Unveiling The Black Watch Legacy
Second Lieutenant Felipe Posada
Housing one of Canada's most esteemed collections of militaria, the regimental museum of The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders of Canada) was proudly reopened in the Fall of 2023 after years of meticulous renovations. Have you ever visited it?
The Regiment has been collecting military treasures since its inception but it wasn’t until 1947 when it was decided to have a dedicated space within the Armoury to serve as a memorial to those that have served in it. Today, under the dedicated stewardship of curator Mike Cher, the museum continues to welcome visitors on a weekly basis whilst undergoing extensive cataloguing, research, and preservation efforts.
This is the first of a series of articles delving into the illustrious history of The Black Watch seen through some of the museum's most captivating artifacts.
The first decades: finding an identity
Before assuming its current name in 1930, the Regiment underwent no less than six name changes from its inception as 5th Battalion The Royal Light Infantry of Montreal, which saw the day on with the Order of January 31, 1862, with an authorized strength of eight companies.
The first Regimental Colours dating from this same year were presented by Lady Monck, the wife of the Governor General, and were the gift of the Ladies of Montreal and cost six hundred dollars (about twenty thousand dollars of today). These first Colours were used by the Regiment for half a century, and they still hang in the Regimental Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul.
Uniforms also changed often, depending on factors such as the unit identity, availability of material, trend of the day, and taste of the leadership.
When the Regiment was changed from light infantry to fusilier, it also changed its uniform. This rare 5th Royal Fusiliers uniform, dating from 1875, was then adopted, except for the two flank companies which wore Highland doublets and Black Watch tartan trews. The headdress for all ranks became the busby, which was customary for all British fusilier units, with a grenade in front and a white hackle at the right side. The regiment's identity was deliberately fine-tuned over its initial decades until the 1880s, when it adopted a full highland uniform, and finally consolidated its current image in the 1930s.
During the reign of Queen Victoria, the Regiment encountered its inaugural trials, defending the border against Fenian Raids from 1866 and 1870. These incursions on Canadian towns were conducted by Irish nationalist groups aiming to destabilize the British Empire as leverage for Irish independence. Subsequently, the regiment was called upon amongst others to restore order in aid to civil power in several occasions, including the Orange Riots of 1876, the Smallpox riots of 1885, and the Valleyfield
The South Africa War 1899-1903
When war broke between the British and the Boers, Canada promptly rallied to assist the Empire with a contingent of seven thousand volunteers. This was the first time that Canada sent troops abroad. The 5th Royal Scots answered the call and contributed more men in proportion to its numbers than any other infantry regiment in Canada.
In total, 62 members of the regiment served in South Africa. The Battle of Paardeberg in February 1900 marked a solemn milestone, as Corporal R.C. Goodfellow and Private F. Wasdell became the Regiment's first fatal casualties in action. The Battle Honour ‘South Africa 1899-1900’ is the first awarded to the unit and is to emblazoned in its Colours.
Chocolate tins were given out by Queen Victoria to all of her soldiers serving in South Africa in celebration of the New Years of 1900. On the top of the box, under her portrait, are the words “I wish you a happy New Year, Victoria Reg”.
Read our story and visit our museum
The next article will showcase items from the First World War. All the information mentioned above is taken from the recently published three-volume regimental history books. They can be purchased at our armoury or online on the McGill-Queen’s University Press website. The Black Watch Museum is open on Tuesdays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and by appointment by contacting: museum@blackwatchcanada.com
To buy our history book
The first regimental flags date from 1862. Offered by the Ladies of Montreal, they cost six hundred dollars, or approximately twenty thousand dollars in today's money.
This medal of the South Africa War has bars for the Johannesburg, Driefontein, Paardberg and Cape Colony battles. It belonged to Pte J. A. Mac Donald.
This medal belonged to Lieutenant Colonel T. Lyman. It has bars for the Red River Rebellion of 1870 (also known as the First Riel Rebellion), and Fenian Raids of 1870 and 1866.
On New Year's 1900, Queen Victoria offered a box of chocolates to all her soldiers serving in South Africa.
Unveiling The Black Watch Legacy The First World
War 1914-1918
| Second Lieutenant Felipe Posada
This series of articles, began in July, narrate the illustrious history of The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada by showcasing select objects from its museum at the Bleury Street Armoury. This article is dedicated to the First World War.
The Black Watch, which at the time had evolved to be known as The Royal Highlanders of Canada is the only regiment to have raised three battalions (13th, 42nd, 73rd) to serve in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the Great War.
The three battalions played a pivotal role in numerous battles from the horrors of chlorine gas at St. Julien and the strategic triumph at Vimy Ridge, to the gruelling trench warfare of the Somme and Passchendaele. Their contributions during the final Hundred Days Offensive, including actions at Amiens and Mons, were instrumental in the Allied victory.
Flora the Goat
In April 1915, the 13th Battalion relieved their Montreal comrades of the 14th Battalion (Royal Montreal Regiment) and faced their first major fight at the brutal Second Battle of Ypres. The 13th suffered grievously: twelve officers and four hundred and fifty-four other ranks were among the casualties.
As the 13th marched out of battle with its Pipes and Drums went “Flora Stewart Macdonald”, a baby goat allegedly found deserted on a ruined Flemish farm. Taken care of and trained by the pipers, she became a cherished feature of the Battalion, a source of pride and morale and led the troops on many a weary mile.
The 13 th Battalion troop marches with “Flora Stewart Macdonald”, a goat that members of the battalion had found in the ruins of a farmhouse after the Second Battle of Ypres.
The Victoria Cross received by Lance Corporal Frederick Fisher. Due to its high monetary value, it is kept in a safe vault of a bank and is only taken out on special occasions.
Lance-Corporal Frederick Fisher, a McGill University graduate from Westmount, was the first Canadian to be awarded a Victoria Cross in the First World War.
Photos: Black Watch
As R.C Fetherstonhaugh, keeper of McGill’s War Records, recalls: during a gathering of Highland Regiments the Retreat was played by twentyfour massed pipe-bands and “at the head of the centre column, bursting with pride and keeping in time to the fraction of a second, marched Flora Macdonald”. Flora was present at every major battle from 1915 until the end of the war, when she ate poisoned grass and died in October 1918. Today, her horns take a place of honour in the Regimental Museum.
The Moyes Diaries
Lieutenant John McQueen Moyes joined the 13th Battalion as a private in 1914 and rose through the ranks to Sergeant before commissioning in 1917. Given his career as a professionally trained artist from the Royal College of Arts in London, he was charged with illustrating the Commanding Officer’s War Diary from 1915 to 1916.
His artwork makes these diaries like no other in the Canadian Corps. The collection of data, text and maps, is augmented by Moyes’ drawings bring a different insight into the grisliness of trench warfare that text or even photographs cannot capture. The artwork was later presented to General Loomis, who then bequeath it back to the Regiment.
The First Canadian Victoria Cross
In total and all battalions combined, 11 246 Royal Highlanders of Canada fought in the war, suffering 2 235 fatal casualties. This sacrifice is epitomized in the four Victoria Crosses, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy, awarded to members serving with the Regiment.
An imposing life-size painting depicts LanceCorporal Frederick Fisher, a McGill University graduate from Westmount Qc, and the first Canadian to be awarded a Victoria Cross in the First World War.
His citation reads: “On 23rd April, 1915, in the neighbourhood of St. Julien, he went forward with the machine gun, of which he was in charge, under heavy fire, and most gallantly assisted in covering the retreat of a battery, losing four men of his gun-team. Later, after obtaining four more men, he went forward again to the firing line and was himself killed while bringing his machine gun into action under very heavy fire, in order to cover the advance of supports.”
The Victoria Cross received by LCpl Fisher is part of the regimental collection. However, due to its high monetary value (these often fetch around half a million dollars at auction), it is kept in a safe vault of a Bank and is only taken out on special occasions.
In conclusion
The First World War is often referenced as Canada’s moment of nationhood, as it showed the maturity of the Dominion and earned her a place of leadership in the international order. The Canadian Expeditionary Force punched above its weight and won decisive battles for the allied forces. The price for victory was immensely high, and few regiments spilled as much blood in the fields of the Eastern Front as did The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) of Canada.
Please note that the first article of this series focused on the timespan between the creation of the regiment in 1862 to the South Africa War (1899-1903). The next one will showcase items from the Second World War.
Highland soldiers fought most of the war, even in the bitter winter and muddy spring, wearing their kilts. The khaki apron was worn over the regimental tartan kilt to protect it.
The horns of “Flora Stewart Macdonald”. Trained by the pipers, this goat was present at every battle, from 1915 until her death in 1918 from eating poisoned grass.
Lieutenant John McQueen Moyes was a graduate of the Royal College of Arts in London. Between 1915 and 1916, he illustrated the war diary of the commanding officer of the 13 th Battalion.