SCOTLAND FEPOW TRUST
Scottish Regiments
Three Scottish regiments fought in the Far East during the Second World War. When Hong Kong and Singapore fell, thousands of their men were taken prisoner and endured years of captivity, forced labour and hunger.
THEIR STORY
From the Jungles of Malaya to the Camps of Japan
The Scottish soldiers who served in the Far East were among the finest fighting men of their generation. They had trained for battle, but nothing could have prepared them for what came next: capture, imprisonment and life as a Far East Prisoner of War.
From Hong Kong and Singapore to the camps of Thailand, Burma and Japan, these men endured unimaginable hardship. Many did not come home. Those who did carried the scars of captivity for the rest of their lives.
Each of their regiments, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, the Gordon Highlanders and the Royal Scots, has a proud and painful history in the Far East. Explore their stories below.
THE REGIMENTS
Those Who Served
I
Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders
The 2nd Battalion fought a legendary rearguard action down the Malay Peninsula in 1941–42, slowing the Japanese advance and earning international admiration before the fall of Singapore.
II
Gordon Highlanders
The 2nd Battalion was stationed in Singapore when war came. After the surrender in February 1942, its men endured years of brutal captivity on the Death Railway and in camps across South-East Asia and Japan.
III
The Royal Scots
Scotland’s oldest regiment. The 2nd Battalion fought in the defence of Hong Kong in December 1941. Many of its men later died when the hellship Lisbon Maru sank in October 1942, one of the most tragic losses of the war.
“They did not choose captivity. But they chose, every day, to endure.”
— SCOTLAND FEPOW TRUST