The Seaforth Highlanders was a historic line infantry
regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with
large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The
regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw service in
World War I and World War II, along with many smaller
conflicts.
The
regiment was created 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, as part of the Childers Reforms of the British
Army in 1881. It was named after Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st
Earl of Seaforth, who had originally raised the 72nd
Regiment. Originally named "Seaforth Highlanders
(Ross-shire Buffs)", Queen Victoria approved on November
22, 1881 to style the regiment forthwith as "Seaforth
Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's)".
The 1st battalion saw action at the Battle of Tel el-Kebir
in September 1882 during the Anglo-Egyptian War. After
returning home, the 1st 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. They
then moved to Cairo, and from late 1902 was posted in
India, where they were stationed at Nasirabad, Ajmer.
Meanwhile
the 2nd battalion were stationed in India. They 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, they suffering heavy losses at the Battle
of Magersfontein in December 1899 and at the Battle of
Paardeberg in February 1900.
A 3rd,
Militia battalion (formerly the Highland Rifle Militia),
was embodied in late 1899, and embarked in February 1900
for service in Egypt alongside the 1st battalion.
In 1908,
the Volunteers and Militia were reorganized nationally,
with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the
latter the Special Reserve.
In 1961 the regiment was amalgamated with the Queen's
Own Cameron Highlanders to form the Queen's Own
Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons), which merged, in
1994, with the Gordon Highlanders to form the
Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons). This,
however, later joined the Royal Scots Borderers, the
Black Watch, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess
Margaret's Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment) and the
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders to create the present
Royal Regiment of Scotland.
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