Gathering may be last of kind
Special day for veterans of Stirling’s regiment
More than 140 veterans of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and their families will gather in Stirling this weekend to commemorate the Borneo and Aden campaigns of 50 years ago.
The event forms part of a celebratory summer for the famous Highland regiment, which this year marks the 70th Anniversary of HM The Queen’s appointment as Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment and Patron of the Regimental Association.
The weekend gathering of old soldiers, now aged in their 70s-90s, is expected to be the last of its kind recalling the Argylls’ leading part in two of the British Army’s most significant deployments in the post-World War II era. Former officers and men of the Argylls will return to their traditional home at Stirling Castle to recall the two separate conflicts.
Of the two campaigns, Borneo (1964-66) and Aden (1967), the latter is sometimes described as the last battle of the British Empire. The Argylls’ intervention in a fierce civil war in Southern Arabia made a popular if controversial hero out of Lt Col Colin Mitchell.
Known as ‘Mad Mitch’ the late commanding officer achieved national fame for his forceful retaking of the town of Crater after an ambush by former allies killed three of his men.
The highlight of the reunion weekend will be Saturday’s Muster by companies in Stirling Castle’s medieval courtyard, followed a service of commemoration at the Holy Rude Church, and a final march through the streets of Stirling to a celebratory lunch at the Golden Lion Hotel.
Co-ordinator of the Borneo/Aden 50th Anniversary Reunion, Major Jim Bain MBE of the Grangemouth branch of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Regimental Association, a veteran of the Aden conflict, said: “Given the age of the participants, we expect that this will be the last time we come together and the last time we will muster at Stirling Castle, our ancestral and spiritual home.
“It’s a chance to reflect on what happened 50 years ago, an important part of the history of the Argylls.”
Argyll involvement in the nearsimultaneous “small wars”, the BorneoMalaysia Confrontation in Borneo (19631966) and the Aden Emergency on South Arabia (1963-1967), represented the most significant deployment of British troops overseas between the end of the Korean War (1950-1953) and the Falklands War (1982).
Although overshadowed by later conflicts, the two engagements are seen as important in the “end of empire” story and the development of the British Army’s counter-insurgency capability.
Stirling Castle is also the home of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum, one of the UK’s most-visited regimental museums. The museum this year launches a £2million public campaign to fund the refurbishment of its unique collection of militaria, art and artefacts, as well as its extensive archive. Known as the Thin Red Line Appeal, the campaign is headed by HRH The Earl of Strathearn as Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge is known in Scotland.