By Charles McGregor

Throughout military history, the Highland Regiments have been regarded with respect and awe, as much for their dress as for their fighting ability.

In World War One this aura of respect became one of abject fear. Since soldiers in these Regiments went into battle wearing their kilts, no matter the weather or battlefield conditions, their enemies called them "The Ladies From Hell," and were greatly afraid of them.And it was upon this spirit and tradition -- "The Martial Spirit of the Gael" -- that the Toronto-based 48th Battalion (Highlanders) came into being within the Canadian Militia in1891. Renamed the 48th Highlanders of Canada in 1930, the Regiment's uniforms - as well as its traditions and customs - were modeled upon those of the famous Gordon Highlanders of Aberdeenshire, in the north of Scotland, a Regiment whose history dates back to 1794.

An early Regimental historian wrote that "One of the necessary parts of a Highland Regiment is a pipe band. Tradition assigns a place to the piper at Bannockburn."He was referring to the battle in 1314 -- undoubtedly one of the most spectacular single-day feats of arms of the Scottish wars of independence - in which Robert Bruce, King of the Scots, with his small, ragged army of kilted foot-soldiers, soundly defeated King Edward II's huge force of 40,000 well-trained infantry and cavalry.  And, true to this tradition, from its inception, the 48th Highlanders Pipe Band, as well as its Military Band, have been the Regiment's most visible assets, regularly parading and performing at public events, not only in Toronto, but in other parts of North America and the world.

Upon the outbreak of World War One, on August 4, 1914, the 48th quickly raised a full battalion of almost 1,000 all ranks, all volunteers, and before the month was out its soldiers were under canvas in Quebec, beginning the training which would take them into the horror that would be called "The War to End All Wars." Only a few of these men would survive this war.

By early March, 1915, the 48th were in the trenches in France and, a month later, during the 2nd Battle of Ypres, were among the first troops ever to be gassed by their enemy, fighting back courageously, thwarting the enemy attack at great cost. As Allied troops were slaughtered on the Western Front by the thousands, the 48th would be required to raise a further two battalions as the war progressed, to provide battlefield replacements and reinforcements.

The 48th were among those who did battle at places whose names are now well-remembered as those where men fought and died bravely, sometimes only to gain a yard of ground -- Festubert, Mount Sorrel, The Somme, Vimy Ridge, Hill 70, Passchendaele, Amiens, the Drocourt-Queant Line and, finally, at Canal du Nord, losing 38 killed and 117 wounded there, as the war approached its end. By the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, a total of 1,467 members of the 48th Highlanders had been killed in action.

In 1939, a world war broke out again, and the 48th, as they had done 25 years earlier, moved quickly to mobilize to battalion strength. By New Year's Day,1940 they were in England. Two and a half years of training would follow before the 48th went into battle with the 1st Canadian Division -- landing at Sicily in early July 1943, a prelude to two years of vicious fighting as they made their way up Italy. Once again the 48th was in the thick of it, fighting at Assoro, Campobasso, the deadly Ortona -- "the longest and bloodiest four miles the 1st Canadian Division were to encounter in the war," as their Regimental History, Dileas, was to describe it. Then the Liri Valley, the Hitler, Gothic and Rimini Lines and the hazardous night-time assault boat crossing of the Lamone River in December, their last major action in Italy.  By late March, now in Holland, for the 48th, "The end of the war was clearly in sight, but the fighting was no less deadly," wrote George "Geordie" Beal in his illustrated history of the 48th, entitled "Family of Volunteers."

 

During the second week of April, the 1st Canadian Division, and the 48th, fought their last battle of WW 2, liberating Apeldoorn, a city in the "Green Heart of Holland." It was there Major George Beal led a fixed-bayonet charge over 150 metres to silence an enemy machine gun battery, killing seven and capturing 18. His leadership and bravery would earn him the coveted Military Cross. When the city was eventually abandoned by their defeated enemy, the citizens began a celebration they had awaited for five difficult years -- and the 48th Highlanders and its Pipe Band played integral roles in the festivities.

In the post war years, the Regiment's service has included providing personnel to serve during the Korean War, with NATO and United Nations Peacekeeping Missions. Members of the 48th have been posted to such "hot spots" as Cyprus,  Afghanistan, Somalia, the Golan Heights, South Africa, Cambodia, and Bosnia, among others. On the home front, members of the 48th have always been ready to lend a hand -- including, during the past 50 years, Hurricane Hazel in 1954, Manitoba's Red River Flood in 1997, the eastern Canada ice strom of 1998 and in response to then Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman's plea for help to clear snow which had brought the city to a standstill in 1999.

Currently, as a member of the Canadian militia's 32 Brigade, the 48th is represented by a light infantry battalion composed of a fighting company and an administrative company.

Tradition is everything in the military world and possibly the best-known Toronto tradition is that of the 48th Pipes and Drums and/or Military Band performing at every opening game of the hockey season at Maple Leaf Gardens. The tradition began with the first game in 1931, where they combined with another Toronto favourite, the band of the 10th Royal Grenadiers in a memorable and colourful ceremony.  In 1999, the Gardens now closed, the tradition moved down the street to the Air Canada Centre and a new one was begun.

It is doubtful that anyone living in the Greater Toronto Area has missed seeing the men and women of the 48th's Pipe and Drum and Military Bands on parade. Remembrance Day, St. Patrick's Day, the Santa Claus Parade, Warrior's Day at the Canadian National Exhibition, the annual Royal Winter Fair - these are just a few of the appearances these Regimental Bands have been making over the years. On more formal occasions, the Bands have performed before Royalty and the 48th has provided Honour Guards and Regimental Colour Parties for many other occasions

The 48th Highlanders of Canada's website notes that "bonds of friendship extend overseas to our Allied Regiment, 3 Highlanders (formerly the Gordon Highlanders), and Small Unit Exchanges are conducted frequently. The relationship with the Gordon Highlanders represents the oldest officially-sanctioned regimental alliance in the Commonwealth Forces and has given rise to many enduring friendships."

To learn more about the 48th Highlanders of Canada, visit the Regimental Museum in St. Andrews Presbyterian Church at the corner of King St. W and Simcoe St. in Toronto.  The church retains a strong link with the 48th, since members of the congregation played pivotal roles in the formation of the Regiment in the late 1800s. Established in 1950, the museum moved to its present location in 1997. It was opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, coincidentally on the 50th anniversary of the monarch being named the Regiment's Colonel-in-Chief. The Regimental Bands were present for the occasion, along with a Guard of Honour of the 48th.