The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) Tam O’ Shanter
The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) Glengarry
That badge attachment is unusual for this glengarry. Usually the badge is attached using lugs and the holes for this are present. At some point, the original badge was replaced with one using clasps. However, the owner added felt to make it more comfortable, so the assumption is it was worn. If this was not done by members of the BW, please let me know and I will replace the badge with one with lugs.
The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) Balmoral
I have also seen this referred to as a Kilmarnock. However, this might be because one of the common manufactures of this type of headgear for the War Office at the time, J. J. & W. Hood & Co. was located in Kilmarnock.
The Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment) Tam O’ Shanter
The Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment) Pipes and Drums Tam O’ Shanter
If anyone has a picture of this TOS being worn, please post it.
Hi Reid,by Reid10
If anyone has a picture of this TOS being worn, please post it.
I am enjoying reading your thread as it brings back a lot of memories for me of the Scottish units I served alongside.
This one has me wracking my brains however. I Served beside the RHF when they were stationed at Redford Bks in Edinburgh and had regular contact (often a little closer than one might prefer!) and I honestly have no recollection whatsoever of the pipers wearing a TOS at all. In fact one could recognise a piper at 100yds because of the dark blue glengarry with pipers cap badge which they habitually wore in all forms of dress except when the feather bonnet was indicated at one end of the scale or steel helmet at the other. The Red Erskine tartan patch would of course be appropriate for a piper rather than the McKenzie of other members of the regiment.
It might be that the TOS with Erskine patch was specified in dress regs but simply eschewed as a matter of unit policy (not an unusual state of affairs in British regiments and tolerated as "COs discretion" ). Equally it could just be that I never noticed (unlikely as I was always a "spotter") or that my memory fails me. Either way it adds up to unusual.
It could also be something that has come about with the creation of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, do you have any idea of the age of your example? It does look quite recent.
Anyway, my interest is certainly picqued now and I will endeavour to discover chapter and verse which I will post here
Regards
Mark
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
Mark,
Great to hear from you again! Based on the material and the size, the TOS likely is pre-1970s.
The Royal Scots pipers had their own TOS with a tartan different from the rest of the regiment. They still wear the tartan backing, just with the SCOTS cap badge.
I have an image of them wearing it before amalgamation also. I just need to find it!
On the British and Commonwealth Military Insignia Database The British & Commonwealth Military Insignia Database – Military Badges and Buttons of the British Empire and Commonwealth , Bill (Snowdrop 68) asked about what badge RHF pipers wore on the Red Erskine tartan on the TOS. If he asked about it, it seems it existed at one time, since Bill is extremely knowledgeable when it comes to Scottish units.
I contacted the RHF museum, but never heard anything back. I might try the RHF association website.
Let me know if you find anything and I will do the same. I figure between the two of us, we'll find something!
Good Luck!
Reid
Roger that,
I live close to a major garrison which has many "other unit" pers apart from the units actually stationed there and my wife is manager of the garrison officers mess which caters to all the "odds and sods" plus Bde and Div staff pers so there might be a lead there. If not, I still know one or two stones to look under!
As I say it might just be that I never saw it or that it was deliberately eschewed by the regiment (British COs at Bn level do have that kind of lattitude in many areas) but the only recollection I have of RHF pipers is of them wearing a blue glengarry in any undress uniform. Standby!
As for the Royal Scots ( now 1 SCOTS due to seniority!) pipers the tartan on their TOS is Royal Stewart the same as the pipe bags and banners as well as kilts and plaids. Of course the Drummers etc and Rifle Companies wear Hunting Stewart.
During my service it used to baffle some of the Jocks that a Sassenach (that's not actually the correct term for the English but most Scots don't even know that!!!) knew as much, even more in some cases than they did but I had been following the hobby since my early teens.
Regards
Mark
Last edited by Watchdog; 04-04-2021 at 05:20 PM. Reason: Typo
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
a great thread, thanks for sharing them all and the info with them
Regards,
Jerry
Whateverits just an opinion.
Thanks, Jerry. I think I have read every one of your posts related to Scottish headgear and copy and pasted several for reference. I used your list of which years corresponded with what letters for WD marks today and used it as a jumping off point for further research.
Cheers,
Reid
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