enzyklopaedie, estimated the destruction as high as 90%. The incident is also recounted in Tony Foster's
Meeting of Generals. ;Overall Through
Moerbrugge, the
Scheldt,
Kapelsche Veer, and the
Hochwald Gap to
Friesoythe, the
Küsten Canal, and
Bad Zwischenahn, the Argylls were successful against the enemy – but there was more. Their losses (267 killed and 808 wounded) were the lowest in the 10th Brigade and their successes constant. Cynicism is a soldier's rightful lot and the Argylls never lost it. Self-satisfaction came with, and was sustained only by, success – a success sustained despite the successive wholesale turnovers in the rifle companies. Neither quality was lost during ten months of battle. It made them as Capt
Claude Bissell once remarked
"a happy regiment and a formidable one in action." The 1st Battalion provided the headquarters and one rifle company for the
Canadian Berlin Battalion, a composite battalion which represented the Canadian Armed Forces in the British victory celebrations in Berlin in July 1945. The battalion returned to Hamilton in January 1946 where it was dismissed.
Post-war The regiment now reverted to its traditional peacetime role with the primary reserves. By the early 1960s the reservoir of veterans had dried up. Numbers shrunk with the various changes in defence policy and equipment became outdated. By the 1980s military policies reversed once more, and the emphasis in national defence shifted back to a focus on war fighting as opposed to civil defence. The 1990s saw the introduction of the Total Force concept in which the Militia was considered an equal partner with the Regular Force in meeting the commitments of the
Canadian Forces. While retaining its Highland traditions, and Argylls serve Canadians whether combating natural disasters at home (66 deployed during the 1998 ice storm and many volunteered during the Red River flood) or augmenting UN or NATO deployments abroad. Since the 1950s, Argylls have been deployed on active service augmenting Canada's regular forces in places such as
Norway, Cyprus,
Germany,
Namibia, Golan Heights, Bosnia,
Kosovo, and
Afghanistan.
War in Afghanistan The regiment contributed an aggregate of more than 20% of its authorized strength to the various Task Forces which served in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2014.
Community A strong tradition of reciprocal local support (from 1902 to the present) is exemplified in the
91st Highlanders Athletic Association (which runs the oldest indoor track meet in North America) and the annual
Greater Hamilton Tattoo. Community support has been symbolic, material, and artistic. In 1972, Hamilton granted the Argylls the freedom of the city. The
Ontario government has erected heritage plaques to two Argylls (Pipe-Officer Charles Davidson Dunbar, D.C.M. and Acting Sergeant John Rennie, G.C. 1919–1943) on the Armouries' outer walls (the only regiment in the Hamilton-Wentworth, Niagara, Toronto area to be so distinguished). Retired Colours hang in three Hamilton churches and there is a continuing affiliation with
Central Presbyterian Church. The local business community contributed generously to the
Argyll Regimental Foundation. Local, provincial, and national funds underwrote the project (1984–91) and publication (1996) of ''Black Yesterdays: The Argylls' War'', a pictorial history of the regiment in the Second World War.
National War Memorial terrorist attack On 22 October 2014, Corporal
Nathan Cirillo of the Argylls was
murdered while standing ceremonial guard duty at the
National War Memorial (Canada) in Ottawa, Ontario. He was approached from behind and shot several times in the back by an Islamic extremist. The shooter also fired shots at another guard, before traveling to the Parliament Buildings where he was shot dead. == Pipes and Drums ==