Lieutenant-Colonel C.R. Buchanan
6th Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers

The Bn was very weary but the leading coys set off and reached the Northern edge of the village which they found to be strongly held … The CO was slightly wounded in the arm about 1300 hrs but when the 2 IC went up he insisted on finishing the battle and was only evacuated later in the evening when the 2 IC took over.

(War Diary, 9 Aug 1944)

Born on 22 May 1902 Shanghai, China, Colin Robert Buchanan was a commissioned officer with the Royal Scots Fusiliers since 1922. He served in the Far East and became 2nd Battalion adjutant in 1930. While stationed in Hong Kong, he and other officer were mistaken for Russian spies and briefly denied by Chinese authorities. He was promoted to captain in 1936 and made a major days before the outbreak of the Second World War.

Buchanan took command of 6th Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers in December 1943. He spent the next six months preparing and training the troops for the Normandy invasion. The battalion landed just after D-Day with the 15th Scottish Division. “This was the first time the Bn had been in action since Jun 1940,” the war diary recorded, “and for the majority of the personnel of the Bn it was their first battle inoculation. The Bde Comd expressed to the Comd Offr his appreciation of the conduct of the Bn in a difficult operation.”

As Winston Churchill had commanded the 6th Battalion during the First World War, Buchanan made a point to keep the prime minister informed of the unit’s progress. He was wounded in action on 9 August 1944 and replaced by Major Ian Mackenzie.

Following his army career, Buchanan became a Queen’s Foreign Service Messenger in 1956 and a Queen’s Diplomatic Service Messenger in 1965. He died on 19 December 1980 in Haslemere, Hampshire.