Medals of the Scots Guards

	The Scots Guards
	1642 - date



Earliest recognised formation:	1642 when raised as the Marquis of Argyll's Royal Regiment. Disbanded 1651, but reformed as independent companies 1660. Scots Regiment of Foot Guards, 1661. 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards, 1713. Titled 'Scots Fusilier Guards' in 1831, Scots Guards 1877.

Motto:	Nemo me impune lacessit = No-one provokes me with impunity

Regimental Journal:	The Household Brigade Magazine. The Scots Guards' Magazine.

WWI:	Battle Honours; 30	Victoria Crosses; 5	Died; 2840
WWII:	Battle Honours; 41	Victoria Crosses; 1	Died; ????

A 2nd Battalion was operational 1689-1993, and a 3rd: 1899-1906, 1914-1919, 1940-1946.

Egypt Campaign 1801 (1st Battalion) and the Peninsula War 1808 - 1814

Military General Service Medal. 1793 - 1814

clasp:

Egypt

Talavera

Busaco

Barrosa

Fuentes d' Onor

Ciudad Rodrigo

Salamanca

number:

164

119

139

169

109

clasp:

Vittoria

St Sebastian

Nivelle

Nive

Total Medals

Max clasps

number:

239

105

155

425

3 officers on the Staff officer list also received Badajos (1), Orthes (1), Toulouse (2).

Battle Honours: Talavera, Barrosa, Fuentes d'Onor, Salamanca, Nive, Peninsula; and a Sphinx superscribed Egypt was permitted to be borne on the colours

Battle of Waterloo 1815 2nd Battalion
Waterloo Medal 1815 (names on roll, includes died, missing etc)

Number :					1047


Casualties 16th, 17th & 18th June 1815 (extracted London Gazette 8/7/1815 & "Medals of the British Army and how they were won" T. Carter 1861*)
Officers: 3 Lieutenants killed. 3 Captains and 3 Lieutenants and 3 Ensigns wounded.
*Sergeants, Trumpeters, Drummers, Farriers and Rank and File:
	Wounded							Missing
	Died of wounds	Suffered amputation	Discharged	Transferred to Veteran or Garrison Battalions	Rejoined the Regiment	Remaining in hospitals in April 1816	Total	Rejoined the Regiment	Not since heard of, supposed dead.
39	47	12	21	-	96	19	195	17	2




*Carter's figures are in turn extracted from the return prepared by the Adjutant-Generals office, 13th April 1816.
Battle Honour; Waterloo.

Crimean War 1854 - 1856 1st Battalion ( "Scots Fusilier Guards" at this time)

Crimea Medal 1854 -56

Clasp: →

..none...

Alma

Balaklava

Inkermann

Sebastopol

Total Medals

Number: →

806

664

662

>1233*

* 1233= main roll figure only, there are more.

Battle Casualties;

Action.

Killed

Died of Wounds

'Wounded'

Dangerously
Wounded

Severely
Wounded

Slightly
Wounded

Missing

Total

The Battle of the Alma

146

175

First bombardment of Sebastopol, first battle of Inkermann and minor actions

The Battle of Inkermann

176

Assault on the Quarries

First Attack on the Redan

Final Attack on the Redan

2nd, 3rd, 4th, & 5th Bombardments of Sebastopol and Minor Actions.

Magazine explosion at the French Siege Train

Grand Total:

466

Men who served in the Crimea also eligible for:

Turkish Crimea Medal 1855

VCs: 5; Craig, McKechnie, Reynolds, Knox, Lindsay. see VC page

Battle Honours: Alma; Inkerman Sevastopol.

Revolt of Arabi Pasha and the 1st Sudan War 1882 1st Battalion

Egypt and Sudan Medal 1882-89

clasp:

....none....

Tel-el-Kebir

total medals

number:

715

792

Recipients also entitled to a Khedive's Star "1882"

Battle Honours: Tel-el-Kebir, Egypt 1882

The Nile Expedition 1884-5 Both Battalions provided detachments for service with the Guards Camel Regiment and the 2nd Battalion served at Suakin 1885

Egypt and Sudan Medal 1882-89

Clasp:

The Nile 1884 -85

Abu Klea

Suakin 1885

Battalion:

combined figure (battalion not indicated on the roll)

2nd

Number:

Recipients also entitled to a Khedive's Star dated 1884-6

Battle Honour: Suakin 1885

Ashanti Expedition 1895-96 Detachment of the 1st Battalion
Ashanti Star 1895-96
number:	19

Anglo - Boer War 1899 - 1902. 1st Battalion November 1899 to the end of the War, and 2nd Battalion April 1900 to the end of the War

Queen's South Africa Medal 1899-1902, with or without the King's South Africa Medal 1901 - 1902 (the majority of 2nd Btn. men are not entitled to a KSA)

Common clasps: Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902; also:

Btn.

1st

clasp:

Belmont

Modder River

Paardeberg

Driefontein

Johannesburg

Diamond Hill

number:

223

Btn.

1st

2nd

clasp:

Belfast

Wittebergen

number:

Casualties:

Officers

NCOs and Men

KIA & DOW/ DOD

Wounded

Missing / POW

KIA & DOW

Death from disease

Wounded

Missing / POW

1st Battalion

- / 2

2nd Battalion

1 / -

Battle Honours: Modder River, South Africa 1899-1902

Queen's South Africa Medal, 1st Scots Guards.

Above: the medal to 2249 Private George Hockton 1st Battalion, Scots Guards.
Died of Disease Kroonstad 24th April 1900. 1 of the 45 DoD of the 1st Battalion.

****

The Great War 1914 - 1918 ( 3 battalions; 2 served overseas:- )

Generally awarded the British War Medal & Victory Medal, men overseas prior to 1/1/1916 also a 1914 or 1914-15 Star.

Battalion →

date of first overseas service.
(first theatre red x )

14/8
1914

7/10
1914

France & Flanders

Gallipoli

Egypt & Palestine

Mesopotamia

Macedonia

Star
possible ?

1914 or 1914-15

or 1914-15 only

VCs at a glance:

died
Extracted from : "Soldiers / Officers Died in the Great War" (consider approximate - in addition the regiment as a whole lost an additional 64 officers who are recorded with 'battalion not shown' or with battalions not shown here, or who we have not yet allocated a battalion.) (note SDGW does not distinguish OR's Battalion for this regiment)

2730

Regular

Territorial Force

New Armies

Garrison.

Territorial Force War Medal 1914-19
2 men of the Scots Guards also qualified for this medal.

VCs: 5; Boyd-Rochfort, MacKenzie, McKaulay, McNess, Wood. see VC page

Battle Honours: Retreat from Mons; Marne 1914; Aisne 1914; Ypres 1914, 1917; Festubert 1915; Loos; Somme 1916, 1918; Cambrai 1917, 1918; Hindenburg Line; France and Flanders 1914-18. Langemarck 1914; Gheluvelt; Nonne Bosschen; Givenchy 1914; Neuve Chapelle; Aubers; Flers-Courcelette; Morval; Pilckem; Poelcapelle; Passchendaele; St Quentin; Albert 1918; Bapaume 1918; Arras 1918; DrocourtQuéant; Havrincourt; Canal du Nord; Selle; Sambre.

Jewish / Arab unrest, Palestine 1936 - 39 1st Battalion

General Service Medal 1918 -62

clasp:

Palestine

numbers:

WW2 1939 - 1945
Battalion →	1st	2nd	3rd
campaign ↓
Norway 1940	x
France and Belgium 1940. (Dunkirk )
North Africa & Middle East	x	x
Burma
Sicily / Italy	x	x
N.W. Europe		x	x

Notes.
	24th Infantry Brigade (Guards) -also operated as a Independent Brigade Group. Norway 15/4/40 - 6/6/40 Arrived North Africa 9/3/43, Italy 7/12/43	In Egypt at the start. Served 29th, 18th Infantry Brigade and 22nd Guards Brigade, which became 200th and 201st Guards Motor Brigade Group. NW Europe with 32nd Infantry Brigade (Guards) 20/2/45 - 31/8/45.	15/9/41-14/1/43 and 2/2/45-16/6/45 with 6th Guards Armoured Brigade (intermediate title 6th Guards Tank Brigade) as 3rd Armoured or 3rd Tank Battalion Scots Guards as appropriate. Landed NW Europe 18/7/44 (Brigade title changed to "6th Guards Brigade" 17/6/45)



WW2 Stars common to the Battalion. (excluding 39-45 star ) Key: A = Africa, P = Pacific, B = Burma, I = Italy, F&G = France and Germany
	A, I	A, I, F&G	F&G

VCs: 1; Wright. see VC page

Most also entitled to the 1939-45 War Medal and many the Defence Medal

Battle Honours: Quarry Hill; Rhineland; North-West Europe 1944-5; Gazala; Medenine; Djebel Bou Aoukaz 1943; North Africa 1941-3; Monte Camino; Anzio; Italy 1943-5. Stien; Norway 1940; Mont Pinçon; Estry; Venlo Pocket; Reichswald; Cleve; Moyland; Hochwald; Rhine; Lingen; Uelzen; Halfaya 1941; Sidi Suleiman; Tobruk 1941; Knightsbiidge; Defence of Alamein Line; Tadjera Khir; Medjez Plain; Grich el Oued; Salerno; Battipaglia; Volturno Crossing; Rochetta e Croce; Campoleone; Carroceto; Trasimene Line; Advance to Florence; Monte San Michele; Catarelto Ridge; Argenta Gap.

1946 3rd Battalion disbanded for the last time.

The Malaya Emergency: Operations against Communist insurgents. 1948-60 2nd Battalion (1948-51)

General Service Medal 1918 - 62

clasp:

Malaya

number:

Indonesian Confrontation, North Borneo 1962-1966 1st Battalion

General Service Medal 1962-2007

clasp:

Borneo

Malay Peninsula

numbers:

Northern Ireland "Operation Banner" 1969-2007 1st and 2nd Battalions; numerous tours

General Service Medal 1962-2007

clasp:

Northern Ireland

number:

Falklands War 1982 2nd Battalion.
South Atlantic Medal 1982

number:	?

Battle Honour: Falkland Islands 1982, Tumbledown Mountain.

Gulf War to liberate Kuwait 1990-1991 1st Battalion

Gulf Medal 1990-91

clasp:

....none....

16th Jan to 28th Feb 1991

numbers:

523

Battle Honour: Gulf 1991

1993 Regulars reduced to a single Battalion; the 1st .

Iraq War, or Second Gulf War 2003 and Aftermath. 1st Battalion: 4 Armoured Brigade Operation Telic 5 (2004-5) and 4 Mechanised Brigade Operation Telic 11 (2007-8)
Iraq Medal 2003-

number:	?

Selected Links
The Regimental Museum. (Located in )



Selected Bibliography;

Author/ Ed.. Etc.	Title	Publisher
Major-Gen. Sir F. Maurice	The History of the Scots Guards from the Creation of the Regiment to the Eve of the Great War. 2 vols	London: Chatto & Windus, 1934.
F. Loraine Petre, Wilfred Ewart and Major-Gen. Sir Cecil Lowther.	The Scots Guards in the Great War, 1914-1918. 349 pp.	London: John Murray, 1925
Compiled by David Erskine.	The Scots Guards, 1919-1945. London: 624 pp.	Published for the Scots Guards by William Clowes & Sons Ltd., 1956
Edited by Capt. J. H. Cuthbert	The 1st Battalion Scots Guards in South Africa, 1899-1902. 259 pp.	London: Harrison & Sons [1903]
???	2nd Battalion Scots Guards in Malaya, 1948-1951. 90 pp.	Kuala Lumpur: Caxton Press Ltd., 1951
Anthony Goodridge	The Scots Guards 149pp	London Leo Cooper 1969




Additional Bibliography for this Page.

Author/Compiler	Title	Publisher
Officers of the Regiment.	Unpublished rolls in the care of the National Archives; WO 100/ etc.	-
	Additional bibliography same as Northumberland Fusiliers page