HLI (City of Glasgow Regiment) Association

It is with great sadness that I have to report the passing on Monday 5th May 2025 at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Glasgow, of Jim Urquhart HLI. Jimmy served with 1 HLI in the 1950’s, as a PTI at the HLI Depot in Maryhill and on active service during the Cyprus emergency. Jimmy was a regular attender at the various commemorative ceremonies in Glasgow and in France. Jimmy was a well known and well liked comrade who will be sorely missed by his pals in the HLI Association and in the many other comrades associations where he made friends.

Jim Devine

Secretary HLI Association

It is my sad duty to report the passing of our old HLI comrade John Lamont on Tuesday 18th October 2022.

John on a return to Normandy in 2019

John served with the 6th Battalion HLI during WW2, and saw enemy action from his arrival at Arromanches in France, through Belgium and Holland, taking part in Operation Market Garden as part of XXX Corps, and into Germany, where he spent his 19th birthday on the west bank of the Rhine, before crossing the Rhine the next day. The 6th Battalion carried on into the heartland of Germany, finishing their advance with the capture of Bremen.

 

John being welcomed by Mayor Claude Allingri in Montblanc, France

John was a well known and much loved member of the HLI Association for many years, and many members will have shared some memorable experiences with John on numerous occasions on battlefield tours and commemoration events in France, Holland, Germany, and of course in the UK.  John will be sorely missed by us all, but also remembered with great fondness.

Jim Devine

Secretary HLI Association

Gerry McAuley HLI/RHF

It is with great sadness that we heard the news of the passing of Joseph “Gerry” McAuley. Gerry served in the 1st Battalion HLI in the late 1950s, and was in the Highland Light Infantry during the amalgamation with the Royal Scots Fusiliers, which saw the formation of the Royal Highland Fusiliers in 1959.
Gerry was a stalwart member of both the HLI and RHF Associations for many years, and was a familiar face at Armed Forces Day and Remembrance Services in Glasgow.

Gerry had been ill for some time, and passed away at home, surrounded by his loving family, on the morning of Wednesday the 16th of February 2022. Our heartfelt condolences go out to Catherine and the family at this sad time.
Jim Devine
Secretary
Highland Light Infantry Association

We are greatly saddened to have been informed of the passing of John Deuchars, a WW2 HLI veteran, and a long standing member of the HLI Association.  John served in the 5th Battalion HLI in World War 2, taking part in the liberation of Holland, and the defeat of nazi Germany. John’s daughter Marion, contacted the Association to let us know that he had passed away on the morning of Tuesday the 21st of December 2021. He was 95 years old. He will be sorely missed by his family and his old HLI comrades.

John’s funeral will be on Saturday the 8th of January in South Lanarkshire. Details from the Association Secretary.

It is with great sadness that we report the passing away on the 24th January 2018 of Major Willie Shaw MBE RSF/RHF after a short illness. Willie was a long serving regular soldier, serving in the Royal Scots Fusiliers, then after the amalgamation of the RSF with the HLI in 1959, in the Royal Highland Fusiliers. Latterly he was at RHQ in Glasgow, where many of our members looked forward to his hilarious anecdotes at the regular members lunches. Many of our members also have very fond memories of numerous coach trips run by Willie to old stomping grounds in Germany. He was a true character, and universally admired and respected, and he will be sorely missed.

It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing on Boxing Day 2017 of Major George Stewart, a long serving member of the Glasgow Highlanders, and former Chairman of the GH Association.  George seen below preparing to lead the HLI and GH Associations on parade on Remembrance Sunday November 2010.

George’s funeral will be on Thursday 11th January 2018 at 12:00 at Lambhill Crematorium Tresta Road, Cadder, Glasgow.