The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders), 42nd/73rd Foot, entered the Great War with two Regular, one Special Reserve (the 3rd) and four Territorial Force battalions (4th to 7th); by the end of the war the total had grown to twenty-two battalions (Becke), twenty-five according to the History's Foreword. Thirty thousand served in the Regiment in France, Belgium Salonika, Palestine and Mesopotamia and of these 8,390 died. The Regiment was awarded 69 Battle Honours, three VCs were won and a fourth was awarded to a BW officer in 1917 while he was commanding 1st Lincolns. This three-volume history is outstanding - Vol 1 deals with the Regular and the Special Reserve battalions, Vol 2 the TF battalions and Vol 3 the New Army (Service or Kitchener) battalions. Common to all three volumes are the Preface, Foreword (by the Colonel of the Regiment) and the page listing the Regiment's Battle Honours. In each volume the battalions are treated separately and for all the front line battalions, following the narrative describing their war service there are the same six appendices: Record of Officers' Service, Summary of Casualties, Officer casualty list, Other Rank casualty list, Honours and Awards and finally the list of Actions and Operations. In Volume 1 there is a seventh appendix to the 1st and 2nd Battalion narratives - a list of Other Ranks of each battalion who were commissioned during the war. In the case of the TF the second and third line battalions, which did not leave the UK, all are dealt with together. There is a bonus in Volume 2; at the end there is a section on the Royal Highlanders of Canada represented by the 13th, 42nd and 73rd Canadian Infantry Battalions, giving a brief account of their actions with appendices showing for each battalion a summary of killed, list of Honours and Awards and list of Actions and Operations. I believe this has got all you can hope for in a regimental history.

In three volumes spanning centuries, Lieutenant Colonel Roman Jarymowycz recounts the story of the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, the oldest Highland regiment in the country. He traces its history from the roots, when soldiers, settlers, and militia volunteers rallied to defend the southern borders of their adopted country against invasion from the United States. Drawing on diaries, letters, classified documents, and the regimental archive, Jarymowycz weaves the strands of a complex story into an epic narrative of a resolute collective of officers and men. Since its birth in 1862 as the 5th Battalion, Volunteer Militia Rifles of Canada, thousands of citizens have served in the unit. In addition to securing Canada’s borders, Black Watch soldiers have fought in the South African War, both world wars, and the Korean War. They have bolstered NATO operations and United Nations peacekeeping missions, and they provided aid to the civil power during the 1997 Quebec and Eastern Ontario ice storm disaster and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Montreal-based battalion continues to serve Canada in its traditional role as a reserve infantry unit, and to this day, Black Watch soldiers frequently deploy on dangerous missions abroad. In volume 1, readers will learn of the Black Watch’s origins; its first foreign enterprise, the South African War; and a detailed account of the Great War, where the regiment evolved from the 5th Royal Highlanders to become the Canadian Black Watch, as they were known throughout the empire. The Montreal regiment trained four battalions for overseas duty, three of which participated in the greatest battles of the First World War, an unprecedented accomplishment. This volume not only offers a critical analysis of campaigns, key actions, and tactical evolution, but also includes an intimate and compelling account of the sacrifices that forged this extraordinary regiment. In volume 2 we are offered the story of the bloody battlefields of the Second World War, when the Black Watch joined Commonwealth regiments to defeat the Axis Powers. After a quick mobilization in 1939 and a long wait in England, the Black Watch experienced a baptism by fire at Dieppe. Landing in Normandy after D-Day, the regiment fought in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, its distinguished service earning numerous honours. As well as discussing these military engagements, Jarymowycz reveals the many difficulties with recruiting, training, recovering from devastating battles, communicating with higher command, and the quality and scarcity of reinforcements. Volume 3 relates the regiment’s post–Second World War story. Canada’s commitments to NATO and the United Nations led to the creation of two regular battalions of the Black Watch, while retaining the reserve battalion in Montreal. From 1953 to 1970, in Korea, Germany, Cyprus, and Canada, the regular battalions served with devotion and courage. The thousands of men who were based at Camp Aldershot, Nova Scotia, and the Regimental Depot in Sussex, New Brunswick, then moved to establish a Regular Force Home Station in the newly constructed Camp Gagetown, NB. These units earned a reputation second to none in efficiency, training, fighting ability, readiness, and strength. This monumental history of Canada’s oldest Highland regiment is at once a record of Scottish heritage, a portrait of Montreal rising as an industrial giant, and an examination of the emergence of a military culture from the Western Front.

In three volumes spanning centuries, Lieutenant Colonel Roman Jarymowycz recounts the story of the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, the oldest Highland regiment in the country. He traces its history from the roots, when soldiers, settlers, and militia volunteers rallied to defend the southern borders of their adopted country against invasion from the United States. Drawing on diaries, letters, classified documents, and the regimental archive, Jarymowycz weaves the strands of a complex story into an epic narrative of a resolute collective of officers and men. Since its birth in 1862 as the 5th Battalion, Volunteer Militia Rifles of Canada, thousands of citizens have served in the unit. In addition to securing Canada’s borders, Black Watch soldiers have fought in the South African War, both world wars, and the Korean War. They have bolstered NATO operations and United Nations peacekeeping missions, and they provided aid to the civil power during the 1997 Quebec and Eastern Ontario ice storm disaster and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Montreal-based battalion continues to serve Canada in its traditional role as a reserve infantry unit, and to this day, Black Watch soldiers frequently deploy on dangerous missions abroad. In volume 1, readers will learn of the Black Watch’s origins; its first foreign enterprise, the South African War; and a detailed account of the Great War, where the regiment evolved from the 5th Royal Highlanders to become the Canadian Black Watch, as they were known throughout the empire. The Montreal regiment trained four battalions for overseas duty, three of which participated in the greatest battles of the First World War, an unprecedented accomplishment. This volume not only offers a critical analysis of campaigns, key actions, and tactical evolution, but also includes an intimate and compelling account of the sacrifices that forged this extraordinary regiment. This monumental history of Canada’s oldest Highland regiment is at once a record of Scottish heritage, a portrait of Montreal rising as an industrial giant, and an examination of the emergence of a military culture from the Western Front.

If it were possible for the General who for three years commanded all the British Divisions in France, and was served with equal gallantry, devotion, and success by each, to admit a predilection for any of them, my affection would naturally turn to the Division that drew so many of its recruits from the same part of Scotland where my boyhood was spent and my own people lived. Those who read the pages of this book will find therein a tale of patient endeavour and glorious achievement of which I claim a good right to be as proud as any of my fellow-countrymen. The 51st Division does not need to boast of its prowess or its record. It can point to the story of its deeds, plainly and simply told, and leave the world to judge.

In three volumes spanning centuries, Lieutenant Colonel Roman Jarymowycz recounts the story of the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, the oldest Highland regiment in the country. He traces its history from the roots, when soldiers, settlers, and militia volunteers rallied to defend the southern borders of their adopted country against invasion from the United States. Drawing on diaries, letters, classified documents, and the regimental archive, Jarymowycz weaves the strands of a complex story into an epic narrative of a resolute collective of officers and men. Since its birth in 1862 as the 5th Battalion, Volunteer Militia Rifles of Canada, thousands of citizens have served in the unit. In addition to securing Canada’s borders, Black Watch soldiers have fought in the South African War, both world wars, and the Korean War. They have bolstered NATO operations and United Nations peacekeeping missions, and they provided aid to the civil power during the 1997 Quebec and Eastern Ontario ice storm disaster and the COVID-19 pandemic. The Montreal-based battalion continues to serve Canada in its traditional role as a reserve infantry unit, and to this day, Black Watch soldiers frequently deploy on dangerous missions abroad. In volume 2 we are offered the story of the bloody battlefields of the Second World War, when the Black Watch joined Commonwealth regiments to defeat the Axis Powers. After a quick mobilization in 1939 and a long wait in England, the Black Watch experienced a baptism by fire at Dieppe. Landing in Normandy after D-Day, the regiment fought in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, its distinguished service earning numerous honours. As well as discussing these military engagements, Jarymowycz reveals the many difficulties with recruiting, training, recovering from devastating battles, communicating with higher command, and the quality and scarcity of reinforcements. This monumental history of Canada’s oldest Highland regiment is at once a record of Scottish heritage, a portrait of Montreal rising as an industrial giant, and an examination of the emergence of a military culture from the Western Front.

The Black Watch was formed at Aberfeldy in Perthshire in the early eighteenth century as an independent security force, or 'watch', to guard the approaches to the lawless areas of the Scottish Highlands. Instantly recognisable due to the famous red hackle cap badge and the traditional dark blue and green government tartan kilt from which it got its name, The Black Watch was renowned as one of the great fighting regiments of the British Army and served with distinction in all major conflicts from the War of Austrian Succession onwards. In a highly controversial move, the regiment served under the operational control of the US Army during the counter-insurgency war in Iraq in December 2004. The Black Watch prided itself on being a 'family regiment', with sons following fathers into its ranks, and this new concise history reflects the strong sense of identity which was created over the centuries. In 2006, as part of a radical review of the country's defence policy, The Black Watch was amalgamated into the new Royal Regiment of Scotland. This new account of the famous regiment is therefore a timely memorial to its long and distinguished history.