Lovat's Scouts

[Guest heiland laddie]

Hi everyone

My memory is very vague on this matter, but many years ago I read a wee book on the history of the Lovat Scouts. In WW1, after service in Gallipoli and later Salonika, for which it was dismounted and re-titled 10th Battalion Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, it went to the Western Front in June 1918. Though the available information on this site says 'Lines of Communications' troops, I am sure there was more to it than that.

Because of the background of the unit, being composed originally of gamekeepers and deerstalkers, they had a high proportion of dead-shots in the ranks. I believe the Lovats were used on the Western Front as a source of specialist snipers, being used by higher command and allocated as roving sniping teams over various parts of the British Western Front. Has anyone heard of this about them and if so, can anyone flesh out the story ? Could this be an early example of special forces ?

Regards

Lachlan

[CSMMo]

Lachlan,

"The Story of the Lovat Scouts" by Michael Leslie Melville is available at www.librario.com for 10.99. In it, he describes the action in Gallipoli, Egypt and Salonika as well as the efforts by Lord Lovat to raise the Lovat Scouts (Sharpshooters) for use on the Western Front. These were small units attached to Corps HQ's for long range observation work. These units were truer to the original intent of the Scouts of 1900 (in which my great granduncle was a NCO).

Mike Morrison