Treasure trove for Black Watch archivist

A TREASURE trove of artefacts relating to The Black Watch has shone a light on the missing history of one of Scotland’s most famous fighting regiments.

The 4th Battalion was stationed to Gibraltar during the Second World War but little evidence of that service is within the archives at Balhousie Castle.

The regiment’s history is being catalogued by archivist Richard Mackenzie and his team, with the anniversary of the First World War prompting a flood of donations. The Black Watch Castle and Museum has received four albums filled with documents from the military career of Lieutenant Colonel JA Blair.

The officer served from the beginning of the 1930s and through the Second World War.

The museum team was delighted when they came upon a large selection relating to the 4th Battalion’s service in Gibraltar.

They include pictures of many of the young men who served in that campaign and details of some of the most groundbreaking events of the time. Among them are accounts of the sinking of aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal by German sub U-81 in November 1941, just off the island.

Pictures, letters and postcards offer an insight into some of the men who fought, among them a number of officers who set out from Dundee. There is so much contained within the single Gibraltar album that it has more than tripled the material previously possessed by the museum relating to the 4th Battalion’s time on “The Rock”.

Also donated were copies of “The Advance Post”, a morale-boosting mock newspaper that was distributed to the troops. Museum curator Hope Busak said: “We are always receiving donations but there are still gaps in the archive and we had not previously received any covering this period. We are indebted to the family of Lt Col Blair for their donation, which we have been poring over ever since.”

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