The regiment was deployed briefly to Ireland and southern England, then to Flanders in 1794 where it took part in an unsuccessful campaign under the command of the Duke of York during the French Revolutionary Wars.[6] On its return to England, the 79th Foot was listed for disbandment, with the men being drafted into other units. In the end the regiment was reprieved, being instead posted to the West Indies in 1795; after a two-year tour the 79th returned to England again.[7] The regiment was again in action against the French at the Battle of Alkmaar in October 1799 during the Helder Campaign.[8] In 1800 the 79th was part of a force that took part in a failed assault on the Spanish coast at Ferrol.[8]
The 79th Foot landed in Egypt as part of an expeditionary force to prevent French control of the land route to India and saw action at the Battle of Abukir in March 1801.[9] After victories at Mandora and Alexandria later that month, the British forced the surrender of the French forces at Cairo. Along with other regiments that took part in the Egyptian campaign the 79th Foot were henceforth permitted to bear a sphinx superscribed EGYPT on its colours and badges.[10] The 79th spent the next two years in Menorca. A second battalion was formed in 1804,[11] which supplied drafts to the 1st Battalion and did not go abroad, it being disbanded in 1815.[12]
Originally on the Irish establishment, the regiment became part of the British Army in 1804 and was renamed the 79th Regiment of Foot (Cameron Highlanders).[13] The 1st Battalion took part in the Battle of Copenhagen in August 1807 during the Napoleonic Wars.[14]
Following the abdication of Napoleon in April 1814, the regiment moved to Cork, Ireland.[25] However, with the return of Napoleon from exile, the 79th Foot travelled to Belgium in May 1815. The regiment took part in the final battles of the Napoleonic Wars at Quatre Bras and Waterloo in June 1815.[26] Of the 675 men of the regiment who took part in these battles, 103 were killed and a further 353 wounded. The 79th were one of only four regiments specifically mentioned by the Duke of Wellington in his Waterloo dispatch.[27]
1816–1880
The 79th Foot remained in France until 1818, followed by home service, broken by tours of Canada (1825–36), Gibraltar (1841–48) and again Canada (1848–51).[28]
After briefly returning to the UK, the regiment sailed to India to take part in the suppression of the Indian Rebellion. The regiment took part in the Capture of Lucknow in March 1858 and the Battle of Bareilly in May 1858,[34] remaining in India until 1871 when they returned to the UK.[33]
Queen Victoria presented the regiment with new colours at Parkhurst, Isle of Wight, on 17 April 1873 and directed they should be known as the "Queen's Own" in August 1873.[35] Consequently, they became the 79th Regiment, The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders.[13]
Under the Cardwell reforms, in 1873 the 79th were linked to the 42nd Highlanders, the two regiments sharing a common depot at Perth, with the 79th supplying men to bring the 42nd up to strength for the 1873 Ashanti campaign.[33]
1881–1914
On 1 July 1881, as part of the Childers reforms, the 79th Foot was redesignated as 1st Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, the county regiment of Inverness-shire.[13] The Camerons were the only infantry regiment still to have a single regular battalion.[36] The 1881 reforms also combined the Militia and Rifle Volunteers of the county with the regiment, they becoming respectively the 2nd (Militia) Battalion and the 1st (1st Inverness-shire Highland) Volunteer Battalion. In 1886, the new depot for the regiment, Cameron Barracks, was completed in Inverness by the Royal Engineers.[37] In 1897 a 2nd regular battalion was raised, and the Militia battalion was renumbered to 3rd.[13]
Returning to the UK in 1887, a proposal to convert the Regiment into the 3rd Battalion Scots Guards was dropped after concerted lobbying. In 1892 the 1st Battalion were posted to Malta, then Gibraltar, moving to Egypt in 1897. The battalion were part of General Kitchener's force during the 1898 reconquest of the Sudan,[39] they participating in the Battle of Atbara in April and the Battle of Omdurman in September,[40] with one company being present at the Fashoda Incident.[39] Returning to Cairo, the 1st Battalion travelled to South Africa in March 1900 and fought in the Second Boer War.[41] On 27 February 1902, Lieutenants Harry Morant and Peter Handcock, formerly of the Bushveldt Carbineers, were executed following one of the first war crimes prosecutions in British military history by a firing squad of soldiers from the Cameron Highlanders inside Pretoria jail.[42][43] Following the end of hostilities, 810 officers and men of the 1st battalion left Cape Town in the SS Dunera in late September 1902, arriving at Southampton early the following month.[44] The 1st Battalion then remained in the UK until 1914.[39]
In 1897, a 2nd Battalion was formed.[13] Moving to Gibraltar in October 1899, it supplied drafts to the 1st Battalion during the Boer War. The 2nd Battalion remained abroad until 1914, moving to South Africa in 1904, China in 1908 and India from 1909.[45]
In 1908, as part of the Haldane Reforms, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve;[46] the regiment now has one Reserve and one Territorial battalion.[47][13]
The 1st Battalion, commanded by James Douglas McLachlan, landed at Le Havre as Army Troops for the 1st Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front.[49] The 2nd Battalion, which had been in India, landed at Le Havre as part of the 81st Brigade in the 27th Division in December 1914 for service on the Western Front and then moved to Salonika in December 1915.[49] The 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion was posted to Birr in Ireland in November 1917[49] as part of a move to replace Irish Reserve Battalions with British troops at a time when there were concerns about the reliability of troops of both 'Nationalist' and 'Loyalist' communities.[50]
Territorial force
The 1/4th Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 24th Brigade in the 8th Division in February 1915 for service on the Western Front.[49]
New armies
Three service battalions of the Cameron Highlanders, raised in 1914, saw active service: The 5th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 26th Brigade in the 9th (Scottish) Division in May 1915 for service on the Western Front, where they served for the remainder of the war.[49] The 6th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 45th Brigade in the 15th (Scottish) Division in July 1915 and also served on the Western Front for the rest of the war.[49] The 7th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 44th Brigade in the 15th (Scottish) Division in July 1915. They served on the Western Front[49][51] until June 1918 when, due to high casualties incurred at Arras, the battalion was amalgamated with the 6th Camerons.[52]
The 1st Battalion was posted to India 1919 and then to the Sudan in 1934,[35] returning to the UK in 1936.[54] Meanwhile, the 2nd Battalion was sent to Queenstown in Ireland where it saw action during the Irish War of Independence: the battalion was engaged in several fire-fights with the Irish Republican Army.[55] In 1923 they joined the allied occupation forces in Germany, returning to the UK in 1926. In 1935 the battalion commenced a tour of foreign service, serving in Palestine, Egypt and, in 1938, India.[54]
The Australian 61st Battalion, which was raised as a Militia unit in Queensland in 1938, adopted the designation of the "Queensland Cameron Highlanders" after receiving official approval for an association with the Queens Own Cameron Highlanders in 1939. This battalion subsequently took part in the Battle of Milne Bay in August 1942 and the Bougainville Campaign in 1944 and 1945.[72]
Post-war
After the war, the 1st Battalion served with the occupation forces in Japan, before moving to Malaya for internal security duties in 1947, returning to the UK a year later.[73] Following the independence of India, all infantry regiments were reduced to a single regular battalion: accordingly, the 2nd Battalion was placed in "suspended animation" in 1948.[13] In 1949 the 1st Battalion moved to Libya and the Suez Canal Zone, before seeing service in Scotland, Austria and Germany. In 1955, the regiment were part of the United Nations forces stationed in Korea after the Korean War, before deployment to Aden in 1956, returning to the UK in 1958.[73]
Under the Defence Review announced in 1957 the number of infantry battalions was to be reduced, with regiments being amalgamated in pairs. Accordingly, the Camerons were amalgamated with the Seaforth Highlanders on 7 February 1961 to form the Queen's Own Highlanders.[13]
Battle honours
The regiment's battle honours were as follows:[13]
Early Wars: Egmont-Op-Zee, Egypt, Corunna, Busaco, Fuentes D'Onor, Salamanca, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nive, Toulouse, Peninsula, Waterloo, Alma, Sevastopol, Lucknow, Egypt 1882, Tel-El-Kebir, Nile 1884–5, Khartoum, Atbara, South Africa, 1900–02
The Great War: Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914 '18, Aisne 1914, Ypres 1914 '15 '17 '18, Langemarck 1914, Gheluvelt, Nonne Bosschen, Givenchy 1914, Neuve Chapelle, Hill 60, Gravenstafel, St. Julien, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Aubers, Festubert 1915, Loos, Somme 1916 '18, Albert 1916, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozières, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Arras 1917 '18, Scarpe 1917, Arleux, Pilckem, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, St. Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Lys, Estaires, Messines 1918, Kemmel, Béthune, Soissonnais-Ourcq, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Épéhy, St. Quentin Canal, Courtrai, Selle, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914–18, Struma, Macedonia 1915-18
The Second World War: Defence of Escaut, St. Omer-La Bassée, Somme 1940, St. Valery-en-Caux, Falaise, Falaise Road, La Vie Crossing, Le Havre, Lower Maas, Venlo Pocket, Rhineland, Reichswald, Goch, Rhine, North-West Europe 1940 '44-45, Agordat, Keren, Abyssinia 1941, Sidi Barrani, Tobruk 1941 '42, Gubi II, Carmusa, Gazala, El Alamein, Mareth, Wadi Zigzaou, Akarit, Djebel Roumana, North Africa 1940–43, Francofonte, Adrano, Sferro Hills, Sicily 1943, Cassino, Poggio del Grillo, Gothic Line, Tavoleto, Coriano, Pian di Castello, Monte Reggiano, Rimini Line, San Marino, Italy 1944, Kohima, Relief of Kohima, Naga Village, Aradura, Shwebo, Mandalay, Ava, Irrawaddy, Mt. Popa, Burma 1944-45
Victoria Cross recipients
The following servicemen from the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders were awarded the Victoria Cross:
The Inverness unit of the Auxiliary Territorial Service raised in World War II by Christian Fraser-Tytler, was based at the Cameron Highlanders' depot and its members wore kilts of the regiment's Cameron of Erracht tartan rather than khaki.[76]
^A researched account of units' training in Norfolk in 1915 has been published in conjunction with the Highlanders' Museum: Mary Mackie: Hunstanton's Highland Heroes: West Norfolk 1915 (King's Lynn: Morningside Publishers, 2018. ISBN0-95759-782-7.
^King Carol Arrives In Bermuda Dublin Issue. Bermuda: British Pathé. 29 May 1941. 1115.33. King Carol and Madame Lupescu of Rumania seek refuge in Bermuda. Description. Title reads: "King Carol in Bermuda". Bermuda. Various shots of King Carol of Rumania and Madame Lupescu arrive at port and disembark from ship separately. Madame Lupescu waves back towards the ship. Various shots of King Carol posing for press photographers and newsreel cameramen at their hotel. Various shots of Madame Lupescu on terrace of hotel with two Pekinese dogs. King Carol has escaped from his home country due to war. Note: alternative spelling of Romania / Roumania.
^"CHANGES IN STRENGTH OF THE LOCAL COMMAND". The Royal Gazette. City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. 30 August 1940. It is learned from Command Orders that Major D. R. G. Cameron, Brigade Major, has been struck off the strength of the Bermuda Command with effect from Tuesday, and that Captain R. F. Arden-Close, K.S.L.I., has assumed the duties of Brigade Major. Struck off the strength of the Bermuda Command are the under-mentioned officers of the Detachment, Winnipeg Grenadiers; Major G. Trist, Captain J. A. Norris, Lieut. N. O. Bardal and Lieut. F. N. Symes. The following officers of the detachment, 4 Camerons, have been taken on the strength of the Command: Major A. Murray, Captain D. B. Mitchell, 2/Lt. R. L. Gibson, 2/Lt. D. H. Burns, 2/Lt. L. MacDonald, 2/Lt. A. Sinclair and 2/Lt. A. C. McAslam. Also taken on the strength of the Command is Lieut. J. R. Faulkener, Army Dental Corps.
^"MILITARY WEDDING AT CATHEDRAL YESTERDAY: Miss Audrey H. C. Wilson Weds Lieut. D. H. Burns". The Royal Gazette. City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. 20 March 1942. A brilliant wedding ceremony was solemnised at the Cathedral yesterday afternoon at 5.30 o'clock when Miss Audrey Hunt Chute Wilson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Murray Franklln Wilson of "Westcliffe," Fairylands, became the bride of Lieut. Donald Henry Burns, 4th.Battalion, The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Donald Burns of Birkenhead, Cheshire, England. A large crowd thronged the church, while hundreds of people were lined up on both sides of the street. Yesterday's ceremony was one of the largest military weddings in these Islands so far this year- His Lordship the Bishop of Bermuda officiated, assisted by the Venerable Archdeacon H. Marriott, Rector of Paget Parish. At the conclusion of the ceremony the Bridal party was met at the western exit of the Cathedral by two pipers of the Cameron Highlanders, who piped them to the horseless carriage on Church Street, after which the carriage was drawn through the principal streets of Hamilton by a group of Cameron Highlanders led by the pipers. The bride, who was given in marriage by her father, looked charming in a gown of brocaded white satin with long veil. She carried a bouquet of calla lilies. The bride was attended by her cousin, Miss Carol Burrows, as maid of honour and by Miss Natalie Conyers and Miss Lee Wadson as bridesmaids. Flower girls were the Misses Ann Walker and Helene Harnett. The maid of honour was attired in a gown of rose taffeta and she carried a bouquet of purple larkspur with pink gerbera. The bridesmaids wore dresses of turquoise blue taffeta and each carried bouquets of purple larkspur with different tones of stock. The flower girls wore frocks of mauve taffeta and carried old fashioned bouquets of violets and pink roses. Lieut, Edward Cameron, 4th. Batt., the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders was the best man, the ushers being Captain Faulkner, Lieut. J. Stirling, Lieut. Rex Graham and 2nd Lieut. M. Watson. The service was choral, Miss Susan Oatham singing "O Perfect Love." Mr. John Bridge was the organist. Noted among the congregation in the Cathedral during the ceremony were Brigadier H. D. Maconochie, M.C., Officer Commanding, British Troops at Bermuda, Major C. W. R. Hill, O. C. Det. 4th. Batt. Cameron Highlanders, Major O'Connor, G.S.O. 2 at Bermuda Command, Captain F. W. Jefferies, Staff Captain, Bermuda Command, Lieut. Paul Curtis, Seaforth Highlanders, brother officers of the Bridegroom and also officers of local units attached to the Command. After the ceremony, the bridal couple received congratulations from their many friends at a reception held at "Westcliffe," Fairylands, home of the bride's parents. Both Lieut. Burns and his bride are well known in these Islands.
^The Saltus Year Book 1942. Pembroke, Bermuda: Saltus Grammar School. 1942. pp. 12, 13. Cadets Promotions C.S.M.— Sgt. Welch, P. S. Sergeants — Cpls. Campbell, D. E., Trimingham, J. B., Spurling P. N., Leseur, H. A. Corporals — L/Cpls. Brown, C. R., Brooks, P. N., Lough, J. I., Darling, P. H., Motyer, A. J. L/Corporals — Cadets King, H., Pantry L., Burland D., Critchley D., Burland J., Moniz S. A., Barnard R. L., Dennett P. Efficiency Badges obtained by L/Cpl. Trimingham, J. B., Watlington, H. P., Cadets Harvey, A., Dennett, P., Pantry, L., Trott, F. N., Moniz, S. A., King, H., Browne, C. R., Burland, J., Motyer, A. J., Petty, G., Tucker, R., Hassell, H., Critchley, D., Darling, P. H., Barnard, R. L., Brooks, P. N., Dickenson, W., McLay, J., Burland, D., Segal D., Parker, W. R. Strength— 85. CAMP. Held at Warwick from July 4–11, 1941. The School was represented by two full platoons, No. 3 (Sgt. Welch) and No. 4 (Sgt. Petty). Both platoons showed keenness in the various activities, No. 3 again winning the Inter-Platoon Cricket cup and No. 4 the Guard mounting competition. His Excellency the Governor paid a visit of inspection and saw an excellent display of Field Work, P.T., and Shooting. In the latter, the falling plate competition was an innovation this year, and aroused keen interest. INSPECTION. B. Company was inspected by the G.S.O. II on Nov. 18th, 1941. Ceremonial was largely dispensed with, and the inspection consisted mainly in viewing the cadets performing normal routine work. FIELD DAYS. A tactical exercise in which the School company operated on the Coral Island golf course against the Whitney company, was held on Dec. 18th, 1941 Saltus was in the attack, and an encircling movement by their right flank almost succeeded in surrounding the main Whitney force in their first defensive position, but they managed to escape by beating a very hasty retreat. The final charge against the Peak was well carried out and enjoyed by all. The full Corps Field Day was held on March 17th, 1942. in the Warwick Camp area. The whole Corps was in the attack against opposition supplied by the Cameron Highlanders. Saltus carried out their operations in a businesslike manner and were especially good in their attack on the final objective. AIR TRAINING. This new section was formed in September, 1941. Its object is to give some preliminary training in aviation to cadets. A series of lectures and classes have been arranged, and text-books and apparatus obtained after some delay. Fifteen cadets from Saltus were selected for the course, and have found it very interesting, especially as some of the lecturers have been experienced airmen from England. SHOOTING. Sgt. Leseur and L/Cpl. Critchley were successful in obtaining their shooting badges in April. Plate-shooting at 200 yards was organised at camp this year, an innovation which caused plenty of excitement. In the final round of the inter-sectional competition, H. E. the Governor, Lt. General Sir D. K. Bernard, offered £1 to the first team to hit all plates. In the final shoot of the meeting. Cadets Barnard and Trimingham fired simultaneously — and each knocked down the fifth and final plate. H. E. then demonstrated his own ability by hitting 3 plates out of 5, in a match between Staff and Cadet Officers. We recommend the use of sandbags in future during initial training, especially when a heavier type of rifle is used.
^"3 Regiment Officers To Be Honoured". The Royal Gazette. City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. 23 November 1965. For 12 years' continuous efficient service with the Local Forces - now the Bermuda Regiment - three commissioned officers will receive Efficiency Decorations. They are Majors D. H. Burns and C. C. Curtis, and Surgeon Major the Hon. V. O'D. King. The announcement appears in today's issue of this newspaper, the Colonial Government Gazette. It entitles the officers to place the Letters "E.D." after their names. The Public Information Officer, Mr. Gordon Hill, explained that it is the old Territorial Decoration (T.D.) under a new name. In yesterday's Government Gazette there is a long explanation of what an officer must do and achieve to qualify for the E.D.
^"UNCLE BOB MOURNS JAZZ LEGEND SARAH". Bermuda Sun. Pembroke, Bermuda. 12 April 1990. TOWN crier Bob Burns this week paid tribute to jazz singer Sarah Vaughan, who died last Wednesday....
^Kelly, Lindsay (14 August 2008). "St. George's Town Crier wins UK contest at fifth attempt". The Royal Gazette. City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. Retrieved 20 August 2021. ...While many do not know about town crier competitions, Bermuda has historically done well. St. George's former Town Crier E. Michael Jones won the Armada Cup in 2000 and St. George's Town Crier in the mid-1980s, Major D.H. (Bob) Burns, MC, holds the Guinness World Record for the loudest human speaking voice....
^"Burns Memorial Park - St George, BM". Waymarking.com. Groundspeak Inc. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2021. Quick Description: Burns Memorial Park stands near the statue of Sir George Somers, the HMS DEFIANCE, and King's Square in the town of St. George...Burns Memorial Park was dedicated to the memory of Major Donald Henry (Bob) Burns, town crier of St. George. It is on Ordinance Island in the St. George harbour. A small plaque reads as follows: "MAJOR DONALD HENRY (BOB) BURNS MEMORIAL PARK This Park Is Dedicated To The Memory Of Major Donald H. (Bob) Burns 3rd August 1920 – 20th March 1994 Town Crier St. George's 1964-1994"
Fairrie, Angus (1983). "Cuidich 'N Righ" A History of the Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Cameron). Regimental H.Q., QO Hldrs. ISBN0-9508986-0-0.
MacAulay, Fred (1995). Dòmhnall Ruadh Choruna. Cumann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath.
Money Barnes, R. (1956). The Uniforms and History of the Scottish Regiments. London: Seeley Service.
Raugh, Harold (2004). The Victorians at War, 1815-1914: An Encyclopedia of British Military History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN978-1576079256.
Watt, James (2001). History of the 61st Australian Infantry Battalion (AIF): Queensland Cameron Highlanders 1938–1945. Loftus, NSW: Australian Military History Publications. ISBN1-876439-31-9.
Further reading
Historical Records of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders 1909–1962, 7 volumes.
Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) – A Short History. The Regiment. 1974.
Royle, Trevor (2007). Queen's Own Highlanders: a concise history. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN978-1845960926.
Swinson, Arthur (1972). A Register of the Regiments and Corps of the British Army. Arms & Armour Press. ISBN978-0855910006.