The Seventeenth Highland Light Infantry (Glasgow Chamber of Commerce Battalion) : Record of War Service, 1914-1918

When Britain answered Kitchener’s 1914 call, the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce organized a new battalion of the Highland Light Infantry. Volunteers from the technical college, local schools and city streets formed companies that trained at camps such as Gailes and Codford, learning drills, discipline and the regiment’s historic traditions. The editors weave official war diaries with personal recollections to recreate the civic farewells, the challenges of shaping civilians into soldiers, and the pride that bound them together.

In the spring of 1915 the battalion crossed the Channel and entered the tangled trenches of the Western Front. Early days were spent adjusting to the harsh routine of trench life, coping with weather, and conducting small raids around Bouzincourt and Authuille that produced the first casualties. A quiet lull before the Somme offensive gave the men time to prepare, and the narrative captures their anticipation, the meticulous planning, and the everyday courage recorded in letters and diaries. Listeners gain an intimate sense of the soldiers’ resolve as they faced the unknown ahead.