Scotland is a nation famed for its warriors – from clan battles to world wars, the Scots have a long and distinctive military history renowned throughout the globe.

The great Scottish regiments were created in the aftermath of the doomed Jacobite cause, and the Scots soon became a revered and integral part of the British Army. So war stories have made a significant contribution to the country’s literature and many writers have served in the armed forces. Several tales in this collection are written with the bitter personal experience of conflict and yet also contain the dry Scottish wit and irony often evoked in the face of extreme danger and loss.

From dark humour to chilling realism, from factual to fictional, these twenty-four stories – from writers including Muriel Spark, Arthur Conan Doyle, John Buchan and George Mackay Brown – reflect the unique facets of the Scottish soldier.

Published to commemorate VE Day 2025.

Trevor Royle is an outstanding historian of war and empire. His books include Facing the Bear: Scotland and the Cold War, The Flowers of the Forest: Scotland and the First World War and A Time of Tyrants: Scotland and the Second World War. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and a member of the Scottish Government’s Advisory Panel for Commemorating the First World War.