Formation The regiment was created in 1881 through the amalgamation of the
72nd (Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders) Regiment of Foot and the
78th (Highlanders) (Ross-shire Buffs) Regiment of Foot, which became the 1st and 2nd battalions of the new regiment, and was part of the
Childers Reforms of the British Army. It was named after
Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth, and his cousin
Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth, who originally raised respectively the 72nd and 78th regiments. Originally named "Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs)", on 22 November 1881
Queen Victoria approved the regiment's style as "Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's)". The
Highland Rifle Militia (which had been raised in Ross-shire by Lord Seaforth in 1798) became the 3rd Battalion, and the
Rifle Volunteers in Ross & Cromarty, Sutherland & Caithness, and Morayshire, became the 1st–3rd Volunteer Battalions. The 1st battalion saw action at the
Battle of Tel el-Kebir in September 1882 during the
Anglo-Egyptian War. After returning home, the battalion again went abroad in 1896, taking part in the
International Occupation of Crete in 1897 and the
reconquest of the Sudan, being present at the
Battle of Atbara in April and the
Battle of Omdurman in September 1898. It then moved to
Cairo, and from late 1902 was posted to India, where it was stationed at
Nasirabad, Ajmer. In 1881, the 2nd battalion was stationed in India. It saw service on the
North West Frontier, taking part in the
Hazara Expeditions in the summer 1888 and the spring of 1891, and the
Chitral Expedition in spring 1895. Returning home in 1897, the outbreak of the
Second Boer War saw the 2nd Battalion travel to South Africa in November 1899, suffering heavy losses at the
Battle of Magersfontein in December 1899 and at the
Battle of Paardeberg in February 1900. They stayed in South Africa throughout the war, which ended in June 1902. 420 officers and men of the battalion returned home on the SS
Lake Manitoba in February 1903. The 3rd (Highland Rifle Militia) battalion was embodied in late 1899, and embarked in February 1900 for service in
Egypt alongside the 1st battalion. In 1908, the
Volunteer Force and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the
Territorial Force and the latter the
Special Reserve; the regiment now had one Reserve and three Territorial battalions. Mitchell appeared in court in women's clothing and had been living as a woman after leaving the army. It saw action at the
Battle of Aubers Ridge in May 1915. The battalion then moved to
Mesopotamia in December 1915, where it took part in the
Siege of Kut later that month and the
Fall of Baghdad in March 1917, before moving to
Palestine in January 1918. It went on to fight in the
Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915, the
Battle of the Somme in Autumn 1916 and the
Battle of Arras in April 1917. In March 1938, the 1st Battalion was deployed to
Shanghai. Meanwhile, the 2nd Battalion went to India in 1918 and saw action on the
North-West Frontier in 1930–31 before moving to Palestine in 1932 and returning to Britain in 1934. The 4th Battalion also went to France as part of the 152nd Brigade in the 51st Highland Infantry Division with the BEF in January 1940 and was captured at Saint-Valery-en-Caux in June 1940. After home service with the
9th (Highland) Infantry Division, in 1940 the 5th Battalion joined the reconstituted 152nd Brigade, 51st Highland Division, and served in the Middle East, in the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943, in the Allied invasion of Italy in September 1943 and then in North-West Europe. carrying men of the 7th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders in
Moergestel,
Netherlands, 26 October 1944. The 6th Battalion was a 2nd Line TA unit that was transferred to the
17th Infantry Brigade, part of the
5th Infantry Division. It served with the division throughout the war in Sicily, Italy, and finally in Northwest Europe. The 7th Battalion was a 2nd Line TA unit that originally served with the
26th Infantry Brigade, part of the 9th (Highland) Infantry Division, and later transferred to the
46th (Highland) Infantry Brigade in the
15th (Scottish) Infantry Division and deployed to France in June 1944: it saw action in
Operation Epsom and then served in North-West Europe. The 8th and 9th battalions were raised early in the war, and served in a home defence and reserve role. In December 1941, the 8th was redesignated the 30th battalion, Seaforth Highlanders.
Post-war and amalgamation After the end of war, the 1st battalion served in
Java before moving to Malaya where, from 1948 until 1951, it took part in internal security operations during the
Malayan Emergency. The battalion's postings then included Edinburgh (1951–2), Germany (1952–4), Suez Canal Zone, then Aden (1954–5), Gibraltar (1955–7), and Germany (1957–61). In 1946 the 2nd battalion moved from Germany to England, where in 1948 it was disbanded, its personnel joining the 1st Battalion. Post-war, the regiment had one Territorial Army (TA) unit – the 11th battalion, Seaforth Highlanders. The 1st battalions of the Seaforth and
Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders were amalgamated on 7 February 1961 at
Redford Barracks to form the 1st battalion
Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons). The TA battalions of both regiments amalgamated in 1967 to form the 3rd (Territorial) battalion Queen's Own Highlanders. ==Battle honours==