At 10.30 on Saturday 29 June The Royal Scots Regimental Association will lay wreaths and conduct a memorial service at Lauriston Castle, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Kohima and the Regiment’s role in one of the defining battles of the Second World War.
Regimental records show that between 4 April and 22 June 1944 1st Battalion The Royal Scots lost a total of 89 men – their names will be read out during the ceremony. A further 200 were wounded, many seriously, in the intense fighting around Kohima.
The Battle of Kohima was one of the most bitterly fought battles of the Second World War and a pivotal moment in the war against Japan in the Far East. The success of the British 2nd Division (including theRoyal Scots) and the Indian 5th Division ensured the safety of British India and turned the tide against Japanese forces in South East Asia.
The Royal Scots contingent will form up in the Lauriston Castle car park at 10.30 and will march the short distance to the Royal Scots Memorial Garden behind a piper and their Association Standards. All others are welcome to congregate at the Garden. The service will commence at 10.50 and will be conducted by Reverend Ian May, the Padre of The Royal Scots Regimental Association. The wreath laying will be led by Brigadier George Lowder, President of The Royal Scots Regimental Association.
Malcolm Warrack, son of Lt Col Morren Warrack who fought at Kohima with the regiment, said: “A group of Royal Scots Veterans felt very strongly about the lack of some form of local memorial specifically for their fellow soldiers who did not come back from the Burma Campaign and Kohima in particular. George Rogers, Ian Henderson and Morren Warrack co-ordinated the preparation and creation of this Memorial Garden in the 1990s. They spoke often about the “Forgotten Army” in the Far East so it is particularly fitting that 80 years later on 29th June we remember them.”
Brigadier Lowder added: “The Royal Scots feel very strongly that we should mark the battle of Kohima which witnessed some of the fiercest fighting of the war. Some Royal Scots who took part in crucial battles to delay the German advance to Dunkirk in May 1940 subsequently found themselves in the Far East where the war continued for a further 3 months after victory in Europe was declared in May 1945. Many made the ultimate sacrifice; we will remember them.”
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