The 4SCOTS march at FirstGroup headquarters.
250 Soldiers and Band Parade at Old Army Barracks at FirstGroup's HQ
FirstGroup's global headquarters in Aberdeen was the setting yesterday (1 July) for an historic Scottish military occasion.
Around 250 Highlanders from 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 SCOTS) and its pipes and drums performed a special ceremony as they paid tribute to their former home – now the headquarters of transport operator, FirstGroup. The 4 SCOTS have just returned to Scotland following a nine month tour of duty in Afghanistan.
The site of First's HQ and bus depot was home to the Royal Aberdeenshire Highlanders between 1862 and 1914. The barracks, as it was in those days, is steeped in history and was for a time home to Aberdeen Corporation Tramways before eventually becoming the base for Aberdeen's bus operations. The granite building that faces King Street still retains its original 1862 façade and two plaques highlighting the building's military history can be seen on the building.
FirstGroup staff welcomed 4 SCOTS to their former home. The Lord Provost, George Adam, took the salute and inspected the guard.
Members of the old Gordon Highlanders also made an appearance for the historic occasion.
First Aberdeen Director Joe Mackie welcomed 4 SCOTS to their former headquarters and said: "It was a real honour to host the 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment for Scotland.
"Scotland's soldiers are renowned the world over for their dedication, bravery and spirit. Many of those on parade have been on active service in Afghanistan."
Lt Col Leigh Drummond led the parade. He said: "We have had a fantastic reception from the people of Aberdeen. 4 SCOTS are very much part of the Aberdeen area, and we still recruit the majority of our soldiers from this part of Scotland. It was a tremendous honour for our lads, having just returned from our nine month tour of duty in Afghanistan, to march down Union Street and at the site of our former home at FirstGroup."
Brief Timeline of the Barracks:
- 1861: Plans to build a depot of the Royal Aberdeenshire Highlanders, a volunteer regiment, were announced. It was to contain a large drill court - 370 feet long/140 feet wide, and would be "of plain design but with a couple of towers at the angles giving it a baronial appearance". The design was by William Ramage, formerly assistant to Archibald Simpson.
- 1862: Buildings complete and first occupied by the Royal Aberdeenshire Highlanders.
- 1864: Permanent staff forced to find alternative accommodation due to an outbreak of typhus in Aberdeen. This led to the training of the regiment at Fort George.
- 1880: The accommodation became insufficient, and therefore additional barrack rooms were constructed to house 300 men.
- 1882: The Royal Aberdeenshire Highlanders became the Third Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders. At this time staff based at the barrack consisted of officers, warrant officers and permanent staff sergeants. All other ranks lived at home in the local area, reporting to the barracks for drills and training.
- 1900/1901: Troops were sent from King Street to Capetown to fight in the Boer War, but in 1902 the Barracks reverted to their peace time role.
- In 1905 21yr old Pipe Mayor George Stewart McLennan (youngest in the British army) organised the first pipe band at the barracks.
- 1914: The Barracks were purchased from the Army for £2360 2s 2d in April 1914 by Aberdeen Corporation Tramways. The major part of a new depot to hold 24 trams had been constructed in the north side of the parade ground. However in September 1914 due to the outbreak of World War One, the Army re-occupied the premises.
- 1919: The Army moved out of the Barracks May 1919 and soon after tram sheds were erected, but in 1919 a severe housing shortage in Aberdeen saw the King Street building converted into 45 one, two and three roomed flats, until 1932.
- 1932: A large extension of the King Street site was carried out to enable both trams and buses to be repaired at one site.
- 1951: An RAF hanger from Greenock was erected on site "with heating, lighting and everything else necessary for the proper maintenance of transport bus services".
- 1958: Trams were phased out in Aberdeen. A further extension was carried out at the King Street site to provide facilities for garages, services and repairs of buses – a 230 strong bus fleet replaced the trams.
- 1975: The council bus services were renamed Grampian Regional transport
- 1989: An employee and management buy out meant Grampian Regional Transport (which would soon become FirstGroup), became the first privately owned bus company in Scotland
- 2010: In a major overhaul of the site, FirstGroup constructed a brand new bus depot and headquarters, the latter officially opened by Her Royal Highness, the Princess Royal in July 2010.
- 2014: Around 200 Highlanders from the 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 SCOTS) return to their former home at King Street
But not all the Gordon Highlanders Moved Out….
In 1915 Captain Beaton, an army officer during World War One, returned from the trenches in France after sustaining head injuries. After treatment and recuperation he was later transferred to the King Street barracks. In March 1918 he received orders posting him back to France, but Captain Beaton had endured enough. The following morning his body was found hanging in the south east turret of the King Street Barracks, The Captain has since been known to haunt the building and has been spotted in full regimental dress by members of staff on several occasions, with the last sighting in October 1988.
About The Highlanders 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 SCOTS)
4 SCOTS are currently based in Bad Fallingbostel, Germany but will be moving to Catterick, North Yorkshire in Summer 2015. The Highlanders are a light role infantry battalion who are in the process of re-rolling as a Heavy Protected Mobility Battalion equipped with the new Mastiff Armoured Fighting Vehicle.
The Battalion has recently served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Most recently they have just returned from Operation HERRICK 19 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan where they formed the Manoeuvre Battlegroup of 7th Armoured Brigade 'The Desert Rats'.
ENDS
For more information, please contact Niall Dowds, First UK Bus, Head of External Communications, on 07860 936671 or email [email protected]
NOTES TO EDITORS
FirstGroup plc is the leading transport operator in the UK and North America with revenues of more than £6.9 billion a year. We employ approximately 120,000 employees and transport more than 2.5 billion passengers a year. Our vision is to provide solutions for an increasingly congested world… keeping people moving and communities prospering.
First Student
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First Transit
One of the largest private sector providers of transit management and contracting in North America. We manage public transport systems on behalf of city transit authorities, are one of the largest university campus and airport shuttle bus providers in the US and also manage paratransit operations, call centres and other transit activities. First Services, a division of First Transit, is the one of the largest private sector providers of fleet maintenance and ancillary support services for public sector customers such as the Federal Government and fire and police departments.
Greyhound
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UK Bus
FirstGroup is one of Britain's largest bus operators running approximately one in five of all local bus services. A fleet of some 6,500 buses carries approximately 2.3 million passengers a day in a huge number of communities including 40 of the UK's largest towns and cities. We operate Greyhound UK providing regular intercity coach services linking South Wales and Bristol Airport, and we also operate some US-style yellow school buses and have a fleet of coaches available for charter.
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FirstGroup operates approximately a quarter of the UK passenger rail network, with a balanced portfolio of intercity, commuter, regional and sleeper services, carrying more than 310 million passengers a year.
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