The loss of any Scots regiment through a new wave of army redundancies could spell the end for The Black Watch, it has been claimed.
Secretary of the Black Watch Association Ronnie Proctor said it is vital to keep the individual names.
“I’ve heard the talk about the Argylls and Highlanders becoming territorial and the main thing you would want is to ensure they keep the regimental name,” he said. “At least then the name is kept alive and that’s better than losing the regiment altogether.
“The armed forces are cutting back as far as they can and the simple fact is they can only do what they can afford on the money they have.”
In his letter, General Wall writes, “Regular army manpower will be cut more steeply with an additional reduction of 5000 over and above the 7000 already in progress as a result of the SDSR (strategic defence and security review). This takes the army to around 90,000 by 2015.
“The additional manpower cuts are now being scoped but will inevitably require a further redundancy programme. Although detailed planning is not yet complete we must assume that these reductions will require the further removal of formed battalions and further regiments from the force structure, including the combat arm.”
Defence secretary Liam Fox announced last week that he was ploughing resources into the Territorial Army so more “properly trained and equipped” reservist soldiers were ready for frontline duties.
Reacting to the rumours, a spokesman for the MoD said, “There has been widespread speculation that the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, is to be cut under further army personnel reductions.
“These reports do not come from any official military source and are speculation. There are scoping studies ongoing in the MoD as to how these reductions are made and this will take time and planning.
“Any reports of specific battalions being cut are purely speculative and unofficial.”
Speculation was sparked at the weekend by a leaked letter from General Peter Wall, Chief of the General Staff, that 5000 more soldiers will be made redundant than the 7000 already announced by the government.
In Scotland the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders is rumoured to have been earmarked for downgrading to a Territorial Army battalion. The Highlanders, 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 Scots), is also said to be under the same threat, although the Ministry of Defence (MoD) called both claims “speculative and unofficial.”
A well-placed Black Watch source said any such moves could see the battalion which is so integral to the life of those in Tayside and Fife become simply the 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland. The world-famous red hackle would also be consigned to the history books.
The removal of the “golden thread” which campaigners fought so hard to retain six years ago would mean an end to the centuries-old battalion which has fought with distinction in conflicts across the world.
Our source said, “We have thought for the last 18 months that cuts in the Scottish infantry are going to be inevitable and the decision has probably already been made that if one battalion goes the antecedents of the rest would go as well.
“We wouldn’t have The Black Watch it would just be the Royal Regiment of Scotland. They couldn’t keep the Black Watch name and not the others, so it would be just the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions.”
He said the amalgamation of the Scottish regiments under the previous defence review in 2005 signposted the current situation.
“The sense is that the battle was lost six years ago and if we weren’t able to keep our independence as a regiment it was almost inevitable there would be a watering down of what the people saw as their old regiment.
“There will be a lot of sadness if the red hackle and the name goes because they are the very last links but I don’t think anybody would mount a campaign like last time.
“It will be interesting to see what the reaction of the ‘old comrades’ will be and whether the support for the regiment will be the same without the Black Watch name.”
Continued…