One of the most popular Scottish country dances of all time, the Reel of the 51st Highland Division is a modern

Scottish country dance Scottish country dance (SCD) is the distinctively Scottish form of country dance, itself a form of social dance involving groups of couples of dancers tracing progressive patterns. A dance consists of a sequence of figures. These dances are ...

written by Lieutenant J.E.M. ‘Jimmy’ Atkinson of the 7th Battalion

The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

while in a

POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, an ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Captured together with the vast majority of the British 51st (Highland) Division. in 1940, Atkinson spent the rest of the war as a

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The 51st had been separated from the British Expeditionary Force, and put under the control of the French command. Given an overlong length of line to defend, they were overwhelmed and had to retreat to the French port of St Valery. Unfortunately Rommel in the Tank Corps got there first and prevented any embarkation. Atkinson's idea of a

reel A reel is a tool used to store elongated and flexible objects (e.g. yarns/ cords, ribbons, cables, hoses, etc.) by wrapping the material around a cylindrical core known as a '' spool''. Many reels also have flanges (known as the ''rims'') arou ...

with a

Saint Andrew's Cross In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Ortho ...

in its key formation was intended to symbolise

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and the Highland Division, in adversity. His letter home with instructions for the dance was intercepted by the German security service, the

Abwehr The (German language, German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', though the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context) ) was the German military intelligence , military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ...

, who spent the rest of the war trying to break the code. However, another version of the dance reached Scotland where it was published while Atkinson was still a POW and became instantly popular. Also known as the Laufen Reel after Laufen Castle,

Oflag VII-C Oflag VII-C was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp for officers located in Laufen Castle, in Laufen in south-eastern Bavaria from 1940 to 1942. Most of the prisoners were British officers captured during the Battle of France in 1940. To ...

near

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

, the 51st Country Dance, the Reel of the 51st Highland Division, and St Valery's Reel, it is often danced in a set composed entirely of men.

External links

History of the 51st Country Dance

Scottish country dance Culture of Scotland {{folk-dance-stub

See also

External links