Board Thread:Warhammer 40k General Discussion/@comment-72.15.97.37-20121205193921/@comment-25869775-20160625222101

I think their concept is that they are highlanders not Celtic necessarily.

A chunk of the original Terran marines are stated as being from Old Albia, which is today Albania. Its a Balkan country traditionally made up of highlanders which is also close to Greece so there is that culture connection with the medusa motif and all that. The Dusk Raiders were the proper Albanian Legion though not the Iron Hands.

In my opinion the Terran Iron Hands were probably made up highlanders from Scotland, southern Germany, Austria, Albania, Appalachia, and Argentina. Once the Empra unified the planet there is no reason that the leaders of these legions couldn't recruit from correlating cultures from anywhere around the globe.