troops of three Divisions marched past His Majesty, the King of the Belgians, in Brussels, there was a sudden roar of applause from the half-frozen crowd as the kilted pipers leading the 45th Infantry Brigade, which represented the infantry of the 15th Division, approached. The 6/7th Cameron Highlanders swung past; His Majesty turned to me and said: "Truly magnificent soldiers." Those who read this narrative will agree that this splendid tribute was deserved.

H. L. REED,
Major-General.

2/4/22.

CHAPTER 1.
EARLY DAYS.

Soon after the outbreak of the Great War, Colonel D. W. Cameron of Lochiel received permission to raise Service Battalions of the Cameron Highlanders under Lord Kitchener's New Army Scheme. He proceeded at once to Scotland, and at meetings in Glasgow and Inverness stirring appeals for recruits for the new Battalions were made. These appeals met with so enthusiastic a response that within a week or two the 5th and 6th Battalions were raised, and recruiting for the 7th Battalion was in full swing. Recruits for the 5th and 6th were sent direct to Aldershot, but when it was found that there was every prospect of raising another Battalion, it was decided to make its Headquarters at Inverness, the Capital of the Territorial District of the Cameron Highlanders.

From the outset, Major Seymour Clarke of the Cameron Highlanders, who had returned to duty at the Cameron Depot at Inverness on the outbreak of war, took a great interest in the Battalion, and he did much for it during its early days in Inverness. On 8th October, 1914, Lieutenant-Colonel D. P. Haig, who formerly commanded the 3rd Battalion, was gazetted as the first Commanding Officer of the 7th, but the date of the birth of the Battalion may be said to be 28th September, 1914, on which day Captain James Barron, Captain Mackenzie-Gillanders, and Lieutenant W. H. Kirkland were gazetted to the Battalion. On 30th September, Captain C. D. Stewart, and on 5th October, Captain Norman Macleod, were also gazetted. Unfortunately, Captain Mackenzie-Gillanders and Captain C. D. Stewart were very shortly afterwards invalided out of the service, and for several weeks the Battalion had to carry on with Lieutenant-Colonel Haig and Captains Barron and Macleod as the only senior officers. Captain Barron acted as Adjutant of the Battalion until shortly before it went to France, where he fell at the Battle of Loos while Second in Command; Captain Macleod served with the Battalion throughout most of the War, commanding it for the last 18 months of its existence, and Lieutenant Kirkland fell while commanding a Company at Loos.

The two months spent by the Battalion at Inverness were very strenuous but very happy. It was soon recruited up to full strength, and the type of man it attracted was of a particularly high order and fine physique, as at this time the height and chest measurement for recruits had been increased. A large proportion were students and young professional men from Glasgow, where a Cameron Recruiting Office had been opened as soon as Lochiel received permission to raise the new Battalions, and it was a rule that no man was admitted unless he was a Scotsman. A considerable number of recruits also came from Inverness-shire, including not a few from the town of Inverness, where the Battalion was immensely popular. The Cameron Barracks were, of course, too small to accommodate more than a small proportion of the Battalion, but quarters were found for many in a distillery hard by. Here the comforts of life were lacking, many men having to sleep on a stone floor with only one blanket, but so fine was the spirit of the men that there was little or no grousing. The good people of Inverness, too, vied with one another in doing everything possible for all ranks. The hospitality extended to officers and men alike was unbounded, and many citizens earned the undying gratitude of the Battalion by placing their private baths at their disposal. Moreover, nearly all the halls in the town were formed into Clubs for the use of the men, and in these refreshments were dispensed in right royal fashion. No man who served with the Battalion during these two months is ever likely to forget the porridge and milk, which, in response to a well-nigh universal demand, came to be regarded as the piece de resistance on these occasions.

The first route march of the Battalion was, appropriately enough, to Culloden Moor. Then, and for several months thereafter, the men were in civilian clothes: but as time went on (so great was the keenness to wear the kilt) many members supplied themselves with the Cameron Service Dress at their own expense. By and by week-end leave was granted, but no 7th Cameron wanted to go on leave in "civvies." Few kilts were available at that time, even for those who were eager and willing to buy them, but there was, happily, a nucleus of Regulars at the Barracks who boasted the coveted garb. A tentative suggestion that these proud wearers of the kilt might perchance hire them out to their New Army brethren who were going on leave, met with a ready acquiescence, and so rapidly did the idea catch on that kilts were often booked for weeks ahead. But if a Cameron Highlander is incomplete without a kilt, so is a Cameron Battalion without a Pipe Band. Fortunately, one of the band boys at the Barracks, the son of an old Pipe-Major, was able to play the pipes, and he proudly strutted in front of the Battalion on its first route march to Culloden Moor. Before long other pipers were discovered among the recruits, and the time the Battalion left Inverness it could boast quite a respectable Pipe Band.

On 30th November the Battalion left Inverness for Aldershot. It was with many regrets that it said farewell to the "Capital of the Highlands," where it had been so kindly treated, and where the men had won golden opinions by their behaviour and discipline. In a farewell letter to Colonel Haig the Provost expressed the feeling of the citizens in the following terms:—

"The men of the Battalion have by their exemplary conduct, and their manly and courteous bearing, won favour on all hands, and it is with regret we realise that we are no longer going to have them in our midst."

The Battalion arrived at Aldershot 1136 strong, and were quartered in the Salamanca Barracks, which they shared with another Battalion of the same strength, and where they remained for several weeks. An unsolicited testimonial was given to the physique of the Battalion by an Instructor of the 5th Camerons, who saw them march into Aldershot. He declared that they were one of the finest bodies of men, physically, he had ever seen. At Aldershot a period of intensive training was put in, and the Battalion benefited greatly from the ministrations of Captain Crooks, a splendid instructor and disciplinarian, who voluntarily placed his services at its disposal.

Christmas and New Year were spent at Aldershot. On 15th January, 1915, the Battalion marched into billets at Liphook. The long march was completed in full kit without a single man falling out.

Here Major Norman MacLeod was posted to the Battalion. He had served in the Calcutta Light Horse, and for some time had acted as Musketry Instructor to the Brigade.

About this time the Battalion received its first consignment of kilts, although, as we have indicated, many of the men had already bought the full uniform privately. Owing to the difficulty of getting the different tartans and keeping up a supply in France, the War Office introduced an article called the "universal kilt." It was made of