Image left - Statue of James, Earl of Angus on the Cameronian Memorial at Douglas by Kim Traynor - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wiki Commons: Badges left - 26th (The Cameronians) Regiment of Foot); Right, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) (Courtesy of British Military Badges).
British Army - The Royal Regiment of Scotland
Including
(Reflecting historic name changes)
26th Regiment of Foot
26th (The Cameronians) Regiment of Foot
90th Light Infantry Regiment (Perthshire Volunteers)
90th Regiment of Foot (Perthshire Volunteers) (Light Infantry)
The Cameronians
The Cameronians (Scotch Rifles).
The Earl of Angus's Regiment of Foot
Our 90th Regiment of Foot
Perthshire Volunteers.
Scotch Rifles Cameronians
Please link profiles of those who served in the The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) (including those in the "included" list above), to this project regardless of rank, conflict or nationality. People of note can be individually listed in Alphabetical Order below.
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The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Army, the only regiment of rifles amongst the Scottish regiments of infantry. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 26th Cameronian Regiment and the 90th Perthshire Light Infantry. In 1968, when reductions were required, the regiment was the only one that decided to disband rather than amalgamate with another regiment. It can trace its roots to that of the Cameronians, later the 26th of Foot, who were raised in 1689. The 1881 amalgamation coincided with the Cameronian's selection to become the new Scottish Rifles.
Formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 26th Cameronian Regiment and the 90th Perthshire Light Infantry. After the amalgamation, the 1st Battalion preferred to be known as "The Cameronians" while the 2nd preferred to be known as "The Scottish Rifles". The 2nd Battalion saw action at the Battle of Spion Kop in January 1900 during the Second Boer War. A 3rd, Militia battalion (formerly the 2nd Royal Lanark Militia), was embodied in May 1900 for service during the Second Boer War. More than 600 men embarked for South Africa in April 1901, and returned in June 1902, following the end of hostilities.
Active 1 July 1881 – 14 May 1968
Motto -
Uniform -
Corps March -
- Quick – Within a mile of Edinburgh Toon
- Slow – The Garb of Old Gaul
Nick-name - (from the 1960's) The Poison Dwarfs. Not a popular nickname as it was derogatory.
Colonel in Chief - HM King Gustaf VI Adolf
Colonel of the Regiment - Major General Henry Templar Alexander, CB CBE DSO
Ancestry
8.1.6.1d The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) 1st and 2nd Battalions
formed 1881 by amalgamation of ...
8.1.6.1d.1 - 26th (The Cameronian) Regiment of Foot
and the
8.1.6.1d.2. - 90th Light Infantry Regiment (Perthshire Volunteers).
8.1.6.1d.1 - 26th (The Cameronian) Regiment of Foot
Active - 1689-1881
Timeline
Pre 1689 - The Cameronians were raised by the Lords of the Convention, named after the Cameronians, followers of the Presbyterian Richard Cameron, who had been a militant leader in the struggles of the Covenanters against attempts by the Stuart monarchs Charles II and James VII to outlaw Presbyterianism and impose bishops on the Church of Scotland.
March 1689 - raised by James. Earl of Angus near Douglas as The Earl of Angus's Regiment of Foot. The regiment was drawn from among the Cameronians and were placed in the service of William II. 1200 men enlisted - 20 companies of 60.
August 1689 - defeated Dundee's Jacobite forces at the Battle of Dunkeld
Also known by the following Colonel's names -
- 1692 - Andrew Munro
- 1693 - James Ferguson
July 1693 - took part in the Battle of Landen during the Nine Year's War.
1701-1713 - War of the Spanish Succession.
Also known by the following Colonel's names -
- 1705 - William Borthwick
- 1706 - Lord James Dlarymple
- 1706 - George Preston
- 1720 - Philip Anstruther
1747 - Ranked as 26th Regiment of Foot
1751 - Formally named 26th Regiment of Footand issued with new, standardised, regimental colours.
'''1754''' - The regiment returned to Scotland in 1754.
1757 - The regiment moved back to Ireland where they remained for the following decade.
1760 - Colonel Edward Sandford was appointed colonel
1763 - Colonel John Scott replaced Sandford.
1767 - the regiment embarked for the North American colonies to take up garrison duties.
1786 - Named 26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot with badge as in 8.1.6.1d.1.. above.
May 1800 - the regiment moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where it served in garrison duties for four months before sailing for England in September.
1801-1802 - sailed for Egypt in May 1801, to reinforce the British army fighting in the Egyptian campaign.
1803 - the regiment was involved in the Napoleonic Wars
1822-1827 - Irish duties
1828-1840 - India
1840-1842 - China - First Opium War
1843-1850 - Home Service
1850s - 1880s - Colonial service
1870s - As part of the Cardwell Reforms where single-battalion regiments were linked together to share a single depot and recruiting district in the United Kingdom, the 26th was linked with the 74th (Highland) Regiment, and assigned to district no. 59 at Hamilton.
1880s - Under the Childers Reforms of the early 1880s the depot system was altered and expanded to form "territorial" two battalion regiments. The four regiments brigaded at Hamilton were re-organised, and the 26th was linked with the 90th Regiment of Foot (Perthshire Volunteers). The two were formally amalgamated in 1882, to form the Scotch Rifles Cameronians. This somewhat ungainly name was quickly altered to the Cameronians (Scotch Rifles), and then to the more modern form of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). The Cameronians, as the more senior regiment, formed the 1st Battalion; the 90th, as the junior, formed the 2nd July 1881 - Amalgamated as 26th (The Cameronians) Regiment of Foot with 90th Light Infantry Regiment (Perthshire Volunteers) to form 1st and 2nd Battalions of The Cameronians (Scotch Rifles). The Cameronians, the more senior regiment, formed the 1st Battalion; the 90th, as the junior, formed the 2nd
November 1881 - The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) - 8.1.6.1d
The 26th paraded as a separate regiment for the last time on 26 June 1882, wearing a new green uniform – green was traditionally worn by rifle regiments, unlike the scarlet of line regiments. Its colours were put in store and formally deposited in Glasgow Cathedral in 1885.
Regimental colonels
Colonels of the Regiment were:
- 1689–1692: Col. James Douglas, Earl of Angus
- 1692–1693: Col. Andrew Monro
- 1693–1705: Maj-Gen. James Ferguson
- 1705–1706: Col. William Borthwick of Johnstoneburn
- 1706: F.M. John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair (Lord Dalrymple), KT
- 1706–1720: Lt-Gen. George Preston
- 1720–1760: Lt-Gen. Philip Anstruther
26th Regiment of Foot (1751)
- 1760–1763: Lt-Gen. Edward Sandford
- 1763–1775: Maj-Gen. John Scott
- 1775–1782: Gen. Lord Adam Gordon
- 1782–1795: Lt-Gen. Sir William Erskine of Torrie, Bt.
26th (The Cameronian) Regiment of Foot - (1786)
- 1795–1801: Lt-Gen. Hon. Sir Charles Stuart, KB
- 1801–1806: Lt. Gen. Andrew Gordon [also 59th Foot, 89th Foot]
- 1806–1813: Lt-Gen. John Elphinstone, 12th Lord Elphinstone
- 1813–1838: Gen. George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie, GCB
- 1838–1854: F.M. Sir John Colborne, 1st Baron Seaton, GCB, GCMG, GCH
- 1854–1862: Gen. Sir Philip Bainbrigge, KCB
- 1862–1881: Gen. George Henry Mackinnon, CB
8.1.6.1d.2. - 90th Light Infantry Regiment (Perthshire Volunteers).
The 90th Perthshire Light Infantry was a Scottish light infantry regiment of the British Army.
Active - 1794-1881
Timeline
1794 - Raised by Colonel Thomas Graham as Our 90th Regiment of Foot, or Perthshire Volunteers for service in the French Revolutionary Wars.
1795 - first deployment Quiberon Expedition;
1796 - dispatched to support the French Royalist Lieutenant-general François de Charette in his struggle with the Republicans.
1800 - Egypt
1803-1815 - Napoleonic war - posted to West Indies where it participated in the seizure of the Danish Virgin Islands (1807), the invasion of Martinique (1809), and the invasion of Guadeloupe (1810).
1812 - garrisoned Quebec during the War of 1812.
1815 - officially received the title of 90th Regiment of Foot (Perthshire Volunteers) (Light Infantry)
1846-47 - fought in the WIKI Seventh Xhosa War.
1850s - served throughout the Crimean War
1857-1858 - fought in the WIKI Indian Mutiny
1877-79 - served in South Africa
1881 - amalgamated with the 26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot as part of the Childers Reforms, and became the 2nd Battalion of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles).
Battle honours
- Napoleonic Wars: Mandora, Egypt, Martinique 1809, Guadeloupe 1810
- Crimean War: Sevastopol
- Indian Mutiny: Lucknow
- South Africa 1846-72, South Africa 1877-79 (awarded to Cameronian regiment in 1882)
Colonels of the Regiment
90th Regiment of Foot[edit]
- 1794–1823: Gen. Thomas Graham, 1st Baron Lynedoch, GCB, GCMG 90th Regiment of Foot (Perthshire Volunteers) (Light Infantry) - (1815)
- 1823: Gen. Hon Robert Meade
- 1823–1837: Gen. Sir Ralph Darling, GCH
- 1837–1841: Lt-Gen. Sir Henry Sheehy Keating, KCB
- 1841–1853: Gen. Sir Alexander Leith, KCB
- 1853–1857: Lt-Gen. Felix Calvert
- 1857–1862: Gen. Alexander Fisher Macintosh, KH
- 1862: Gen. George Upton, 3rd Viscount Templetown, GCB
- 1862–1881: Gen. William Hassall Eden
Battle honours (The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
- Early wars: Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, Malplaquet, South Africa 1846-72, South Africa 1877-8-92, Relief of Ladysmith, South Africa 1899-1902
- The Great War: Mons, Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914 '18, Aisne 1914, La Bassée 1914, Messines 1914, Armentières 1914, Neuve Chapelle, Aubers, Loos, Somme 1916 '18, Albert 1916, Bazentin, Pozières, Flers-Courcelette, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Arras 1917 '18, Scarpe 1917 '18, Arleux, Ypres 1917 '18, Pilckem, Langemarck 1917, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Passchendaele, St Quentin, Rosières, Avre, Lys, Hazebrouck, Bailleul, Kemmel, Scherpenberg, Soissonnais-Ourcq, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenberg Line, Épéhy, Canal du Nord, St Quentin Canal, Cambrai 1918, Courtrai, Selle, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18, Doiran 1917 '18, Macedonia 1915-18, Gallipoli 1915-16, Rumani, Egypt 1916-17, Gaza, El Mughar, Nebi Samwil, Jaffa, Palestine 1917-18
- Second World War: Ypres-Comines Canal, Odon, Cheux, Caen, Mont Pincon, Estry, Nederrijn, Best, Scheldt, South Beveland, Walcheren Causeway, Asten, Roer, Rhineland, Reichswald, Moyland, Rhine, Dreirwalde, Bremen, Artlenberg, North-West Europe 1940, '44-45, Landing in Sicily, Simeto Bridgehead, Sicily 1943, Garigliano Crossing, Anzio, Advance to Tiber, Italy 1943-44, Pegu 1942, Paungde, Yenagyaung 1942, Chindits 1944, Burma 1942 '44
Victoria Cross Holders
- Private John Alexander - 90th 1855 Crimea; gazetted on 24 February 1857.He was born in Mullinger, West Meath, Ireland.
- Sergeant Andrew Moynihan 90th 1855 Crimea; gazetted on 24 February 1857. Moynihan was born in Wakefield, West Yorkshire on 8 September 1831. He eventually gained the rank of Captain. He died in Malta on 19 May 1867. He had a son who also found fame, Major General Lord Moynihan.
- Lieutenant Colonel William Herbert Anderson 5th Bn - Gazetted on 3 May 1918. At the time of his award he was commanding the Battalion The Highland Light Infantry. He was killed in action two days later (25 March 1918) still leading his battalion. He was born on in Glasgow on 29 December 1881.
- Assistant Surgeon William Bradshaw 90th 1857 India - born on 12 February 1830 at Thurles in County Tipperary, Ireland. He died there on 9 March 1861. His award was gazetted on 18 June 1858.
- Corporal William Clamp 6th Bn - gazetted on 19 December 1917. At the time of his award he was serving with the 6th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment. He was born in Motherwell, Lanarkshire on 28 October 1892. He joined the 6th Battalion The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) in January 1914 and went with that territorial battalion to France.
- Corporal James Lennox Dawson 5th Bn - James Dawson was born on Christmas Day 1891. His ward was gazetted on 7 December 1915. At the time of his award he was serving as a corporal with 187 Company Royal Engineers.
- Sergeant John Erskine 5th Bn 1916 France - born in Dunfermline, Fife, on 13 January 1894. His award was gazetted on 5 August 1916.
- Colour Sergeant Edmund Fowler 90th (28 March 1879) Zulu Land - born in 1861 at Waterford in Ireland. His award was gazetted on 5 April 1882
- Private Patrick Graham 90th 1857 India - gazetted on 24 December 1858. He was born in Dublin in 1837 and died there on 3 June 1875.
- Major John Christopher Guise 90th 1857 India; born on 27 July 1826 at Highnam, Gloucestershire, son of General Sir John Guise Bt GCB, who had risen to fame as a result of his exploits in the Peninsular War. He was commissioned an Ensign in the 90th in 1843, promoted Captain in 1846 and gained his Majority in 1855. Major Guise, Sergeant Hill and Private Graham (see below), were all awarded the VC for action on the same day and in the same place. Their awards were all gazetted on the same day: 24 December 1858.
- Sergeant Samuel Hill 90th 1857 India. born in 1826 in Glenavy, Co Antrim, Ireland. He enlisted first in the 67th Regiment in 1844, transferring in 1856 to the 90th. His award was gazetted on 24 December 1858. On 16 and 17 November 1857 at Lucknow, India, ... saved the life of a captain [Irby] at the storming of the Secundera Bagh and also went in under heavy fire to help two wounded men. In fact he acted with gallantry throughout the operations/or the Relief of Lucknow garrison.
- Surgeon Anthony Home - 90th 1857 India; Surgeon Home and his deputy, Assistant Surgeon Bradshaw (see below), were both awarded the VC for action on the same day and in the same place. Anthony Dickson Home was born in Dunbar, East Lothian, on 30 November 1826. He attended St Andrew’s University and qualified as a doctor in 1847. He joined the Army Medical Department as an Assistant Surgeon the following year. His award was gazetted on 18 June 1858.
- Colonel Henry Lysons 90th 1879 Zulu Land - born at Morden, Surrey on 30 July 1858 the son of General Sir Daniel Lysons GCB of Crimea fame. After education at Wellington College he joined the 90th in 1878. He served throughout the Zulu War as Aide de Camp (ADC) to Colonel Evelyn Wood VC.
- Private Henry May 1st Bn 1914 France - born in Glasgow on 2 September 1885. His award was gazetted on 19 April 1915.
- Sergeant Andrew Moynihan, Crimean War (8 September 1855)
- Corporal James Dalgleish Pollock 5th Bn - Colonel James Lennox Dawson) (above), were cousins. Both were born in Tillicoultry, Clackmananshire. They both joined the 5th Scottish Rifles and were both awarded the Victoria Cross for action at or near the Hohenzollern Redoubt in France in the autumn of 1915, though both were, by then, serving with different units. James Pollock was born on 3 June 1890. His award was gazetted on 18 December 1915. At the time of his award he was serving in the Battalion The Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders.
- Lieutenant William Rennie 90th 1857 India. Born at Elgin, Moray, on 31 October 1822. His award was gazetted on 24 December 1858 (the same day as the three above). He joined the 73rd Perthshire Regiment as a Private in 1846. He was promoted to Ensign for gallantry in August 1854. He was promoted into the 90th from the 73rd.
- Lieutenant (Robert) Montresor Rogers 90th - Gazetted on 13 August 1861. At the time of his award he was a Lieutenant serving with 44th (later the Essex) Regiment.
- Private James Towers 2nd Bn 1918 France - born at Preston, Lancashire, on 9 September 1897 and died there in his eightieth year. His award was gazetted on 6 January 1919.
- Lieutenant (Henry) Evelyn Wood 90th - (9 February 1838 – 2 December 1919) was a British Army officer. After an early career in the Royal Navy, Wood joined the British Army. He served in several major conflicts including the Indian Mutiny where, as a lieutenant, he was awarded the Victoria Cross,
Notable Personnel
Names with Bold links are to Geni profiles. Other links take you to external biographical web pages.
A
B
- Thomas Graham of Balgowan - who raised the 90th. He was born in 1746 and in 1774 he married the Hon. Mary Cathcart. So great was her beauty, and legendary charm, that the famous and fashionable artist Thomas Gainsborough painted her portrait no fewer than four times.
C
- The Regiment took its name from Richard Cameron, 'The Lion of The Covenant'. Originally a field preacher he was killed, a bounty on his head, at the battle of Airds Moss in 1680. Cleland had led the Covenanters in battle at Drumclog and Bothwell Brig. His sword, one of the treasures of the Regiment, can still be seen today in the Regimental Museum in Hamilton. \
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
Sources, References and Further Reading
- Brereton, J M A Guide to the regiments and Corps of the British Army on the Regular Establishment (Bodley Head) 1985
- Griffin, P D Encyclopedia of Modern British Army Regiments (Sutton Publishers) 2006
- Lumley, Goff Amalgamations in the British Army 1660-2008 (Partizan Press 2009)
- http://www.cameronians.org/index.html
- http://cameronians.org/brief-history/index.html
this project is in History Link