HRH The Duke Of Edinburgh presents new colours to the Highlanders
4 SCOTS were in Afghanistan when the colonel in chief of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, Her Majesty the Queen, presented the new Colours to the other six battalions of the regiment on July 2 2011 in Edinburgh. This was the Regiment’s first ever colours presentation. Colours are normally presented only every 20-25 years – probably only once in a soldier’s career.
Colours are incredibly important to any Army unit as they represent the spirit of the battalion. They consist of two large brocade and embroidery flags and were originally carried into battle so that soldiers of a particular unit could see where the rest of their unit was located.
The Infantry units of the British Army each have two Colours; the Queen’s Colour, which is the union flag, and a Regimental Colour, which has the unit’s battle honours inscribed on it.
Colours are no longer carried on the battlefield but are held in the greatest of esteem by the soldiers and officers. They are brought out on important parades and Regimental occasions and are escorted by a ‘Colours Party’. When new Colours are presented, the old ones are not destroyed but are laid up in a Regimental museum, church or other military building with significance to its particular unit.
The old colours were marched off by members of The Highlanders Association and their Pipes and Drums.
The Parade was attended by families, former members of the antecedent Regiments local dignitaries, and senior military officers.
Photo by Mark Owens. Crown Copyright/MOD 2011.
The Highlanders, The 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, received their new Colours from HRH the Duke of Edinburgh at a parade in RAF Kinloss. The rest of the Royal Regiment of Scotland received their Colours at a parade in Holyrood Park in July while the 4th Battalion were on a demanding 6 month tour of Helmand Province in Afghanistan.
