For many years the London Scottish Rifle Volunteers was largely a social organization for professionals of Scottish ancestry resident in London. Soldiering began in grim earnest in 1914, when the London Scottish were among the first volunteers to come to the aid of the beleaguered British army in France and Belgium. The regiment marched off to war in its famous "Hodden" grey kilts, a traditional color that appeared almost a purple against the Scottish heather but appeared close to khaki against the mud of the trenches for the four years to come.

A second battalion of London Scottish was eventually raised, and served in Palestine and the Balkans. The exploits of the London Scottish are well-known, but this work attempts to portray the unit at a deeper level. These volunteers were articulate professionals and left behind numerous journals and diaries, many never before published, which convey their true feelings and aspirations. The regiment left behind a unusually large number of photographs and drawings, many of which also appear here for the first time.