Royal Scots (& Kosbies) disbanded?....

[Allan Thomson]

It seems to have somehow passed under the radar that the 1st Battalion of the RRS has apparently been disbanded and reconstituted en mass into the new 1st Battalion of the "Ranger Regiment" losing their Scottish identities, the right of precedence etc. Somehow except for in a few niche forums this has largely passed under the radar?

It leaves a nasty taste in the mouth that 500 years of service to the British army can be wiped out with the stroke of a pen. No doubt someone fron the Brigade of Guards is happy to wipe out any unit that can claim an older history than theirs.

However is there a glimmer of hope? Given the Royal Scots and the Kosbies were originally line regiments and the Lowland Scottish units being distinguished by tartan etc is a 19th century introduction and they were transferred enmass to constitute the 1st battalion of the Ranger Regiment is there the potential to argue in future that the first battalion of the ranger Regiment is in fact the Royal Scots and Kosbies Battalion thereby laying claim to a future ongoing history and the potential for restoration of some aspects of that identity?

I believe at present the current 1st battalion of the Ranger Regiment retains much of the property, effects, colours and manpower of the 1st battalion of the RRS.

Anyone care to comment?

[figheadair]

One can hope but in reality I suspect that this is a one-way street and that over time the 1st Ranger Bn will lose the majority of its Scottish identity, especially as it will become a rotational posting opportunity for those from other battalions.

Given the future reductions and reorganisations, it is notable that at least the RRS survived. No doubt there were politics at play.

The other disbandment and absorption into the Brigade of Guards that has gone almost unnoticed is the loss of the London Scottish Company of the London Regiment (LONDONS) who will become a Guards Company on the 1st April. In doing so, they will lose all trappings of their Highland uniform. The LS Pipe Band, which is an unofficial one with many civilian members, will continue.

[Allan Thomson]

The impression is that the Ranger Battalions have lost their individual regimental identities and all trappings of the Scottish identity have already been stripped from the 1st battalion on the day 1scots was 'disbanded' and reconstituted into 1 Rangers. However mention is made of the 1 Rangers retaining the colours and mess items, etc of 1 Scots till such point as the 'new' battalion acquires some of their own.

The thing is it was unnecessary to go to the extremes of stripping all identities. A half way house could have been 1 Rangers Royal Scots Borderers having a Rangers uniform with hunting Stuart flashes and Glengarries maintaining the colours and battle honours. And possibly even the precedence of 1st of foot.

[Jock Scot]

I suppose the deciscion makes sense to someone. But what a shame!

[Allan Thomson]

I suppose the deciscion makes sense to someone. But what a shame!

My understanding is that the decision was made on the basis of recruitment issues with 1 Scots and roles of the new regiment. But really there's no reason a Battalion retaining a rationalised full dress aspects of the original Lowland Scottish parent regiment (ie Glengarry and tartan flashes and the name Royal Scots Borderers plus battle honours with a claim to an unbroken 500 year history could not fulfill a role as a Battalion of the new 'elite' regiment and would have a pedigree and tradition ready made to call upon where required (likewise with the other battalions made from English foot regiments). As said the battalions were reconstituted en mass, it does not seem the case that men were specifically selected for the regiment through a SF filtering regime.

[OC Richard]

Thanks for the information, it got me to look it up on Wiki

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger...nited_Kingdom)

The first thing that struck me was the hideousness of the cap badge.

Then I read about the controversy surrounding it.

In any case I think it's an honour for them to be selected as the 1st Battalion of an elite new unit.

But their regimental traditions should have been respected. I'm sure there's a number of things that could have perpetuated traditions without incurring extra expense or done any harm to their future role.

[Regimental]

It is rather sad to lose them, but the ongoing recruitment problems in the RROS and the need to build a more functional army did probably make something like this inevitable. Tradition is wonderful to retain where it can be, but the priority of an army does have to be being an effective fighting force.

Certainly it’s a pity some elements of traditions aren’t retained in the move, but as they are being moved as a ‘seed’ battalion for the Rangers, and in future it will recruit from all parts of the army across the UK (and beyond), I can understand the desire to focus on developing a new unified force with its own identity.

Unfortunate that they are disappearing with barely a whimper though.