Seaforth Highlanders

[Richard Cairns]

On Remembrance Sunday I attended the service at the War Memorial in Kilmarnock. Inside the building are plaques showing the long lists of local men who died in the First World War. I was struck by the number of casualties whose unit was listed as the Seaforth Highlanders. Kilmarnock, in South West Scotland, is a long way from the traditional Seaforth recruitment areas in Ross & Cromarty in North West Scotland.

My question is does anyone know why so many Ayrshiremen joined the Seaforths? The local Ayrshire regiment, the Royal Scots Fusiliers, wore trews, so perhaps the Ayrshire men quite fancied the Seaforth Tartan kilts?!

Richard

 

 

 

[rolt968]

There are a number of reasons.

If they were regulars enlisting prewar, that may have been the regiment with vacancies at the time or was favoured by the recruiting sergeant. The latter applies even in early recruiting during WW1. I am puzzled why a number of men enlisting in Brechin at one time enlisted in the Royal Scots. I suspect thje influence of the recruiting sergeant. Also there may have been a family tradition. I have researched a family from the Glasgow area where several brothers enlisted in the Seaforth Highlanders prewar although there was no connection to the recruiting area. In some cases of prewar enlistment some men are supposed to have chosen regiments because they liked the uniform.

Both Territorial Force and the K2 (second New Army) battalions raised in some sparsely populated rural areas sometimes struggled to raise a full battalion. If I remember rightly, one company of a Cameron Highlanders service battalion came from Glasgow.

After the introduction of conscription, men were posted to battalions which needed reinforcements even if not "local" ones.

RM

 

Edited 19 November , 2021 by rolt968

[Richard Cairns]

Thanks for your response. The local football club here, Kilmarnock FC, have recently opened a  memorial garden at Rugby Park which contains a plaque for each of the club's signed players who were killed (7 in WW1 and one in WW2). By coincidence one of the plaques commemorates a James Maxwell, killed in Mesopotamia with the Seaforths.

[Nick8877]

New to the Forum.  This is of interest to me.  My Great Uncle Charles Airey, of Lancaster, joined the 7th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders in 1914, when it was raised as part of the New Army (K1), at Fort George in 1914.  Lancastrian born and bred, there were plenty of local options.

[seaforths]

As I found when researching a Seaforth man with an extensive service record, I discovered that the Volunteer Battalions, in this case the 3rd Volunteer Battalion had a core of staff attached to them from the regulars to keep the unit working and ticking over on a day to day basis. This included officers and RSM who also carried out instructor duties.So I found that 3rd VB and others had men attached from 1st Bn and they remained with them for quite a number of years. In this particular man’s case he was still with them as RSM when they transited from 3rd VB to 6th (Territorial) Bn. Seaforth Hrs. At the outbreak of WW1 when the Seaforth Territorials went to Bedford for training, some of these older staff were given permission to go out on the road on a recruiting drive and they went all over the country; including the south of England and to Ireland.

On top of that, I found that pre-war, the regular Battalions of the Seaforth Hrs completed tours of duty at Aldershot, Isle of Wight, Edinburgh Castle and in Ireland and were recruiting wherever they served and undoubtedly made local connections wherever they went. It would have likely been the same for other Scottish Regiments as they swapped around.

I am aware that a battalion of A&SH were recruited and formed from Glasgow and while in the trenches there was such animosity that at one point, they had to be kept separate from another A&SH battalion because; they were not Gaelic speakers and I guess in modern parlance they would call it crowd funding but the battalion raised in Glasgow, coming from a city, got tons of goodies sent their way from well wishers at home whereas the others, coming from rural places got less in the way of comforts sent their way.