HISTORY OF THE ROYAL HIGHLAND FUSILIERS
The regiment was formed in 1959 by merging the Royal Scots Fusiliers and the Highland Light Infantry.
The next major reform of the infantry post-1881 came in 1957 when thirty Regiments amalgamated into fifteen pairs. The RSF and HLI were selected for amalgamation and this officially took place in Edinburgh on 20th January 1959. The new Regiment was titled The Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret’s Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment). The RHF have served in nearly every theatre since their amalgamation. This includes: Aden, Cyprus, Berlin, Northern Ireland, Yugoslavia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. In honour of both Regiments, the RHF wears the HLI’s Mackenzie tartan trews (trousers) and retains the Flaming Grenade cap badge from the RSF.
Becoming the 2nd Battalion of The Royal Regiment of Scotland
1st Bn The Royal Highland Fusiliers become The 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, due to the restructuring of the Scottish Division.
As part of the British Army’s restructuring for future operations, the Royal Regiment of Scotland was formed on 28th March 2006 by merging six Regiments into one. The Royal Scots and Kings Own Scottish Borderers amalgamated on August 2006 to form the 1st Battalion and the remaining four Regiments provided the 2nd to 5th Battalions of the Regiment, retaining the antecedent names in the Battalions full titles. The 6th and 7th Battalions were formed from the two Scottish Division Territorial Army battalions based in Scotland.