Books literally have a limited shelf-life. If a title doesn’t sell quickly, it’s pulled off the shelves and either goes on the bargain table or is pulped. This is particularly true of military books. Titles and subject matter seem to go in a cycle. Someone writes a book, say about Arnhem or the Crimean War. It hits the book stores. Even if it sells reasonably well, it is unlikely to be reprinted. At best, it’s on the shelves for a year, maybe 18 months. Then it disappears. So, then there are no books about Arnhem or a Crimea available. Or, maybe there’s one classic account that has been reprinted to be found on the shelves of the better bookshops. But if that piques a reader’s interest, there’s nothing else. Publishers know this. And so new titles tackling tired old battles and campaigns are issued every four or five years. The only thing that is new about them is the title. The rest is a rehash of what’s already known.  Previous analysis is often recycled and passed off as a fresh look – the truth “finally revealed”. It’s not clear whether the authors actually believe this claim because their research has been so sloppy. Most of these books are about as satisfying as yesterday’s boiled potatoes and other left-overs reheated in the microwave for today’s lunch.

I remember several years ago when an Irish journalist was killed by gangsters the murder triggered a flood of editorials and columns which almost celebrated how dangerous journalism is and how important journalists are to society. I found it nauseating to see glorified gardening correspondents seeking to boost their own egos by invoking the Irish woman’s death. Journalists have a bad habit of making a big deal when a reporter is killed, at least when a white reporter is involved. When a Canadian journalist was killed by a bomb in Afghanistan, the media here went crazy. But who remembers the names of the soldiers killed in the same explosion?
I would have expected the recent spate of stories following the death of Sunday Times Marie Colvin in Syria to be equally irritating. But, through my own work in war zones, I know several of the people who paid tribute to her. They were no superannuated gardening columnists seeking to attach themselves, through vicarious association as fellow journalists, with the dead woman. They are the real deal and Colvin was obviously the real deal too. She knew exactly what she was doing and what the risks were. She was no naïve girly who thought she wouldn’t be killed or kidnapped because she was doing a touchy-feely story about medical clinics for refugees. Nor was she so naïve as to not take death threats seriously. She died because she was prepared to put herself in harm’s way in order to bear witness to atrocity. Her luck ran out; it could happen to anyone. In truth, she was part of an all too rare breed – in which I would not include myself, despite reporting from Kosovo and Afghanistan. So-called “conflict zone reporting”, is a branch of the journalism that is over-populated with frauds, poseurs, the mentally unbalanced and war tourists. Colvin was not one them.

I've added a map featuring the "traditional" recruiting areas of the old Scottish regiments to "A Quick Guide to the Scottish Regiments". The move towards fixed recruiting areas for each regiment was well in train by the 1870s and the boundaries pretty much set by the 1881 Cardwell Reforms. But even then, those boundaries were not set in stone. The Royal Scots Fusiliers had to turn the Galloway area over the King's Own Scottish Borderers in around 1900. The map reflects the recruiting areas around the time of the First World War.
I'm no artist and the map's not the greatest. If anyone spots a major error, let me know and I'll alter the map.
Space restrictions mean the map shows Glasgow as solely Highland Light Infantry territory. The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) also recruited heavily in Glasgow. Once again, space restrictions mean the Cameronians' recruiting area is labeled "Scot. Rifles". During the First World War only the 1st Battalion of the regiment went by Cameronians, all the other battalions called themselves the Scottish Rifles. In the Second World War all the battalions called themselves Cameronians.
Glasgow provided recruits to all the Scottish regiments. Lacking any cities or major population centres, the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders and the Seaforth Highlanders both had a hard time filling their wartime ranks from their recruiting areas. An old Cameron, captured with much of the old 51st Highland Division at St. Valery in 1940, used to joke "Moskovitz, Schellenberg, O'Hara, Snodgrass, Goldberg, - A Company Cameron Highlanders reporting for duty, Sir."
The Scots Guards and the Scots Greys both recruited from throughout Scotland. Anyway, I hope some you find the map helpful.