DESCRIPTION:
Company Marches of the 1st Battlion of The Black Watch from their Album The Fighting Scots.
A view of the amazing Scottish scenery taken from across Scotland.
Many these photo's were taken by friends including my friend at http://quadraro.deviantart.com/ If you wish to view more of his work please visit his site.
The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) was a Scottish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 (as the Royal Highland Regiment (Black Watch)) until 2006. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders), by the amalgamation of the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot and the 73rd (Perthshire) Regiment of Foot.

As part of the Scottish Division, it was the senior regiment of the Highland Brigade. The regiment's name came from the dark tartan that they wore and from its role to "watch" the Highlands. The 'Black Watch' was originally just a nickname for the 42nd Regiment of Foot, but was used more and more so that, in 1881, when the 42nd amalgamated with the 73rd Regiment of Foot, the new regiment was named the 'Black Watch (Royal Highlanders)'. The uniform changed over time, but the nickname has been more enduring. The regimental motto was Nemo me impune lacessit (no one attacks me with impunity). The Royal Stewart Tartan was worn by the regimental pipers to reflect the status of 'Royal' regiment.

In 2006 the regiment was merged with the Royal Scots Borderers, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment), the Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons) and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders to form the Royal Regiment of Scotland, becoming the Black Watch, 3rd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
The Black Watch was formed as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 when the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment (The Black Watch) was amalgamated with the 73rd (Perthshire) Foot to form two battalions of the newly named Black Watch (Royal Highlanders).
During the First World War the 25 battalions of Black Watch fought mainly in France and Flanders, except for the 2nd Battalion which fought in Mesopotamia and Palestine, and the 10th Battalion which was in the Balkans. Only the 1st and 2nd battalions were regulars. A number of authors state that the regiment was given the nickname "Ladies from Hell" ("Die Damen aus der Hölle") by German troops, allegedly on account of their kilts and fighting qualities,[4][5] although it is reported that no German sources to support the claim have been found. (Scottish troops wore kilts up until 1940).

Battalions of the Black Watch fought in almost every major action that the British military was engaged in during the Second World War. Most notably engaging in the Battle of Dunkirk, the Battle of Normandy, and fighting as Chindits (42 and 73 columns) during the Burma Campaign. The Black Watch was fiercely defeated by German Fallschirmjäger and Gebirgsjäger during the Battle of Crete, in May 1941. The regiment was the first to cross the Rhine and into Germany during the Allied advance in 1945. After the war, in 1948, the two regular battalions were merged into one.

The regiment won honours after the Battle of the Hook during the Korean War in November 1952, and were subsequently involved in peacekeeping in various parts of the world; the same activity for which the regiment was raised 250 years earlier.

During the state funeral of John F. Kennedy in November 1963, nine bagpipers from the regiment were invited to travel to the United States and participate in the funeral procession from the White House to the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. They performed The Brown Haired Maiden, The Badge of Scotland, The 51st Highland Division, and The Barren Rocks of Aden.[6]

It was the last British military unit to leave Hong Kong in 1997 and played a prominent role in the handover ceremony.