Reel Of The 51st Division

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

REEL OF THE 51ST DIVISION (R8x32) 3C (4C set) Atkinson RSCDS Bk 13

1- 8 1s set and cast below 3s, lead up to face 1st corners
9-16 1s set and turn 1st corners RH to balance in diagonal line, set and 1s turn LH to face 2nd corners
17-24 1s set and turn 2nd corners RH to Balance-in-Line, set and 1s turn LH to 2nd place own sides
25-32 2s+1s+3s circle 6H round and back

(MINICRIB, Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton. Deeside Caledonian Society.)

Reel Of The 51st Division
J.E.M. Atkinson   RSCDS Book 13
Reel   8 x 32 bars   3 Couple Repeat   4 Couple Set   Lengthwise Set

1-2      1s set;
3-8      1s cast two places, meet and lead up to face first corners;
9-12    1s set and turn first corners by the right, finishing 2M1L1M3L in line on the first corners' diagonal;
13-14  2M1L1M3L balance;
15-16  1s turn by the left;
17-20  1s set and turn second corners by the right, finishing 3M1L1M2L in line on the second corners' diagonal;
21-22  3M1L1M2L balance;
23-24  1s cross by the left to own sides in 2nd place;
25-32  1s2s3s 6 hands round and back.

(MAXICRIB, Scottish country dancing instructions compiled by Reuben Freemantle.)

Dance Instruction Videos

Reel Of The 51st Division - YouTube Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video
Performance of Reel Of The 51st Division by London Scottish Country Dance Team at the Newcastle Festival in 2008.
Starts after 1 minute.

Reel Of The 51st Division - YouTube Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video
Performance of Reel Of The 51st Division by RSCDS Birmingham Branch 2011.

Reel Of The 51st Division - YouTube Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video
Performance of Reel Of The 51st Division (5 couple version) by Royal Scottish Country Dance Club Frankfurt, RSCDS 2007.

Dance Information

One of the most popular Scottish country dances of all time, the Reel of the 51st Highland Division is a modern Scottish country dance written by Lieutenant J.E.M. 'Jimmy' Atkinson of the 7th Battalion The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders while in a 'Prisoners Of War' camp during the Second World War.

Captured, together with the vast majority of the British 51st (Highland) Division while defending the retreat from Dunkirk in 1940, Atkinson spent the rest of the war as a POW in Germany. His idea of a reel with a St Andrews cross in its key formation was intended to symbolise Scotland, and the Highland Division, in adversity.

Atkinson's letter home with instructions for the dance was intercepted by the German security service, the Abwehr, 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 near Salzburg, 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.

The 51st Highland Division was the first contemporary Scottish Country Dance to be published by the R.S.C.D.S.

The tune 'The Drunken Piper' is a favourite highland reel composed by Alex. McLeod.

Dance Information licensed under this Creative Commons Licence.
Text from this original Reel Of The 51st Division article on Wikipedia.
Additional search terms; Fifty First, Regiment.

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