THE SCOTTISH REGIMENTS · FAR EAST 1941–1945
The Royal Scots
Nemo Me Impune Lacessit · No One Provokes Me With Impunity
1633
400+
1st
1941
YEAR FOUNDED
YEARS OF SERVICE
REGIMENT OF THE LINE
HONG KONG — BLACK CHRISTMAS
Britain's Oldest Infantry Regiment
The Royal Scots — The Royal Regiment — hold a distinction no other British infantry regiment can claim: they are the oldest. Raised in 1633 by Sir John Hepburn for service under King Louis XIII of France, The Royal Scots predate the English Army itself by more than twenty years.
Known as "The First of Foot" and — with characteristic Scottish dry humour — "Pontius Pilate's Bodyguard," the regiment served in virtually every major conflict Britain fought across four centuries. From Blenheim to Waterloo, the Crimea to the Western Front, The Royal Scots wrote their name across the history of the British Empire. In 1941, the 2nd Battalion were among the Scottish soldiers who faced Japan in the Far East — and whose story this site exists to honour.
1633
Pontius Pilate's Bodyguard
When other regiments disputed The Royal Scots' claim to be the oldest in the British Army, a Royal Scot replied that the regiment was so ancient it had provided the guard at the tomb of Christ — hence "Pontius Pilate's Bodyguard." The nickname, meant as mockery, was adopted with pride. It has been carried ever since.
EXPLORE THE ROYAL SCOTS
01
History of the Regiment
From formation in 1633 through four centuries of service — Waterloo, the Somme, Le Paradis, Hong Kong, Burma, and the final amalgamation in 2006.
02
The Royal Scots Museum
Housed within Edinburgh Castle, the regimental museum tells 373 years of history through uniforms, medals, weapons, paintings and personal artefacts.
03
04
The Royal Scots in the Pacific
The 2nd Battalion in Hong Kong — Black Christmas, captivity, the Lisbon Maru, and the story of 630 men taken prisoner by the Japanese.
The Royal Scots as FEPOWs
COMING SOON
Life in the camps, the Lisbon Maru tragedy, and the long road home — the captivity years of the Royal Scots who survived Black Christmas.
COMING SOON
"
The Garrison were faced with an impossible task that from the outset was beyond their powers.
WINSTON CHURCHILL — ON THE FALL OF HONG KONG, DECEMBER 1941