Boer War Memorial Stirling Castle

The Boer War Memorial stands proudly outside the front gates of Stirling Castle. It was erected by the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, in memory of their comrades who gave their lives in the South African War of 1899-1902.

The regiment was created under the Childers Reforms in 1881, as the Princess Louise's (Sutherland and Argyll Highlanders), by the amalgamation of the 91st Argyllshire Highlanders and 93rd Sutherland Highlanders. It was further amalgamated into the Royal Regiment of Scotland in 2006.

The regiment was one of the six Scottish line infantry regiments. They wore the Sutherland district tartan, a lighter version of the Black Watch tartan. The uniform also included the Glengarry cap which was adorned with the largest cap badge in the British Army.

It was only researching for this that I found out that there were two Boer conflicts, the first 1880-1881 and the more famous second 1899-1902. The conflicts were between the British Empire and the Boer Republics in South Africa.

The memorial refers to the second Boer War. The 1st Battalion arrived in the Cape in November 1899 and formed part of the 3rd or Highland Brigade. They played leading roles in the Battle of Modder River, the Battle of Magersfontein, the Battle of Paardeberg, and in an action at Roodepoort immediately preceding the Battle of Doornkop.

In June 1900, the battalion was transferred to a new brigade under Brigadier General George Cunningham, which operated around Pretoria and then from 1901 in the Eastern Transvaal.

On each side of the plinth is a plaque listing those who lost their lives and for whom the memorial commemorates.

The memorial was unveiled on 12th January 1907 by the Duchess of Montrose.