About
The Royal Highland Fusiliers Museum, on Sauchiehall Street in the heart of Glasgow, tells the story of one of Scotland's proudest infantry regiments and its forebears across more than three centuries of soldiering. The Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment) was formed in 1959 by the amalgamation of two distinguished line regiments — the Royal Scots Fusiliers, raised in 1678, and the Highland Light Infantry — and the museum preserves the heritage of all three, drawing on a rich collection of medals, uniforms, weapons, colours, silver, and archives that traces the regiment's service from the wars of Marlborough to the modern era.
Housed in the regiment's headquarters building, the museum displays the campaign history of its antecedent regiments through some of the great conflicts of British history: the War of the Spanish Succession, the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimea, the imperial campaigns of the Victorian age, the Boer War, and the two World Wars. Among its treasures are Victoria Crosses won by members of the regiments, regimental colours carried in battle, fine silver, and the personal effects of soldiers whose stories bring the broad sweep of military history down to the human scale. The collection illuminates not only battles and campaigns but the everyday life, traditions, and esprit de corps of the Scottish soldier.
The museum also reflects the regiment's deep roots in Glasgow and Ayrshire, the communities from which it drew its recruits, and notes such striking connections as the period in the First World War when Winston Churchill commanded a battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers in the trenches. In 2006 the Royal Highland Fusiliers became part of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, and the museum continues to honour the long line of service that this entailed. Compact, free to enter, and rich in regimental tradition, it offers an absorbing visit for anyone interested in Scottish military history, family research, or the proud story of Glasgow's own regiment.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
💡 Visitor Tips
- The museum is open weekdays only (Monday to Friday) and closed at weekends — plan accordingly and check ahead, as a small regimental museum may vary its hours.
- Admission is free; donations are welcomed and help support the museum's work.
- If you are researching an ancestor who served in the Royal Scots Fusiliers, Highland Light Infantry, or Royal Highland Fusiliers, contact the museum in advance, as staff can assist with family history and medal research.
- Glasgow Charing Cross station is just a few minutes' walk away, and the museum is well served by city-centre buses — public transport is far easier than parking.
- Look out for the displays on Winston Churchill's command of a Royal Scots Fusiliers battalion in 1916, a fascinating and often surprising highlight.
- The building is historic and access may involve steps; if you have mobility needs, contact the museum before your visit.
- Allow around an hour to an hour and a half to do justice to the medals, colours, and campaign displays.
- Combine your visit with nearby city-centre attractions such as the Glasgow School of Art or the Tenement House for a fuller day in central Glasgow.
Highlights
Victoria Crosses of the Regiments
Among the museum's greatest treasures are the Victoria Crosses won by soldiers of the Royal Scots Fusiliers and the Highland Light Infantry — Britain's highest award for valour in the face of the enemy. Displayed alongside the stories of the men who earned them, these medals represent the supreme acts of courage in the regiments' history, from the imperial campaigns of the Victorian era through the two World Wars.
The Victoria Cross displays are deeply moving, putting individual heroism at the centre of the museum's broader narrative of regimental service and sacrifice across more than three centuries.
The Royal Scots Fusiliers, Raised 1678
The Royal Scots Fusiliers, one of the regiment's two parent corps, was raised in 1678 and served with distinction through the wars of Marlborough, the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimea, and both World Wars. The museum displays uniforms, weapons, colours, and relics tracing this long history, illustrating the development of the Scottish fusilier from the age of the matchlock to the twentieth century.
The regiment's battle honours read like a roll-call of British military history, and the displays bring its campaigns vividly to life through original objects and the personal stories of the soldiers who served.
The Highland Light Infantry
The Highland Light Infantry (HLI), the regiment's other parent corps, drew heavily on Glasgow for its recruits and earned a fierce reputation through campaigns across the British Empire and in the two World Wars. The museum's HLI collections include uniforms, medals, weapons, and regimental treasures that document the proud history of this distinctively urban Highland regiment.
Displays explore the HLI's battle honours, its connection to the city of Glasgow, and the experience of its soldiers, complementing the Royal Scots Fusiliers material to tell the full story of the antecedents of the Royal Highland Fusiliers.
Churchill and the Royal Scots Fusiliers
One of the museum's most striking connections is to Winston Churchill, who in 1916, after resigning from government over the Gallipoli disaster, took command of a battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers on the Western Front. For several months the future Prime Minister led Scottish fusiliers in the trenches of Flanders.
The museum explores this remarkable episode, when one of the towering figures of the twentieth century served as a regimental commander, adding a celebrated chapter to the history of the Royal Scots Fusiliers and a point of fascination for many visitors.
Collections
The Royal Highland Fusiliers Museum holds the regimental collections of the Royal Highland Fusiliers and its antecedent regiments, the Royal Scots Fusiliers (raised 1678) and the Highland Light Infantry. The collection includes Victoria Crosses and campaign medals, uniforms, weapons, regimental colours, silver, badges, archives, photographs, and the personal effects of soldiers.
It documents service from the late seventeenth century through the wars of Marlborough, the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimea, imperial campaigns, the Boer War, the two World Wars, and the modern era up to the regiment's incorporation into the Royal Regiment of Scotland in 2006.
The museum also maintains archives supporting family history and medal research for descendants of those who served.
Royal Scots Fusiliers: 1678 to Amalgamation
The history, campaigns, and treasures of the Royal Scots Fusiliers.
The Highland Light Infantry
Glasgow's Highland regiment and its imperial and wartime service.
Valour: The Victoria Crosses
Medals for gallantry and the stories of the men who won them.
The Royal Highland Fusiliers
The amalgamated regiment from 1959 to the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.