Regimental Museum

The Virtual Black Watch bases its organization and appearance upon a existing unit, The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada. One of the aims of the virtual Black Watch is to honour the memory of the real unit, its veterans and members. In that vein, we present a short history of the real Black Watch, paraphrased from the Official Black Watch of Canada Web Site.

History | Regimental Colours | Battle Honours

The Motto | Highland Dress | The Hackle

Regimental History

Beginnings

With the end of the American Civil War, and the concept of ‘Manifest Destiny’ threatening the very existence of the still fledgling British North America, a number of local militia units were formed across Canada. The sheer size and experience of the Federal Army of the United States posed a potential (if not actual) challenge to the sovereignty of what was yet to be a truly united Canada. Montreal, an important trade centre and one of the largest cities in Canada, formed its own militia unit, the 5th Battalion Royal Light Infantry.

Although this unit would go through a number of name changes and organizational shifts in its history since 1862, one of the more important was the adoption of its current title, The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment). The Parent Regiment, from which The Black Watch of Canada derives its title, was formed in 1739 to serve in a garrison and peacekeeping capacity in the then troubled Highlands of Scotland. From its role as guardian, and the distinctive dark tones of its tartan (see below) The Black Watch earned a name. The tartan of The Black Watch and the Royal Stewart tartan worn by its pipers are respected worldwide as emblems of ‘outstanding service in peace and war’. The two units share a common bond of name, traditions, spirit and appearance, and have occasionally exchanged officers and other ranks to foster this link through their shared history. A formal alliance was made in 1905, after members of both Regiments had served side-by-side in the Boer War at the turn of the century.

The Great War

Since its creation in 1862, The Black Watch of Canada has been called upon many times to serve Monarch, Country and Commonwealth. Fielding three battalions during the First World War, 11,954 officers and enlisted men worked together to earn 26 battle honours of the conflict. 821 men were decorated, six of whom earned the Victoria Cross, Canada’s highest military honour.

The Second World War

In World War II, the Regiment’s ‘C’ Company and Mortar Platoon played an important role in the Dieppe Raid, The Black Watch’s first action of the war. Despite the tactical failure of the Raid in the face of the valiant effort put forward by all the units involved, information gained in the action was later put to important use in the landings on D-Day. Landing with the Allied forces shortly after the initial assault on D-day, the Regiment fought its way across France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and eventually into Germany. Over thirty battle actions earned 211 honours and awards for members of the unit during the campaign.

Mr. Laird Niven has set up a site with a transcription of the War Diary of the actions of the First Battalion during this campaign and it is a fascinating read.

Post War

Reorganized at the after the end of the war, The Black Watch (RHR) of Canada was reformed with a two battalion strength for its role in NATO forces. Serving from 1953-1970 as a regular infantry regiment, The Black Watch saw action in Korea, garrison duty in Germany and served with the UN peacekeeping forces in Cyprus. Since then, the unit has reverted to its earlier status as a militia unit within the Canadian Armed forces, a role which it has taken on in the tradition of its founders over a century before.

For a first hand account of the Regiment's actions in WWII, please do see the War Diary of the actions of the First Battalion.

A sweeping history of the Regiment's first hundred years of history can be found in "Canada's Black Watch: The First Hundred Years, 1862-1962" by Colonel Paul P. Hutchison, Colonel-Commandant of the Regiment from 1939 to 1945. (ISBN 0-919316-93-X, available from the Black Watch Kit Shop Online.)

The Regimental Colours

Since the modernization of massed, drilled formations on the battlefield during and after the Renaissance, 'colours' (flags, banners or pennants) have been used as rallying points and a means of identifying a unit in a larger group or melee. Even before this, Roman legions used Imperial Eagle-topped standards in a similar fashion. Many Commonwealth Regiments have a traditional ceremony called 'Trooping the Colours' during which the colours are paraded before each member of the regiment. The purpose of this ceremony was to ensure that every man knew and recognized his own colours, and would rally to those flags during a battle.

The following description of the Regimental Colours of the Black Watch (as well as the image of the ceremony) is taken from the web site of The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul which is the resting place of many of the retired colours of the Regiment, as well as a beautiful stained glass window memorial to its members.

The Monarch's Colour, which is referred to as the Queen's (or King's) Colour, until recently was the Great Union flag of the United Kingdom (but is now the Canada flag). Expressed briefly, the inscriptions on the Monarch's Colour vary depending upon the customs which existed at the time the Colour was fabricated. In the center the Colour contains the name of the Regiment, abbreviated or otherwise, and/or the Regiment's motto and sometimes insignia. This center design is always surmounted by the Monarch's Crown.

The Regimental Colour is dark blue in background. Essentially the same insignia lettering and Crown are found in the center of the field as described for the Monarch's colour. Some Regimental Colours have a small Union Flag at the fly. In addition, however, the central inscription is surrounded by a list of the Regiment's Battle Honours (Honours awarded to the Regiment by the Crown for particularly meritorious action in certain specific battles).

For more information on the rich history of the Regiment's colours, please visit this Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul page.

Battle Honours

Source: The Black Watch of Canada Website

The Motto

The motto of the Black Watch of Canada, identical to that of the Parent Regiment, is spelled thus:

"Nemo me impune lacessit."

Translated from the Latin, the motto means "No one provokes me with impunity." This phrase refers somewhat obliquely to the thistle, the national emblem of Scotland, which, although beautiful, is sharp to the touch.

The story of the emblem of the thistle is retold in Brewer's classic work, "Dictionary of Phrase and Fable", published in 1898.

"The Danes thought it cowardly to attack an enemy by night, but on one occasion deviated from their rule. On they crept, barefooted, noiselessly, and unobserved, when one of the men set his foot on a thistle, which made him cry out. The alarm was given, the Scotch fell upon the night-party, and defeated them with terrible slaughter. Ever since the thistle has been adopted as the insignia of Scotland, with the motto Nemo me impune lacessit."

Thus the thistle represents the unconquerable will of the Scottish people, and the motto echoes this sentiment. In the generations since, the Highland Regiments who have adopted the name have lived up to the motto. In the Second World War, the Canadian Black Watch was tested repeatedly in battle, and though harshly bloodied, gave well in return.

Prior to the beginning of the First World War, the Regiment used several other mottos.

"Ne Obliviscaris", or "Forget Not" was a motto of Clan Campbell, and was briefly adopted to honour the participation of several Canadian members of that Clan in the 19th Century.

An even earlier motto, that of the Royal Light Infantry, was "Quis Separabit" or "Who shall part us?", referring to the steadfast resolve of the thin red line of Dominion soldiery.

Highland Dress

Highland dress is a extremely traditional and complex code of the wearing of certain articles of clothing, like kilts, doublets, brogues, and special belts, with combinations of a number of other accessories, like the dirk or Sgian Dubh, the broach, the sporran and others. To fully explain all of the intricacies of this highly honoured tradition is far beyond the scope of this page. For additional information, please visit the Official Tartans of Scotland website.

As a general introduction to highland dress as it is worn by the Black Watch of Canada, its members wear the Black Watch Tartan, a very dark and distinctive pattern which is used as the background for this website's pages. Below is an excerpt from Tartans of Scotland which also describes some of the history of this tartan.

"Six Independent Companies (of soldiery) were raised to police the Highlands of Scotland, so creating a Regiment called the Black Watch. Before 1740, they used a dark tartan which came to be called the Black Watch. Its origin is still argued but when tartan was proscribed it became the Government tartan and is now a Universal one, that all may wear."

The pipers of the Black Watch wear the Royal Stewart Tartan, an example of which can be seen at the top of this page in the main logo. Another except from Tartans of Scotland reads as follows:

"The best known of all Scottish tartans, the Royal Stewart is the tartan of the Royal House of Stewart and the personal tartan of Her Majesty the Queen. In the same way that clansmen wear the tartan of their chief, it is appropriate for all subjects of the Queen to wear the Royal Stewart tartan. The pattern was first published by James Logan in his book, 'The Scottish Gael' in 1831, but references indicate that the sett was known at the end of the 18th century. Early samples show blue as a light 'azure'. "

During World War II, the Glengarry cap of the Black Watch was a dark blue with a red toorie. This cap was sometimes exchanged for a khaki-coloured Glengarry made of whatever material was available.

(Photo of Pipe Major William "Willy" Hanna courtesy of Michael High)

The 'Hackle'

'The Hackle' refers to the Red Hackle, a distinctive decoration worn by members of the Black Watch. Originally made from red vulture feathers, the red hackle was worn instead of a cap badge on the tam o'shanter and the balmoral. A representation of the hackle was worn on the left side of the steel helmet of combat infantrymen in the First Battalion during World War II. Legend has it that the 'Hackle' was awarded as a battle honour to the original parent Regiment of the Black Watch in 1795.

(Photo courtesy of Michael High)

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