HISTORY & SERVICES OF THE 78th HIGHLANDERS (ROSS-SHIRE BUFFS) 1793-1881

This is a rare first edition, and first/only printing, of History and Services of the 78th Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs) 1793-1881, compiled from the manuscripts of the late Major Colin MacKenzie and other official sources. It was published in Edinburgh in 1901.

I have found two other copies online, plus one copy in the Royal Collection, housed at Windsor Castle. It was two volumes; as is the case with the Royal Collection, I have volume I.

It is 231 pages, including 31 pages of plates. Of these, there are 9 chromo-lithographed color plates of uniforms after paintings by the English military illustrator Richard Simkin. There are also portraits, and lots of maps, charts and lists.

The 78th Highland Regiment of Foot was raised in 1793 by Colonel Francis Humberston MacKenzie and Lord Seaforth (Chief of the Clan MacKenzie) at Fort George, some 15 miles northeast of Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. Initially a single regiment of foot, a second battalion was added a year later, but they merged in 1796 while stationed in South Africa. In 1804, a second battalion was again raised. In 1817, the two battalions were merged and finally, in 1881, the 78th became the 2nd Battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders. During the 88 years from its inception to its disappearance as a distinct regiment, the 78th saw service in a dozen foreign countries and accumulated an enviable array of battle honours. Eight of its officers and men were awarded the Victoria Cross. The regiment as a whole was also honoured with a V.C. In 1910, the Canadian Scottish became the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, as it is today.

This book originally belonged to Seaforth Highlanders Captain Cecil Mack Merritt (photo #12) who, on January 1 1913 in Vancouver, presented it to the Seaforth Highlanders Sergeant's Mess, and wrote a dedication on the title page. Merritt was killed at Ypres in 1915. His son, Seaforth Lt Col Charles 'Cec' Merritt, went on to win the Victoria Cross for his leadership at the raid on Dieppe, and later became a Member of Parliament.

In the mid-1930s, this book, well-read and with its covers gone, was tossed in the garbage by someone at the Seaforth Armoury. It was rescued by Pipe-Major Edmund Esson who, when he died in 1981, left it to his former Pipe Sergeant, my father, who put it in a wooden chest and forgot about it.

It is complete, save for a piece of tartan which was included in the original printing. The covers are gone and the first page, the title page, is stained and a little damaged at the edges. But it is not as frail as it looks. The binding is nice and tight and it is perfectly readable. There's the odd mark/fingerprint, but it is overall in superb condition.