The Story of Black Watch: Scotland's Royal Regimental Tartan

In 1725 following the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, General George Wade was asked to put together six 'watch' companies to patrol the Scottish Highlands. Three companies were formed by members of Clan Campbell, one of Clan Fraser of Lovat, one of Clan Grant and one of Clan Munro.

The duties of the companies were to prevent fighting among clans, bring criminals to justice, disarm men carrying weapons and essentially keep the peace among the highlands. The companies were known as "Am Freiceadan Dubh", translating to Black Watch. The name derived from the dark colour of the tartan the men wore and the companies role to "watch" over the highlands.

In 1739 King George II commanded that four more companies be trained and added to the six existing Black Watch companies, creating one single line infantry known as The Black Watch. There was one condition to join, and that was that all the men must be native to Scotland.

The soldiers in the Black Watch originally wore a 12 yard kilt made out of a dark coloured tartan, now known as the Black Watch Tartan. A red jacket and waistcoat, blue bonnet, musket, bayonet, broadsword, pistol and dirk were also part of the uniform. The regiment wore a kilt as a part of their everyday uniform from their conception in 1725 until 1940.

In 1743 the King had the Black Watch Regiment transferred out to the West Indies to fight. It's thought that the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 may never have taken place had the Black Watch remained in the Highlands. Whilst fighting abroad, the Black Watch were recognised as the 42nd Royal Regiment, but in 1779 a second battalion was also formed under this name. This second battalion was so successful in battle that it became a regiment in its own right and was allocated the 73rd Royal Regiment in 1786. The Regiment served all over the world in countries such as America, South Africa and Egypt. The Regiment went on to serve during both World Wars during which time over 8000 Black Watch men lost their lives.

In 1881 the 42nd Royal Regiment and the 73rd Royal Regiment were merged to form the The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) Regiment. The 42nd were known as the 1st Battalion and the 73rd were known as the 2nd Battalion. This Regiment remained until 1931, when the structure was changed again and the regiment was then known as The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment). In 2006 the British Army went through further restructuring and the Royal Regiment of Scotland was formed. The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) then became Black Watch, 3rd Battalion of Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Today the Black Watch tartan continues to be worn by the Royal Regiment of Scotland, however this is officially referred to as the Government 1A tartan. Shop our Black Watch brushed wool tartan scarf and showcase the distinctive pattern yourself.