King's Own Scottish Borderers - History

History

It was raised on 18 March 1689 by the Earl of Leven to defend Edinburgh against the Jacobite forces of James II. It is said that 800 men were recruited within the space of two hours. The Regiment's first action was at the Battle of Killiecrankie on 27 July of the same year. Although this battle was a defeat for the Williamite army, the Jacobite commander, Viscount Dundee (Bonnie Dundee), was killed by a volley fired by Leven's Regiment, bringing an end to James II's attempt to save his throne. The Regiment was judged to have performed well and was granted the privilege of recruiting by beat of drum in the City of Edinburgh without prior permission of the provost.

For a period it was known as Semphill's Regiment of Foot, the name under which it fought at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. When the British infantry were allocated numerical positions in the 'line' of Infantry the regiment was numbered 25th Foot (based on its formation date) in 1751. The Regiment fought at the Battle of Minden on 1 August 1759 with five other regiments; this battle honour was celebrated by the Regiment each year on 1 August. 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.

The Regiment was affectionately known by the Scottish public as the "Kosbies" (derived from the regiment's abbreviation KOSB) but this term was never used within the Regiment.

The regiment saw service during both World Wars. During the First World War, the regiment was enlarged to nine battalions and served in notable campaigns such as Gallipoli and the Somme. In between the wars, the regiment's regular battalions were sent all over the British Empire to Ireland, Egypt and Hong Kong but were quickly recalled home at the outbreak of World War II in 1939. One of its heaviest losses during the war was at the ill-fated Battle of Arnhem in which nearly 90% of the 7th battalion were killed in action. Several of the other battalions were dispatched to Southeast Asia and fought against the Japanese in the Burma Campaign and in India. After the war, the regiment served internal security duties in Palestine and was reduced to a single battalion in around 1948. It was part of the UN forces deployed to the Korean War.

Between 1972 to 2004, the regiment was regularly posted to Northern Ireland as part of Operation Banner to maintain stability during The Troubles. They were most notably victims of the 1989 Derryard attack which killed two of their men. During the 1990s, they were one of the few Scottish regiments not deployed to the Yugoslav Wars but were mainly stationed in Northern Ireland instead. The regiment also served in Operation Telic during the 21st century before it was amalgamated to the Royal Regiment of Scotland.