Name
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Author
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Publishing Info
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ISBN
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Book Review
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All the Bluebonnets: The History
of the King's Own Scottish
Borderers (KOSB)
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Robert Woollcombe
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Arms & Armour Press
London, 1980
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978-0853683544
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Review: This 300-year history of the King's Own Scottish Borderers, one of the oldest
Scottish regiments, is presented in Mr. Woollcombe's book. The bulk of the book is devo-
ted to the regiments history over the past hundred years, through both the small wars,
Second World War and the Korean War. Brief histories are provided of all KOSB
Battalions that served in the war.
Review courtesy Mick Stewart, webmaster, The KOSB at War 1939-45.
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Borderers in Battle: The War
Story of the KOSB 1939-45
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Captain Hugh Gunning
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Martin's Printing Works,
Berwick-upon-Tweed,
1948
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ASIN: B0007J6I28
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Review: BORDERERS IN BATTLE is the War Story of The Kings Own Scottish Bor-
derers 1939 - 1945. By one of its Captains Hugh Gunning. The book tells of the Regiments
involvement in many of the great conflicts and battles such as: DUNKIRK - OPERATION
OVERLORD - BURMA - BORDERERS AS MOUNTAINEERS - ARNHEM -
ARAKAN etc. A great book for the collector of Scottish Regiments.
Review courtesy www.BunkerBooks.co.uk.
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From Flushing to Bremen : The
Fifth Bn. The King's Own Scottish
Borderers (KOSB)
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Captain E. V. Tullet;
drawings by Lt. N.
Money.
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Published by 5th Battalion
KOSB Minden, (West)
Germany, 1945.
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Unknown
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Review: A privately published history of the 5th Bn., KOSB, 52nd Lowland Division
during the Second World War (1939-45).
View a photo of the front cover of the book here.
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Lion Rampant
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Robert Woollcombe
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First publication: Chatto &
Windus, London, 1955;
second publication: B & W
Publishing, Edinburg, 1994
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978-1873631409
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Review: This memoir is an account of the experiences of a front-line officer with the 6th
Bn., King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB) during the desperate battle for Normandy and
the Allied anvance in 1944-45. It evokes the confusion, horror and comradeship of war -
from the killing fields of the Normandy bocage throuhg house-to-house fighting in shattered
Flemish towns to the final Rhine crossing. The story tells how the author, his fellow offi-
cers and the men of his company lived through one of the bitterest campaigns in history.
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Off at Last: An Illustrated History
of the 7th Bn King's Own Scottish
Borderers (KOSB) 1939-45
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Robert Sigmond
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R. N. Sigmond, 1997
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978-909010-4492
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Review: Initially conscripted into the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and trained as a vehi-
cle mechanic, Albert Blockwell was then posted in March 1940 to a prewar Terriorial unit,
7th Kings Own Scottish Borderers, then a home defense unit based near London. His diary
is a most interesting account of a young vehicle mechanic who also had to learn to be a
infantry soldier. Albert remained with this unit for all his wartime service, later going to the
Shetland Islands when the 7th KOSB were part of OSDEF (Orkney and Shetlands Defence
Force). Then in late 1943 much to their surprise the unit was posted to Lincolnshire to
become the third infantry unit in the 1st Airlanding Brigade then in the process of returning
from Italy with the rest of the 1st Airborne Division. Swapping their glengarries for red
berets Albert and his comrades had to adapt to their new way of getting to war by glider.
The diary continues with a down to earth account of the highs and lows of the next few
months. Then in September 1944 Albert flew to Holland on Operation Market-Garden and
his account (written in a PoW camp) describes the savage nine days fighting at Arnhem
from the slit trench level. Taken prisoner on the last day his account then describes the
spartan life in PoW camp without pulling any punches. Sadly Albert died in 2001 but his
diary survived and his daughter Maggie Clifton together with help from two published
'Arnhem' authors have edited a unique account of the fighting at Arnhem from the front-line
soldier's perspective.
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One Blue Bonnet: A Scottish
Soldier Looks Back
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Brigadier General Frank
Coutts CBE
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B & W Publishing
Edinburg, 2008.
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9781873631041
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Review: Frank Coutts grew up in Glasgow in the 1930s and had just embarked on a career
in the Metropolitan Police when war broke out in 1939. He joined the army and served
with King's Own Scottish Borderers as a platoon commander during some of the fiercest
fighting of the war. This memoir marks the 90th birthday of one of the soldiers of his gen-
eration. Frank Coutts grew up in Glasgow in the 1930s and had just embarked on a career
in the Metropolitan Police when war broke out in 1939. He joined the army and served
with the King's Own Scottish Borderers as a platoon commander during some of the fierc-
est fighting of the war, as the Allies advanced through Holland and into Germany following
the D-Day landings. After the war, Frank Coutts played rugby at international level for
Scotland, while his army career took him all over the world - from the jungles of Malaya to
the streets of cold-war Berlin. He became Colonel of the Regiment in 1970. First published
in 1991, Frank Coutt's memoir, "One Blue Bonnet", has now been re- issued to mark the
90th birthday of one of the most popular and respected soldiers of his generation.
Review courtesy www.PrismTalisman.com.
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The King's Own Scottish
Borderers (KOSB): A Concise
History
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Trevor Royle
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Mainstream Publishing,
2008.
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978-1845960919
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Review: The King’s Own Scottish Borderers is one of only two Scottish regiments never
to have been amalgamated until it joined forces with The Royal Scots to form the 1st
battalion of The Royal Regiment of Scotland in 2006. It is also unusual in that it lost its
Scottish status between 1782 and 1887 when it served as the 25th (Sussex) Regiment of
Foot.Formed in Edinburgh in 1689, its first operational role was to defend the city during
the period of turmoil following the accession of William and Mary of Orange. That same
year the regiment fought at the Battle of Killiecrankie, where they withstood a ferocious
charge by the Highlanders supporting James II. Since then, the regiment has fought in most
of the major campaigns fought by the British Army.In 1887, the regiment became The
King’s Own Scottish Borderers. It served with distinction during the two World Wars and
achieved nationwide fame in 1915 when Sergeant Piper Daniel Laidlaw won the Victoria
Cross during the Battle of Loos. Despite coming under heavy fire he played his pipes in
full view of the enemy, encouraging the Borderers with the sound of 'Blue Bonnets o’er the
Border' and 'The Standard on the Braes o’ Mar'.This concise account of the King's Own
Scottish Borderers puts its story into the context of British military history and makes use
of personal testimony to reveal the life of the regiment.
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The 6th (Border) Battalion, King's
Own Scottish Borderers (KOSB)
1939-45
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Captain J. R. P. Baggaley
[ Capt. Baggaley, MC, served as
Intelli gence Officer of the 6th Bn
KOSB from December 1939 to
December 1945 ]
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Martin's Printing Works,
Berwick-Upon-Tweed,
1946.
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Unknown
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