Originally formed as the 51st Highland Volunteers in 1967, as a result of the amalgamation of Territorial Battalions within the infantry Regiments of the Highland Brigade, the name commemorated the 51st (Highland) Division of the Territorial Force, within which many of the Regiment's antecedent Territorial Battalions served during the First and Second World Wars.

The current Battalion traces its lineage back to the reserve Rifle Volunteer units that were originally raised in the Scottish Highlands as part of the Victorian Volunteer Force by Lord Lieutenants in every county.

[28] During the Second World War these units again saw action as part of 51st (Highland) Infantry Division but many troops were detained as prisoners of war in Germany after more than 10,000 members of the division were taken prisoner at St Valery.

[32] British forces contracted dramatically as the end of National Service took place in 1960, as announced in the 1957 Defence White Paper.

As a result, on 20 July 1960, a reorganisation of the TA was announced by the War Office.

It was a TAVR II (NATO reserve role) unit with headquarters located at Perth, Scotland.

[35] A Z (Home Service Force) Company was formed in 1984 at Perth, Kirkcaldy and Dundee.