Soldiers made of Stirling stuff

The Scottish army regiments have a long and distinguished history. Mark Nicholls looks at the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and the diverse attractions that lie in the regiment’s traditional recruiting heartland

It is hardly surprising that Stirling is home to one of Scotland’s most decorated army regiments.

The name signifies ‘land of strife’ and history shows that it has been thus at the critical moments in Anglo-Scottish history over the last millennium.

Two of Scotland’s bravest warriors left an indelible imprint on the area’s folklore. It was here, in and around Stirling, that William Wallace – immortalised in Mel Gibson’s film Braveheart – and Robert the Bruce, won independence for Scotland.

Wallace is iconified in a fitting memorial at Abbey Craig, overlooking the site of his victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297.

Bruce’s historic victory over the English, at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, is honoured at the Bannockburn Heritage Centre two miles south of Stirling where a magnificent equestrian statue of King Robert stands.

Today, Stirling is the home of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, an active and muchtravelled regiment, and one that has recently seen action in Iraq. It has a proud, long and colourful history stretching right back to its formation in the final years of the 18th century.

The 91st Argyllshire Highlanders were raised in 1794 in the shadows of Stirling Castle and saw service in South Africa, Waterloo and India, while the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders – established in 1799 – served in New Orleans, the Crimea and Balaklava.

The two forces were amalgamated in 1881 to form the Princess Louise’s Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, and soon t.....

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By Mark Nicholls

Section : Scottish Regiments

Page number : 56