Black Watch The Black Watch , 3rd Battalion , Royal Regiment of Scotland ( 3 SCOTS ) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland . Prior to 28 March 2006 , the Black Watch was an infantry regiment . The Black Watch ( Royal Highland Regiment ) from 1931 to 2006 , and The Black Watch ( Royal Highlanders ) from 1881 to 1931 . Part of the Scottish Division , it was the senior regiment of Highlanders . History . The name . The source of the regiment ' s name is uncertain . In 1725 , following the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 , General George Wade was authorised by George II to form six ' watch ' companies to patrol the Highlands of Scotland , three from Clan Campbell , one from Clan Fraser , one from Clan Munro and one from Clan Grant . These were to be " employed in disarming the Highlanders , preventing depredations , bringing criminals to justice , and hindering rebels and attainted persons from inhabiting that part of the kingdom . " The force was known in Gaelic as " Am Freiceadan Dubh " ' the dark ' or ' black watch ' . This epithet may have come from the uniform plaids of dark tartan with which the companies were provided . Other theories have been put forward , for instance that the name referred to the " black hearts " of the pro - government militia who had sided with the " enemies of true Highland spirit " , or that it came from their original duty in policing the Highlands , namely preventing ' blackmail ' ( Highlanders demanding extortion payments to spare cattle herds ) . However , these theories are without historical basis and do not stand up to scrutiny . In 1739 the six Highland watch companies were augmented to ten and incorporated into the regular forces of the Crown as the Earl of Crawford ' s Regiment of Foot . The regiment was numbered the 43rd Regiment of Foot in 1747 , changing to 42nd in 1749 . In 1751 the regiment was titled ' 42nd ( Highland ) Regiment ' and in 1758 was permitted the honor to add ' Royal ' to its title . However , it continued to be known colloquially as the ' Black Watch ' . The Battle of Ordashu was a battle fought on 4 February 1874 during the Third Anglo - Ashanti War when Sir Garnet Wolseley defeated the Ashantis . The attack was led by the 42nd Regiment of Foot . L / Sgt Mcgaw won the Victoria Cross during the action . In 1881 , when the 42nd amalgamated with the 73rd Regiment of Foot , the new regiment was named " The Black Watch ( Royal Highlanders ) " . The regiment adopted the royal motto of Scotland ' s Stewart monarchs , " Nemo me impune lacessit " ( No - one provokes me with impunity ) . The Black Watch was formed as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 when the 42nd ( Royal Highland ) Regiment of Foot ( The Black Watch ) was amalgamated with the 73rd ( Perthshire ) Regiment of Foot to form two battalions of the newly named the Black Watch ( Royal Highlanders ) . The 42nd became the 1st Bn . 73rd the 2nd Bn . The 1st Battalion then served in Africa taking part in the Highland Brigade ' s dawn assault on the Egyptian position at Tel - el - Kebir in 1882 . Two years later it was in the thick of the fight with the Mahdi ' s tribesmen at El Teb and Tamai . The following year 1885 , saw it taking part in the Nile Expedition and fighting at Kirbekan and Abu Klea . 20th century . During World War I , the 25 battalions of the Black Watch fought mainly in France and Flanders , except for the 2nd Battalion which fought in Mesopotamia and Palestine , and the 10th Battalion , which was in the Balkans . Only the 1st and 2nd battalions were regulars . The rest were either part of the Territorial Force or the New Army . The Black Watch served with the British 51st ( Highland ) Division ( World War I ) . Battalions of the Black Watch fought in nearly every major British action in World War II , from Palestine to Normandy , and as Chindits ( 42 and 73 columns ) in Burma . In 1940 , the 1st Battalion , together with two Territorial Army battalions , were captured at St Valery - en - Caux with the 51st ( Highland ) Division . They were later reformed from reserve units of the 9th ( Highland ) Infantry Division , and fought at the Battle of El Alamein and the Allied invasion of Sicily . After the war , in 1948 , the two regular battalions were merged into one . The regiment won honours after the Battle of the Hook during the Korean War in November 1952 . They were subsequently involved in peacekeeping and counter - insurgency in various parts of the world , such as the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya and Malayan Emergency . Such actions were similar to those for which the regiment was raised 250 years earlier . In 1967 , the regiment lost its Territorial battalions , which were amalgamated into the 51st Highland Volunteers . The Black Watch was the last British military unit to leave Hong Kong in 1997 , and it played a prominent role in the handover ceremony . The Black Watch Regiment served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles as part of Operation " Banner " . The Black Watch was frequently a major target of the Provisional Irish Republican Army ( PIRA ) and the Irish National Liberation Army ( INLA ) . 21st century . During the 2003 Iraq War , the Black Watch fought during Operation " Telic " in the initial attack on Basra , and during its deployment the unit suffered a single fatality . The following year , the Black Watch was dispatched to Iraq again , as part of 4 ( Armoured ) Brigade . On 12 August a soldier from the regiment was killed as a result of an improvised explosive device ( IED ) . In October , the Black Watch was at the centre of political controversy after the United States Army requested British forces to be moved further north outside of the British - controlled Multi - National Division ( South East ) , in order to replace forces temporarily redeployed for the Second Battle of Fallujah . Despite objections in Parliament , the deployment went ahead . Based at Camp Dogwood , located between Fallujah and Karbala , in an area later dubbed the " Triangle of Death " , the Black Watch came under sustained insurgent attack from mortars and rockets . On 29 October , during the journey to their new base , a Black Watch soldier was killed in a road accident . On 4 November three soldiers and an interpreter were killed by a car bomb at a check point and on 8 November another soldier was killed . The high profile nature of the deployment caused a magnification of these events back home in Britain . Under a plan devised by Alistair Irwin and approved by General Sir Mike Jackson , on 16 December 2004 it was announced that the Black Watch was to join with five other Scottish regiments - the Royal Scots , the King ' s Own Scottish Borderers , the Royal Highland Fusiliers , The Highlanders and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders - to form the Royal Regiment of Scotland , a single regiment consisting of five regular and two territorial battalions . The measure , which reflected recruiting difficulties and the inefficiencies inherent in maintaining a number of relatively small separate units , took place on 28 March 2006 . These plans encountered considerable opposition from a well co - ordinated campaign backed by politicians , retired soldiers and the Scottish public . It was claimed by proponents of the plan that the establishment of a large regiment would improve conditions of service for serving personnel . As with the other former Scottish regiments , the Black Watch will retain its former name as its primary identifier , with its battalion number as a subtitle . Therefore , the regiment is now known as The Black Watch , 3rd Battalion , The Royal Regiment of Scotland ; in addition , the battalion is also permitted to retain its most famous distinction , the red hackle on the Tam o ' Shanter . The Black Watch ' s primary recruiting areas are in Fife , Dundee , Angus and Perth and Kinross , with the Battalion Headquarters and regimental museum located at Balhousie Castle , Perth . The Battalion is currently on Operational Commitments on Op Herrick Afghanistan the Bn are the reserve bn of 19 light brigade and based at Khandhar . On 24 June 2009 it was reported that elements of the battalion numbering about 350 troops carried out one of the largest air assault operations of the NATO troops in Afghanistan , named Operation " Panchai Palang " ( Panther ' s Claw ) , by deploying into , and attacking a Taliban stronghold located near Bābājī ( باباجی ) , north of Lashkar Gah . The operation commenced on 19 June just before midnight . After a number of combat engagements with the insurgents , the soldiers of the battalion secured three main crossing points : the Lui Mandey Wadi crossing , the Nahr - e - Burgha canal and the Shamalan canal . Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Cartwright , Commanding Officer of The Black Watch battalion was reported saying that this operation established a firm foothold in what was the last remaining Taliban area controlled in the southern Helmand province . The location of the Taliban force in the area had allowed it to conduct attacks on the A01 highway , a major national route connecting Kandahar and Herat . During 22 June , troops of the battalion also " found 1 . 3 tonnes of poppy seed and a number of improvised explosive devices and anti - personnel mines before they could be laid " . Analysis by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation revealed the haul to be of mung bean s , not poppy seed . Future . As part of the Army 2020 plan , the Black Watch will be mounted on Foxhound vehicles and be under 51st Infantry Brigade . Notable members . Recipients of the Victoria Cross . All of the below Black Watch servicemen were awarded the Victoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces . More information about these VC Holders can be found at the website Battle honours . 1 . awarded 1909 for services of 42nd Regiment . 2 . awarded 1914 for services of 42nd Regiment . 3 . awarded 1910 for service of 42nd Regiment . 4 . awarded 1951 for service of 42nd Regiment . 5 . awarded 1889 for service of 73rd Regiment . 6 . awarded 1882 for service of 73rd Regiment . Australia . Before and after the Second World War the Australian Militia , later renamed the Citizen Military Forces ( CMF ) , included the 30th Battalion , New South Wales Scottish Regiment . This unit was affiliated with the Black Watch , wearing the kilt , beret with red hackle and badge of the parent Regiment in Scotland . A Scottish Black Watch officer was seconded from the British Army to serve as a permanent cadre with the NSW Battalion . The Regiment was popular and was probably the only CMF unit at full strength with a waiting list for entry . With the reorganisation of the CMF following the introduction of compulsory National Service in the early 1950s , conscripted recruits were made to join existing CMF units alongside the volunteer part - time soldiers of the old CMF ; consequently , 30th Battalion became fully manned with National Servicemen and it was disbanded as the CMF of this period lost all its volunteers who did not wish to serve alongside conscripts . Compulsory National Service was made more selective in 1957 with greater stress on skills rather than numbers with the system completely ending in 1959 ; however , it had effectively caused the demise of the old CMF due to the shifts in manpower that the scheme had caused and the changed administrative conditions under which the old CMF ( and some other branches of the Armed Forces ) had previously operated . Canada . Canada ( from 1862 ) has its own Black Watch , being raised as the 5th Battalion of the Canadian Militia , being renamed by 1914 as the 5th Regiment ( Royal Highlanders of Canada ) . It adopted its current title , The Black Watch ( Royal Highland Regiment ) of Canada , prior to the Second World War , in which it served in the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division from mobilisation in 1939 to 1945 . As part of the 5th Canadian Brigade , the Regiment ' s 1st Battalion landed in Normandy in July 1944 and participated in major combat actions afterwards including the fight for the Channel Ports , the Battle of the Scheldt , Operation " Market Garden " , the Rhineland , and the final battles of the war east of the Rhine River . Three battalions of the Black Watch ( RHR ) of Canada also served in Canada , two in the Regular Army , the other as a Reserve unit . Between 1953 and 1970 , the Regiment had two battalions on the order of battle of the Regular Force , with a battalion in the Militia . The Regiment reverted to a one - battalion Militia unit in 1970 and remains in that status today . Anecdotes . When wearing the kilt , it is customary for troops to " go regimental " or " military practice " , wearing no underwear . In 1997 , a Black Watch soldier received wide press exposure , because of windy conditions during a military ceremony in Hong Kong .