The battalion of 700 men left Durban for Egypt on the SS Plassy in January 1903,[2] and was subsequently stationed there in the following years.

In February 1900 the battalion departed from Colombo to return home,[5] and in October 1902 they were posted to Jersey,[6] but three months later they were reassigned to Alderney.

[7] Following heavy British losses in the early part of the Second Boer War in 1899, many of the militia battalions were embodied for active service, including the 3rd battalion Highland Light (formerly the 1st Royal Lanark Militia), under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel William Story.

[10][11] The 1st Battalion landed at Marseille as part of the Sirhind Brigade in the 3rd (Lahore) Division in December 1914 for service on the Western Front[12] and entered the trenches near Festubert.

[14] It then moved to Mesopotamia in December 1915[12] and saw action at the Siege of Kut in Spring 1916 and the Battle of Sharqat in October 1918.

[14] The 2nd Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 5th Brigade in the 2nd Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front.

[12] The 1/9th (Glasgow Highland) Battalion landed in France as part of the 5th Brigade in the 2nd Division in November 1914 for service on the Western Front.

After refusing to surrender, the Germans stormed the trench and found only 15 wounded men alive, three of whom died soon afterwards.

[23] The HLI was the only regular Highland regiment to wear trews for full dress, until 1947 when kilts were authorised.