In North Africa, the reconstituted Highland Division was nicknamed the "Highway Decorators" in reference to the 'HD' insignia that adorned road signs along their axis of advance.

[4][5] The First World War doubts were the result of the way in which the division was initially plundered in late 1914 to early 1915, during a period of great strain on the Regular Army troops of the original British Expeditionary Force (BEF), serving on the Western Front.

Given the chance to show their mettle in July 1916, during the Battle of the Somme, they assaulted High Wood, which they attacked forcefully in the midst of a murderous field of fire without shelter.

The division's reputation grew and they were chosen to capture the notorious fortress village of Beaumont-Hamel in November 1916, towards the end of the Somme offensive.

[9] By early 1918, the division, as with numerous others in the BEF at the time, was below-strength due to losses in 1917 and the tired survivors were given a quiet part of the front line to hold.

The remains of the division survived the Spring battles and received replacements in time for Haig's Allied offensives of August 1918 onward, which saw the war coming to an end on 11 November 1918.

In 1938, after Chamberlain's visit to Munich, the decision had been taken to double the size of the Territorial Army, and the Highland Division had made good progress with this recruitment by the spring of 1939.

[14] With the situation regarding Nazi Germany deteriorating and the threat of war on the rise, the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division was mobilised on 24 August 1939.

In preparation for joining the BEF in France, the division travelled from Scotland to Aldershot, where it received final equipping and training.

The War Office had decided that kilts were not suited to modern mechanised warfare and did not provide protection in the event of a gas attack.

In response to the German advance it was pulled back to form a defensive line along the Somme, where it was attached to the French Tenth Army.

[21] Meanwhile, the 152nd and 153rd Brigades, along with the French 9th Corps, under Lieutenant General Marcel Ihler, were cut off from the main Allied forces, and had to withdraw toward Le Havre for a possible evacuation by sea.

[21] After the war was over, General Fortune was knighted by King George VI for his work in promoting the welfare of his men while in captivity: despite failing health, he had resisted repatriation.

[23] From the British point of view, the defeat of the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division was the end of the Allied resistance during the Battle of France.

Of the 290 British Army POW escapers who had returned to Britain by the end of June 1941, 134 were members of the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division.

[25] In 1942 French General Charles de Gaulle, in a speech, claimed "I can tell you that the comradeship in arms experienced on the battlefield of Abbeville in May and June 1940 between the French armoured division which I had the honour to command and the valiant 51st Highland Division under General Fortune played its part in the decision which I took to continue fighting on the side of the Allies unto the end, no matter what the course of events.

[28] The first general officer commanding (GOC) of the new incarnation of the division was Major-General Alan Cunningham, who, in October 1940, was sent to the Middle East.

[32] Arriving in North Africa in August 1942, the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division experienced its first fighting at the Second Battle of El Alamein (October–November), sustaining some 2,000 casualties.

The Commanding Officer (CO) of the 7th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, Lieutenant Colonel Lorne MacLaine Campbell, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his leadership during the battle.

Throughout the fighting in North Africa the division served under the command of the British Eighth Army, under General Bernard Montgomery.

[34] Later the 51st Division had a rest to absorb replacements for the heavy losses, in both manpower and materiel, suffered in North Africa and began training in amphibious warfare.

In July, the division took part in the Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, suffering comparatively light casualties in the short campaign, which lasted for 38 days.

Towards the end of the campaign in early August, the division was withdrawn from combat and held in reserve for the Allied invasion of Italy.

[39] The 51st (Highland) Infantry Division's performance in Normandy was, overall, considered disappointing,[40] particularly by General Montgomery, now the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Allied land forces in Normandy, who stated in a telegram to Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS, the professional head of the British Army), that the division "had failed every mission it was given".

[41] This led to the replacement of its GOC, Major-General Charles Bullen-Smith; his dismissal is not mentioned in the Divisional Official History nor formation accounts.

It then continued east over the River Seine and headed, on General Montgomery's orders[43] for Saint-Valéry-en-Caux, the scene of the division's surrender in June 1940.

Leaving Saint Valéry, the 51st Division was engaged in Operation Astonia, the battle for the French port of Le Havre, in September 1944.

He was replaced by Major General Gordon MacMillan, a very highly experienced and competent commander who had previously been the GOC of the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division.

Beckett 2008 says that Territorial Army units that were in suspended animation were formally reactivated on 1 January 1947, though no personnel were assigned until commanding officers and permanent staff had been appointed in March and April 1947.

As well as commemorating 50 years of peace in Europe, the sculpture depicts a Highlander being greeted by a young Dutch girl during the liberation of the Netherlands by the 51st.