Welcome to the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) Website

Mention 'The Black Watch' almost anywhere you go across the globe and you'll almost certainly elicit fond recognition because The Black Watch is surely one of the British Army's, if not the world's, most famous fighting units. Mere mention of the name is enough to conjure up visions of bravery, valour, true Scottish grit and determination. It's perhaps not surprising, since there can hardly be a corner of the globe in which The Black Watch has not served with distinction.

It all began in 1725 when General Wade, as leader of the King's Army in Scotland, set up six companies of the Highland "Watch", dressed in what was to become known as The Black Watch tartan; inadvertently he created one of the world's greatest and most enduring military brands.

In 1739 George II amalgamated these companies that had performed with such distinction to form a single infantry regiment which became known as 'The Black Watch'.

The regiment spent the next 266 years fighting for King, Queen and country from its first great battle at Fontenoy in Flanders in 1745 to Fallujah in Iraq in 2005. Along the way The Black Watch collected an incredible 164 battle honours, 14 VC's and a reputation that places the regiment in a category of its own.

However, as part of the Government's 2006 reorganisation of the Army, The Black Watch lost its Regimental status and become a Battalion within the new Royal Regiment of Scotland. Nevertheless, The Black Watch remains a force to be reckoned with in the British Army, indeed The Black Watch served in its latest great theatre of war in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, from April 2009.

This website exists to celebrate and sustain that unique heritage and tradition.

Page Top The Museum of the Black Watch, Balhousie Castle, Hay Street, Perth, Scotland UK PH1 5HR
© The Trustees of The Black Watch, 2008. All rights reserved.