KING'S OWN SCOTTISH BORDERERS

(Redirected from The King\'s Own Scottish Borderers)

The 'King's Own Scottish Borderers' was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. It was raised in 1689 by the Earl of Leven. It was once known as 'Semphill's Regiment of Foot', the name under which it fought at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. The regiment was ranked as the 25th Foot in 1751. The 25th was the county regiment of Sussex from 1782 to 1805, before its recruiting area was moved to the Scottish Borders region. From then it was known as the 'King's Own Borderers', becoming the 'King's Own Scottish Borderers' in 1887.

Contents

Restructuring of the Infantry

Court Case

Restructuring of the Infantry

Until 2004 the regiment was one of five in the line infantry never to have been amalgamated, the others being:

★ The Royal Scots

★ The Green Howards

★ The 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment

★ The Royal Welch Fusiliers
In 2004, as part of the British Government's defence review, it was announced that the Scottish Division would lose an infantry battalion. This was achieved through the amalgamation of the King's Own Scottish Borderers with the Royal Scots to form the Royal Scots Borderers on August 1 2006. This single battalion became the 1st Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Court Case

Campaigners against the amalgamation of the KOSB argued that the Westminster government is "outwith the competency" (i.e. does not have the right) to merge or disband the regiment, because it was raised by the independent Scottish Parliament prior to the foundation of the United Kingdom and had been in continuous service ever since. To this end, the campaigners went gone to court in Edinburgh in an unsuccessful attempt to get an injunction against the amalgamation with the Royal Scots.