Gilhooley, Neill A History of the 9th (Highlanders) Royal Scots

The Dandy Ninth

Edinburgh has always had close ties with the Royal Scots, the oldest regiment in the British Army, which today belongs to the Royal Regiment of Scotland. At the beginning of the 20th century, it also had a Highland battalion, the 9th Royal Scots, who wore kilts and were affectionately known as the Dandy Ninth. The battalion was formed after the Black Week of the Boer War. It sent volunteers to South Africa and established itself as Edinburgh's battalion in kilts, which was part of the Territorial Force. In 1914, it was mobilised as part of the Lothian Brigade, defending Edinburgh and the surrounding area from the threat of invasion and erecting part of the land-based defences around Liberton Tower. They were part-time soldiers and new recruits from all walks of life, but including a particularly large number of lawyers, rugby players and artists such as the Scottish colourist F.C.B. Cadell and William Geissler of the Edinburgh School. A remarkably high proportion of the battalion received officer commissions and served in many branches of the armed forces and in many theatres of war. During the First World War, they were mobilised to France and Flanders and served in many of the most important battles: in Ypres in both the Second and Third (Passchendaele) Battles of Ypres, as well as in 1916 on the Somme at High Wood and on the Ancre (Beaumont Hamel), in Arras (Vimy Ridge) in 1917, in Cambrai in 1917 (Fontaine) and during the German spring offensive in 1918 in St. Quentin and in the Battle of Soissonais-Ourcq. They were involved in the advance to victory with the 15th (Scottish) Division. Around 6,000 men passed through the ranks of the Dandy Ninth, and over a thousand never returned.