Fraser's Highlanders - About Us

Fraser’s Highlanders was formed in 1997 by a number of experienced re-enactors who wanted to try and accurately depict both the military and civilian life of the Highland Clans who fought in the army of Charles Edward Stuart (‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’) during the Jacobite rising of 1745. We are made up of people from all over the UK (and beyond !) of all different ages and walks of life, who enjoy this particular period and wish to educate and entertain the public.

What do we do ?

We do a variety of events all over the British Isles throughout the year (see our Calendar for details of this year’s events). We specialise in both battle, drill and Living history displays.

Highlander 1Battle re-enactments take place with our friends in Lace Wars, the 18th century umbrella group we belong to, as well as other societies, with whom we have good relations.

Drill displays are less about formal military foot drill (which given the nature of the Highlanders was rarely done in the Jacobite army), but more about the nature of Highland society and warfare.

Living History is not just about the military side of life in the Army, but demonstrates the civilian aspects. During a Living History we will set up a period encampment or garrison a historic site, and show the Highlanders with their families, cooking, cleaning, eating, making items, the normal life for those who followed the army - indeed doing what soldiers throughout history do most of the time - which is anything but fighting.
Why do we do this ?

Highlander 2Firstly, because it’s fun. If we didn’t enjoy ourselves we wouldn’t do this. Our members enjoy going all over the country, making and seeing friends, dressing up and entertaining the public. It gives us a chance to see many places which we wouldn’t ordinarily go to or be allowed to see. It gives an outlet for a love of history, dressing up or being a frustrated actor. Lots of people join for different reasons, do look at our Join Us section for more details on membership. Secondly, we aim to entertain the public. Rather than going around what may seem another house, castle or museum, we can bring a site to life and make a visit more memorable and enjoyable for visitors. By this we help to raise the profile, and funds for, many respected institutions such as English Heritage, and often money for charity. Thirdly we seek to educate, bringing the past to life can open people’s minds and make history more interesting - too often people’s minds have been closed by boring lessons at school. We also hope to try and dispel some of the mythology and inaccurate beliefs people have about the 1745 Rising and the Jacobites - see our History section on this.

About Fraser's

Fraser’s was started by a number of members of the English Civil War Society who wanted to try and represent accurately a Jacobite Highland unit of the ‘45 Rising. Since then we have gathered members from other societies who were interested in re-enacting he 18th century, as well as a number of people who were otherwise new to re-enactment. We currently have a membership of around forty, and are continuing to grow. We are affiliated to the Lace Wars umbrella organisation, but also work closely with other re-enactment groups such as New France, Old England (see our Links page for further details).

We pride ourselves on our friendly, family atmosphere as a regiment - we do after all re-enact in order to have fun ! For more details on our regiment, please see our Join Us page.