From being the closest of allies in the Crimean War (October 1853 – February 1856), Anglo-French relations had deteriorated to such an extent that by 1859 an invasion of Britain seemed a real possibility.

An attempt to assassinate the French Emperor, Napoleon III, by Italian nationalists – the Orsini affair – had been linked to Britain as the bombs used in the attempt had been made and tested in England, coupled with the British Government's refusal to restrict the right of asylum.

With the regular British Army stretched in the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny (May 1857 – June 1858), a popular movement saw the creation of the Volunteer Force.

[2] By 1860, the large number of independent Corps led to their merger as consolidated battalions (were a number of Corps existed in a large town or city) or administrative battalions (in more rural areas).

[5] HQ remained at Birnam with[9] The Childers Reforms of 1881 restructured the infantry of the British Army into multi-battalion regiments.

[9] The volunteer battalions were to be numbered in a separate sequence from the regulars and militia with the renumbering taking place over a period of time.

[9][c] In October 1894 the battalion moved to the Perth Road drill hall in Birnam.

[14] The battalion contributed a number of its members to the several volunteer companies of the Black Watch that went out to South Africa to take part in the Second Boer War.

7. c. 9) which combined and re-organised the old Volunteer Force, the Honourable Artillery Company and the Yeomanry.

In May 1918, it moved to Ireland and was based at Enniskillen and Randalstown where it remained until the end of the war.

[19] It was disbanded in March 1916 and the men were posted to 1/1st and 2/1st Battalions and to the Machine Gun Corps.

[21] One major change with the new Territorial Army had an effect on the number of infantry battalions.

Infantry were no longer to be included as Army Troops or part of the Coastal Defence Forces so the pre-war total of 208 battalions had to be reduced by 40.