The Highlanders' Museum - Fort George

The Highlanders' Museum - Fort George web site: https://www.thehighlandersmuseum.com

Open 7 days a week all year round except 25 & 26 December and 1 & 2 January
(2)

The Highlanders' Museum Limited is a Registered charity (SC042160), promoting the advancement of education, the arts, heritage and culture.

Here at the Highlanders Museum, we hold a great array of material in our archives, from regimental magazines to war diar...
08/06/2026

Here at the Highlanders Museum, we hold a great array of material in our archives, from regimental magazines to war diaries, from medal cards to photographs. This combined with our stellar team of highly knowledgeable research volunteers means we can assist you in your quest to learn more about the regiments we cover or a family member.

We cover the following regiments: 72nd "Duke of Albany's Own" Highlanders, 78th "Ross-shire Buff" Highlanders, 79th Cameron Highlanders, the Seaforth Highlanders, the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, Lovat Scouts, Liverpool Scottish, and the Queen's Own Highlanders.

Feel free to submit a research request to our team who will look through our archives and provide you all information they uncover, you can even book to come in and get access to the archives yourself for a day if you wish.

See our website for further details -
https://www.thehighlandersmuseum.com/newversion
You can also discuss things with our Research and Volunteer Coordinator by reaching out to them at

Telephone: 01667 457792
Email: [email protected]

Please note there is a charge of £24 for a research request and due to the frequency of requests, an around 8-week time period for a reply.

Also be advised that post WW2 service records of individual soldiers are not available to the general public yet and are still held by the MOD. Family can apply for these at Requests for personal data and service records: a detailed guide - GOV.UK

June 1976 saw the 1st Bn. Queen’s Own Highlanders preparing to depart Germany to return to Scotland.They had been statio...
08/06/2026

June 1976 saw the 1st Bn. Queen’s Own Highlanders preparing to depart Germany to return to Scotland.

They had been stationed in Osnabruck, since April 1971, as part of 12th Brigade, 2nd Division, British Army on the Rhine. Most of the tour had not actually been spent in Germany with the battalion been deployed to Northern Ireland on three occasions as part of the ongoing Operation Banner. Their time in Northern Ireland had been tense, as the battalion was utilized to regain control over “no go areas” of Belfast from the Provisional Irish Republican Army.

Their time in Germany was hardly any less stressful, with ongoing concerns over a potential outbreak of war with the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact.

After 5 years since they had last been in Scotland, with their time away spent at the forefront of operations, it was good to be going home.

Anyone who has memories of, or who had family who was, serving with the Queen’s Own Highlanders at this time, then please do share your stories in the comments.

’sOwnHighlanders

Planning your 2026 trip to Scotland?We have already had some epic adventures with visitors to the Highlands, perhaps you...
06/06/2026

Planning your 2026 trip to Scotland?

We have already had some epic adventures with visitors to the Highlands, perhaps you would like to join us on one?

You thinking about it? Seeing the glens? Learning about our amazing history and culture? Having a day of song and cheer? Making memoires? You know you are.
Well then, book a Highlanders and Jacobite Tour and step aboard our minibus. Explore the glens and ancient ruins, as our incredible guides regale you with stories of the Jacobites, Bonnie Prince Charles, the Frasers of Lovat and the might bastion of Fort George, just to name a few. You will even join us on a cruise down the waters of the stunning Loch Ness.

The Highlanders Museum covers the history and legacy of the Seaforth, Camerons, Queen’s Own Highlanders and Lovat Scouts. Born in the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden and fostering the Highland warrior sprit, these Regiments have served as part of the British Army for over 240 years.

By booking on tour, not only will you explore the incredible and stunning homeland of these Regiments, you will learn the history of it’s people, and will play a major role in keeping their legacy alive. You may even spot Nessie.

An epic day of song, story and adventure awaits. We will see you on the bus.
For more information or to book, please visit our website
https://www.thehighlandersmuseum.com/?page_id=32134


Photos from our archives - June 1919, saw the men of 1st Bn. (72nd) Seaforth Highlanders marching through Egypt to the p...
06/06/2026

Photos from our archives -

June 1919, saw the men of 1st Bn. (72nd) Seaforth Highlanders marching through Egypt to the port of Alexandria, to begin the journey that would take them home. WW1 was over, the peace established, after everything they had been through, home was the very least they had earned.

After spending their early war in the killing fields of Flanders, 1st Seaforth had traded them for the killing fields of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Palestine, where they had battled against a skilled and determined foe in the Ottomans. The fighting had been terrible with the battalion suffering heavy casualties and being reduced to fewer than 100 men on multiple occasions. Yet it was over, finally done. The Ottoman Empire was collapsing; the politicians would soon be drawing new borders. That however was the furthest thing from the minds of the Highlanders, they were going home.

The voyage took them across to the Mediterranean to Italy, where they embarked on trains which took them up through France to Normandy, from there once more onto ships to take them across the channel. If the Highlanders had any issues being on put on yet another train, the mood would have improved when they were told where they were heading. Ardersier, Fort George, the Depot of the Regiment. Pulling into Ardersier station, the Highlanders were warmly received by the population, who treated the arrivals to tea and cakes. Formed up, the battalion marched to the fort, cheered on by their comrades of the depot lining the ramparts.

Within days, demobilization began, with those who joined only for the duration of the war preparing to depart and those who wished to sign back on and stay with what was left of the pre 1914 regulars. It had been nearly 23 years that the 1st Battalion as a unit had last been in Scotland and at Fort George. It had been a long journey, with duties in Crete, India and then of course the hell of WW1 to endure, but at long last the battalion was back. It was good to be home.

If anyone has ancestors who served with 1st Seaforth during this time, please do share your stories in the comments.

Its volunteer week and we are giving a massive thank you to the museum's team of incredible people. It is them that tell...
05/06/2026

Its volunteer week and we are giving a massive thank you to the museum's team of incredible people. It is them that tell the fascinating individual stories of the soldiers who served, engage with visitors, hear their family connections and showcase the story of the Regiment. It is them that help the museum put on events, host talks and lay a part in formatting, researching and developing our exhibits and what goes on display.

In short our museum simply could not function without the amazing efforts of our volunteers, a massive thank you to them all.

If you are interested in perhaps joining their ranks, why not come and be one, doing meaningful work at a place where no day is ever the same.

Reach out to our Research and Volunteer Co-ordinator at
Tel: 01667 457792 E-mail: [email protected]

Soldier’s Story –Sergeant John MacKenzie –- 2nd Bn. (78th) Seaforth Highlanders – Awarded the Victoria Cross. In June 19...
05/06/2026

Soldier’s Story –
Sergeant John MacKenzie –- 2nd Bn. (78th) Seaforth Highlanders – Awarded the Victoria Cross.

In June 1900, Sergeant John MacKenzie was awarded a Victoria Cross for bravery during the Third Ashanti Expedition.

Hailing from Contin, Ross-shire, Scotland, John enlisted in the Seaforth Highlanders in 1887 at the age of 15, seeing action with the 2nd Battalion during the Chitral Expedition of 1895 on the Northwest Frontier.

When the rest of the 2nd Battalion was sent in 1899 to South Africa to fight in the 2nd Boer War, John was already on the continent having been seconded to serve with the West African Field Force in modern day Ghana, then part of the Gold Coast Colony of the British Empire.

While serving with his new unit, John was awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal and a promotion to Sergeant. He was fast proving a good leader of men. Such leadership skills would be needed on Third Ashanti Expedition.

Britian and the Ashanti Empire had fought many conflicts with one another ever since the British has first established a presence on West Africa’s Gold Coast, but it was not until the 1890’s and the scramble for Africa, that Britian made to fully annex the Ashanti. Fearing another European power such as France or Germany might take over the region, and its vast gold supply, first, the British made the Ashanti a protectorate in 1896. This was accomplished via diplomacy backed by a show of force and amazingly done without a single shot being fired.

Perhaps such ease led to British arrogance. In 1900, British representative, Sir Frederick Mitchell Hodgson committed a grave error, when he insisted he should sit on the “Golden Stool” the Ashanti Royal Throne, an item of great meaning to their people. The result unsurprisingly was conflict with Hodgson and a small band becoming besieged.

A task force was dispatched to rescue Hodgson’s group, among their number John MacKenzie. John was nominated for and subsequently awarded his Victoria Cross when, while heavily engaged by the Ashanti and under fire himself, he manned two Maxim Guns firing them until out of ammo. Despite having been wounded during this act, he then led a bayonet charge to rout the enemy and clear the way to Hodgson.

An embarrassed Britian moved Hodgson out of his position of governor as they incorporated Ashanti into the Gold Cost Colony. As for John, he continued to serve, reaching the rank of Major and becoming the commanding officer of, 2nd Bn. (2/16th) The Bedfordshire Regiment, who he was killed leading during the Battle of Festubert in May 1915 during WW1.

OTD, June 4th, 1940, during WW2, Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from the beaches of...
04/06/2026

OTD, June 4th, 1940, during WW2, Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from the beaches of Dunkirk, was completed. It is usually there that in the popular imagination the British involvement in the Fall of France to N**i Germany comes to an end. In reality however, there were still 100,000 British troops still in France, a mixture of combat units, lines of communication and logistical troops, fighting for survival and struggling to get home.

Indeed, at the very moment the last troops at Dunkirk were embarking, 70 miles to the south at Abbeville, the 51st Highland Division, which included 2nd. Bn (78th) and 4th. Bn (Ross-shire) Seaforth Highlanders, along with 4th Bn. (Inverness-shire) Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, was fighting tooth and nail.

When the great German offensive struck on 10th May, 1940, the 51st Highland Division had not been with the main B.E.F in the north. They had instead been down south on the Saar front of the Maginot Line, part of a program of British troops doing a tour of duty with French units to increase cooperation and understanding between the Allies. As a result, when the German Armoured fist broke through Allied lines and drove to the coast, the Highlanders would be on the other side of the German mass surging through, cut off from their comrades in the B.E.F to the north.

Such was how it came to be, that as most of the B.E.F was evacuated at Dunkirk, the Highlanders found themselves on the River Somme, fighting alongside what was left of the French Army. The task assigned to the Highlanders on the 4th June was to assault German positions at Abbeville, where they had established a bridgehead across the Somme. If the Allies were going to stabilise the situation, and gain some breathing room, they needed to hold the Somme, to do that, any German foothold had to be beaten back across the river.

Leading the way for the 51st, would be 2nd and 4th Seaforth along with 4th Camerons. Their German foe had chosen their position’s well, dug in on the high ground. Even with French tanks in support, the assault was always going to be extremely difficult. So it proved, despite some elements making it to their objectives, the majority of the Highlanders found themselves becoming pinned, as heavy machine gun fire raked across their advance and artillery, along with German Stuka dive bombers, pummelled them again and again.

The assault failed, combined the 3 battalions suffered 583 casualties, many platoons being reduced to less than 25% strength. The failure, and the others like it being experienced by the French, was in many ways a result of the blow dealt by the Germans in cutting the Allies in two and their victory at Dunkirk. There were now too many gaps to cover with too few troops being asked to do too much. Overstretched and outnumbered, for the Highlanders, the odds of getting home were ever decreasing.

If anyone has ancestors who served in the Fall of France during WW2, please do share your stories in the comments.

Planning your 2026 trip to Scotland?Well already this year we have had some epic adventures with visitors to the Highlan...
03/06/2026

Planning your 2026 trip to Scotland?

Well already this year we have had some epic adventures with visitors to the Highlands, perhaps you would like to join us on one?

You thinking about it? Seeing the glens? Learning about our amazing history and culture? Having a day of song and cheer? Making memoires? You know you are.
Well then, book a Highlanders and Jacobite Tour and step aboard our minibus.

Explore the glens and ancient ruins, as our incredible guides regale you with stories of the Jacobites, Bonnie Prince Charles, the Frasers of Lovat and the might bastion of Fort George, just to name a few. You will even join us on a cruise down the waters of the stunning Loch Ness.

The Highlanders Museum covers the history and legacy of the Seaforth, Camerons, Queen’s Own Highlanders and Lovat Scouts. Born in the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden and fostering the Highland warrior sprit, these Regiments have served as part of the British Army for over 240 years.

By booking on tour, not only will you explore the incredible and stunning homeland of these Regiments, you will learn the history of it’s people, and will play a major role in keeping their legacy alive. You may even spot Nessie.

An epic day of song, story and adventure awaits. We will see you on the bus.

For more information or to book, please visit our website
https://www.thehighlandersmuseum.com/?page_id=32134


June 1798, during the French Revolutionary Wars, saw the 79th “Cameron” Highlander’s rebuilding and being brought up to ...
03/06/2026

June 1798, during the French Revolutionary Wars, saw the 79th “Cameron” Highlander’s rebuilding and being brought up to strength. The regiment was young, not yet 5 years old and already aside from a cadre of officers and sergeants, everyone was gone.

One of the first new regiments raised during the expansion of the British Army in late 1793, to counter the forces of Revolutionary France, the Camerons had bled heavily since their birth. First had been Flanders, their baptism, where they had arrived to a campaign already long lost. The French were overrunning everything, the Netherlands had its own revolution and swapped sides, and the British Army was forced during winter to retreat to Hanover. Against the snow and the ever-pursing French, the Camerons lost 200 of their number.

Worse was to follow. First came the threats to break up the regiment to bring others up to strength, a threat only removed when commanding officer, LT Col Allan Cameron of Erracht had a showdown with the Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, the Army’s Commander and Chief. Erracht persuaded the Duke to let his regiment stay together, given what happened next, he might have wished he hadn’t.

The Camerons were sent to the West Indies, to help secure the vital sugar trade of the Caribbean Islands. The Indies were nicknamed the “Death Islands” and with good reason, disease was rampant and tended to decimate incoming British regiments. The Camerons fared no better, 267 more Highlanders falling to disease. The fact that men were dying so the British public could in effect enjoy a cheaper cup of tea, lead to much bitterness among the Camerons as one can imagine.

On the completion of the 2-year tour of the West Indies, asides from officers and sergeants, a mere 229 men remained. This time, Erracht’ s protests fell on deaf ears, the regiment was broken up, the men drafted to other regiments throughout the army, most to their fellow Highlanders, the 42nd “Black Watch.” Erracht and a small cadre were sent home to rebuild the regiment anew.

This time, it was not to be as easy. The Highlands had already given much, dozens of battalions, militia and fencible units had been formed since the wars had begun. Its manpower pool had been drained to sustain them, and the generation who would go on to fight in the Peninsular War (1808- 1814), was not yet of age. This time for replacements, Erracht would have to widen where he sought them.

By June 1798, despite the competition from other units seeking recruits, the Camerons were rebuild, 780 strong, of whom only 178 were ethnic Highlanders, the rest comprised Lowland Scots, Irishmen and comprising the largest group, at 273 strong, Englishmen. Regardless of their origins, in the coming campaigns in the Netherlands (1799) and Egypt (1801), all the Camerons earned the title of Highlander, donning the kilt and marching proudly behind the roar of the bagpipes.

Address

Fort George, Ardersier
Inverness
IV27TD

Opening Hours

Monday 9:30am - 5:15pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 5:15pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 5:15pm
Thursday 9:30am - 5:15pm
Friday 9:30am - 5:15pm
Saturday 9:30am - 5:15pm
Sunday 9:30am - 5:15pm

Telephone

+441667457791

Website

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