Wrong Black Watch insignia is a ‘kick in the teeth’: Veteran

Former sergeant major says emblem mistake ‘takes away their identity’

A Black Watch veteran in Dundee is preparing to mount a challenge to get a “disrespectful” memorial changed.

Former Sergeant Major Charlie Reid, who was with The Black Watch for 22 years, discovered a memorial in the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA), in the East Staffordshire town of Burton upon Trent that seems to show the wrong insignia for the regiment.

He described seeing the mistake as a “kick in the teeth”. While the insignia had some similarities, there were marked differences to the badge soldiers would wear on their uniforms.

Named the Loyal Order of the Thistle of Scotland, Mr Reid said the soldiers would call it “Jimmy” as a term of endearment and that it means a great deal to veterans.

The emblem used in the memorial garden seems to be the one that is used by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which differs from the badge a serving Black Watch soldier would use.

While the Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) Scots are currently in consultation with the Black Watch Association about the issue, Mr Reid has pledged to campaign against the decision if the stone is to stay as it is. “It seems like they’ve got something against The Black Watch and they want to write out our identity,” he said.

“We want to know who passed that and who decided to put that there. “They have taken away our identity and our history. It is a disgrace. That is the badge we served under.

“School children will look at that in 100 years and not understand it is wrong. It’s like they are rewriting history. Dundee is a Black Watch city. There are a lot of veterans from Dundee, Perth, Angus and Fife.”

Mr Reid added he has received almost 100 messages on social media from fellow veterans supporting his calls to have the correct insignia in place.

Peter Orgill, the head of operations at the NMA said the memorial was “commissioned, designed, funded and built” by the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Details were the responsibility of the organisation which was putting in the memorial.

The Army said RHQ Scots had raised the matter with the Black Watch Association and were awaiting a response from them to resolve the matter.

Black Watch campaigners, from left, Alex Johnstone, 54, Lawrence Hutchison, 71, Rab Wilkie, 68, Charlie Reid, 71 and Norman Ednie, 55, at the Black Watch monument at Powrie Brae on the outskirts of Dundee.