The King's Own Scottish Borderers Museum

25/04/2026

SPECIAL ORDER OF THE DAY GALLIPOLI DAY – 25 APRIL

Borderers and Friends of the museum, was 111 years ago that the Regiment gained one of its most deserved and hard-won Battle Honours.

In the dim light of dawn on Sunday 25th April 1915 the 29th Division landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula. 1st Battalion The King's Own Scottish Borderers with a company of the South Wales Borderers and the Plymouth Battalion of the Royal Naval Division assaulted Y Beach three miles North of where the main landings were taking place at 4.45 a.m.

The landing at Y Beach was unopposed and the Battalion scaled the rugged 300-foot-high cliffs and finally established themselves on the top. They advanced 1200 yards inland but were recalled to form a defensive perimeter round the bridgehead when the Turks started to shell and counter attack at 11 a.m.

The Turkish attacks continued without respite from this time, all through the day and night, until 7 a.m. the next morning. The Battalion fought with great gallantry and repulsed every attack, many by valiant bayonet charges.

After 34 hours it was clear that little progress was being made against the strong defences and so the Battalion, with the remainder of the force on Y Beach, was ordered to withdraw.

During those 34 hours the Battalion lost 296 killed and wounded. The Battalion embarked and later landed further down the coast and fought throughout the remainder of the Gallipoli Campaign.

Later The 4th and 5th Battalions joined the 1st Battalion in the Peninsula in May 1915.
A Naval Liaison Officer who was with the 1st Battalion on 25/26 April wrote "That any of us got away from Y Beach was due to the gallantry and heroism of the KOSB.

They were magnificent. It was quite the most gallant part of the landing the way the KOSB held on for those two days and their final bayonet charges, though very little will ever be said about them as they had to re-embark".

Let us therefore today in particular honour all those of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers who gave their lives on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915.

08/04/2026

Borderers,

We are pleased to announce the start of the KOSB Association Benevolence and Heritage Appeal. Our goal is to raise £500,000. This fundraising target will allow the Association to operate sustainably for the next twenty-five years. It will secure our benevolence support for veterans, protect our nationally significant heritage, and expand our education and outreach programmes in Berwick-upon-Tweed and across the Scottish Borders, Dumfries & Galloway and Lanarkshire. More information as to how funds will be spent and to make a donation can be found at www.kosb.co.uk/appeal. Thank you for your support.

https://kosb.co.uk/donations/

Our goal is to raise £500,000. This target, when combined with our existing investments, will allow the Association to operate sustainably until at least 2050.

01/08/2025

Borderers and friends of our museum,

As we celebrate our second battle Honour “Minden” we should also remember that it has been twenty years ago to this very day that the 1st Bn K.O.S.B. held its final Minden Parade in Omagh.

For those Past and present Borderers, we should always remember those famous words. “It was here that the British Infantry won Immortal Glory”.

Have a good Minden day XXV

22/07/2025

Borderers on this day 109 years ago: -

2nd Battalion KOSB – Action at High Wood, 22 July 1916
Formation:
• Part of 13th Brigade, 5th Division, British Expeditionary Force
• Commanded by senior officers under Major General G.M. Harper
Location:
• Wood Lane, a German trench line running from High Wood to Longueval, Somme, France
Timeline of Events:
• 19 July: Battalion took over trenches between Bazentin-le-Grand and Longueval
• 20 July: “A” and “D” Companies attacked enemy positions in front of Wood Lane — objective taken and held until relieved by 14th Warwickshire
• 22 July: Full battalion attack on Wood Lane
o Machine gun fire from High Wood inflicted severe casualties
o Only one platoon reached the objective
o Battalion was relieved on 23 July by 1st Norfolk Regiment and moved to Pommiers Redoubt
Casualties:
• Heavy losses due to enfilading fire from German machine guns in High Wood
• Specific casualty figures for the battalion are not listed, but the 51st Highland Division, operating nearby, suffered over 3,500 casualties during the High Wood operations
Notable Individuals:
• CSM William George Downs (10437) awarded the Military Cross for actions around Longueval.
Conditions:
• The attack was launched with less than 24 hours’ preparation
• Communication lines ran through “Happy Valley,” which was under constant German bombardment
• Lack of protective dugouts contributed to the high casualty rate

09/05/2025

Borderers and friends of the Museum, keeping in with the WW2 80th Anniversary of VE Day, spare a thought for those Borderers who spent the majority of the conflict incarcerated.

One such Borderer was Charles Edie. The link below tells the story of Charles.

Regards
Gerry
XXV

I’m going off – “don’t know where, don’t know when” – on a new official mission with another officer and about 30 men. It is terribly hush-hush.

08/05/2025

Borderers and Friends of the Museum, if you are in Kelso this Saturday 10th May, why not visit "The Cross Keys" for a KOSB Film Screening.

09/04/2025

Borderers and Friends of the Museum,
Even though our museum is closed we still have an open door policy to Borderers, Friends and Family alike.

Last Friday 4th of April the daughter (Mrs Jane Young) and family of Sgt Bill McMahon who served at Arnhem in D Coy visited the Barracks to make a donation of Bill's battledress jacket, medals and various items of paperwork relating to his time in the 7th Bn.
For his time at Arnhem Bill was also awarded a mention in dispatches.

Mr Stephen Young, Jane's husband has kindly submitted an article for the Berwick Advertiser, The Fife Free Press and the Dundee Courier.

By kind permission Stephen has provided us with a link to the submitted article which can be viewed at the link below.
Yours aye
Gerry
XXV

Stephen Young is on YourWorld Eastwood. See the latest posts from Stephen Young

18/03/2025

Borderers and Friends of the museum.

On 14th March the Scottish Convention of Estates, or government of Scotland, met in Edinburgh and ordered the Governor of Edinburgh Castle, the Duke of Gordon, to surrender the castle to King William.

When Gordon refused, five days later, on 18th March 1689, The Earl of Leven received authority from the Estates to raise a regiment of foot with which to defend the City of Edinburgh from those who remained loyal to James.

It was a vital moment in the creation of the British Army. For at the same time (19th March) in the south west, the future Cameronians were also being raised by the Earl of Angus and on 19th April a further seven regiments were commissioned for William’s Scottish army.

Leven’s letter of authority read:

‘The Committee…may be pleased to grant warrant to the Earl of Levin, with all expedition to levie ane regiment of foot consisting of eight hundred men, and to beat drummes to that effect. And that so soon as they are in readiness, he cause them Rendezvous in the Abbey Close.

In what is said to have been something between two and four hours, Leven raised 780 men ‘by beat of drum’ and mustered them as ordered by the ruins of the Abbey Church at Holyrood. This was the authorised strength of a regiment of the Army at that time, being a full complement: thirteen companies of sixty men each, including one of grenadiers.

Armed with firelocks and pikes, standard issue weapons of the foot, along with the round, cannonball-like grenades of the grenadiers, they were immediately set to the defence of the city against possible attack by James’s followers. Within a short time though they would be put to the test in action. XXV

18/03/2025

Borderers and friends of the museum.

If you are interested a new publication has just been released by Dermot Rooney covering the effectiveness in Operation Veritable, Feb - Mar 1945, there is a chapter dedicated to our 6th Battalion as well as actions / involvement of our 4th and 5th Battalions.

XXV

Link: -

Slog or Swan - just one of the military history books available from Helion & Company.

10/03/2025

Borderers and Friends of the museum, this months blog relates to a young lad called Thomas Sparrow.

His story is linked into our Hawick exhibition and relates to life in the King's Own Borderers whilst serving abroad

Thomas Sparrow ran away from home in 18070s Ireland.