Early history , founder of the regiment The regiment was raised on 18 March 1689 by
David Leslie, 3rd Earl of Leven to defend Edinburgh against the
Jacobite forces of
James VII. It's claimed that 800 men were recruited within the space of two hours. The regiment's first action was at the
Battle of Killiecrankie on 27 July 1689. Although this battle was a defeat for the
Williamite army, the Jacobite commander,
John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee (
Bonnie Dundee), was killed by a volley fired by Leven's Regiment, bringing an end to James II's attempt to save his throne in Scotland. The regiment was judged to have performed well and was granted the privilege of recruiting by beat of drum in the City of
Edinburgh without prior permission of the provost. For a period it was known as '''Semphill's Regiment of Foot''', the name under which it fought at the
Battle of Fontenoy in 1745 and the
Battle of Culloden in 1746. When the British infantry were allocated numerical positions in the 'line' of Infantry the regiment was numbered
25th Regiment of Foot (based on its formation date) in 1751. The regiment fought at the
Battle of Minden on 1 August 1759 with five other regiments; this battle honour was celebrated by the regiment each year on 1 August. The 25th was the county regiment of
Sussex in 1782 when it became known as the
25th (Sussex) Regiment of Foot. The regiment moved to
Berwick Barracks in July 1881. Under the reforms the regiment became '''The King's Own Borderers
on 1 July 1881. A 3rd, Militia, Battalion was formed as the Scottish Borderers Militia
, with headquarters at Dumfries. The regiment became The King's Own Scottish Borderers''' in 1887. The
Second Boer War started in South Africa in October 1899, and the British government soon realised they needed larger forces to win the war. The 1st Battalion KOSB embarked for South Africa in early January 1900, and stayed there throughout the war, which ended in June 1902. 300 officers and men of the battalion returned home on the SS
Lake Manitoba in February 1903, and was subsequently stationed in
Belfast. The 3rd (Militia) battalion was embodied in January 1900 for service in the Second Boer War, and 998 officers and men embarked for
South Africa on the SS
Kildon Castle two months later. Most of the battalion returned home in June 1902. In 1908, the Volunteers 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 two Territorial battalions.
First World War The 1st Battalion was serving in
Lucknow, India when the war broke out. After returning to England it landed at
Cape Helles in
Gallipoli as part of the
87th Brigade in the
29th Division in April 1915. After being evacuated from Gallipoli in January 1916 it moved to
Alexandria in Egypt and then landed at
Marseille in March 1916 for service on the
Western Front. It saw action at the
Battle of the Somme in autumn 1916, the
Battle of Passchendaele in autumn 1917, the
Battle of Lys in April 1918 and the
Battle of Cambrai in October 1918. During the
Home Rule Crisis in 1914, the 2nd Battalion was stationed in Dublin as part of
13th Brigade in the
5th Division. It then landed at
Le Havre in August 1914 for service on the Western Front they defended the perimeter in
Oosterbeek against
2nd SS Panzer Corps. Private
Bill Speakman was awarded the
Victoria Cross for his actions during the
Second Battle of Maryang-san. The regiment was deployed during the
Malayan Emergency in the late 1950s. The regiment was deployed to
Aden as the garrison battalion in Aden on internal security duties in February 1962. It took part in the
Gulf War in 1991 but was one of the few Scottish regiments not deployed to the
Yugoslav Wars: it was being mainly stationed in Northern Ireland instead. The regiment also served in
Iraq on
Operation Telic in 2003. However almost immediately the
Ministry of Defence moved to amalgamate the two battalions. This was not a new idea: the origins of the combined entity,
Royal Scots Borderers, dates from the 1990
Options for Change review, when it was initially announced that the Royal Scots and King's Own Scottish Borderers would amalgamate. That amalgamation was subsequently rescinded. The Royal Scots Battalion and King's Own Scottish Borderers Battalion duly amalgamated on 1 August 2006 – upon their amalgamation, the new battalion took the name Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland. ==King's Own Scottish Borderers Regimental Museum==