Gordon Highlanders Regiment Glengarry
It goes without saying how sad it is that all of these famous Scottish infantry regiments have been merged into one large regiment, but I guess it's a sign of the times ans especially due to recruiting difficulties for most of them. If I'm wrong, please let me know.
I've always been especially fond of the Black Watch, especially since they fought at Bushy Run in 1763, about 15 miles from my home town.
BobS
Indeed they did and carried the day, relieving Fort Pitt against the rebels under Pontiac. Although they were still The 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot (The Black Watch) until 1881 and the Childers Reforms when they amalgamated with 73rd Perthshire Regiment to be renamed The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders). They were nicknamed the "Forty Twa" and more recently (their own slang) "The Black Jocks" a nod to the name Black Watch which referred in part to the very dark tartan (Government tartan number 42). At Bushy Run they had some help from the 77th Highlanders (later disbanded) and the 60th Royal Americans so credit where it is due!by BobS
I really despair at the modern reductions etc but I have to accept that it is not just down to recruiting but a combination of cost versus requirement and reorganisation / modernisation as a modern battalion is approximately as powerful as an old style brigade. During my time in service there were 7 regiments in the Scottish Division (51st Highland and 52nd Lowland Divs had already become reserve formations and much depleted) which were known as the "Magnificent Seven" within the Div but there were subsequent amalgamations of pairs of regiments leading to the eventual creation of The Royal Regiment of Scotland. However, all is not lost for us fans of tradition and history as all the way through regimental titles and traditions are maintained as far as possible within the resulting amalgams. For instance the RRS is a "Super Regiment" with each of the component battalions styled in some measure after the original regiments ie 1 SCOTS - The Royal Scots and Kings Own Scottish Borderers, 2 SCOTS - The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 3 SCOTS - The Black Watch and so on. 6&7 SCOTS are reserve battalions and preserve the 51st and 52nd Divisions. So, there is plenty to interest us today just as there was decades ago. However, I just happen to believe that "size matters"
Sorry to go off at a tangent and don't mean to derail your thread Reid (Bob S provoked me) it's just that sometimes a little padding adds to the overall result
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."
As an American, I am hesitant to make too much of a judgement, since it might not be my place. I do have to admit, it is hard to see the individual tartans on the line soldiers' TOS and the distinctive cap badges go away.
During previous amalgamations, at least one of the cap badges for the units was retained. Badges might also be combined, hackles and dicing retained, tartans preserved by the pipe and drums, etc. The SCOTS battalions pipe and drums do retain the badges and tartans, which preserves the traditions, but now the only way to identify the individual soldiers in the battalions is their hackle.
One thought is that this might not be permanent and the units may return to wearing at least the tartan badge backings and some of the cap badges some day. For example, in 1958 all of the regiments adopted a common cap badge, either the Lowland or Highland Brigade. I believe this lasted until 1968, when both Brigades were amalgamated into the Scottish Division. At that time the regimental badges were restored.
So, if historical precedence remains true, we might see the HQ and Regimental Staff wear the SCOTS cap badge, while the battalions return to wearing individual cap badges. At that time, for the units that amalgamated, they will have to decide which badge to use. One can hope, right?
Cheers,
Reid
Hi Reid, an excellent well presented thread, thank you.
Cheers, Ade.
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Thank you, Ade. I am glad you like the thread. I have enjoyed posting my collection, talking to other collectors, and seeing their collections. Please do not hesitate to add anything. I have a few pieces of headgear that I am not 100% positive I have all of the details correct for. I would appreciate your, and others', insight and expertise.
Regards,
Reid
Cape Town Highlanders Regiment Balmoral
South Africa Scottish regimental headgear is one of my favorite things to collect. With the regiments being renamed, regimental insignia changed, and the move to wearing the universal infantry beret, I think it is important to try and preserve their history, even if it is just through their uniforms and insignia. (Of course each has its own association, so they don't need some Yank to do that.)
However, dating SA Scottish headgear can be challenging, because the South Africans kept using the World War I construction style for balmorals and TOS long after World War II. Often I have to use badge construction, or when the manufacturer was created, to try and determine an approximate date, and I am not always confident I have that right. For example, for this Balmoral, I had to research when the Natal National Cap Factory was created (1948), when the regiment started using anodized badges (1960), and finally current pictures of the regiment to try and determine when the unit stopped using the ties and eyelets for sizing. (See image below)
Having said all of this, the research is one of the most fun aspects of collecting military headgear. (At least for me)
Perhaps we have some SA collectors who can help correct any mistakes I have made, and/or provide more information. I currently have headgear for the Cape Town Highlanders, First City Regiment, and Transvaal Scottish, but want to add the Pretoria Highlanders, Witwatersrand Regiment, and Kimberley Regiment headgear to my collection. It may be a bit, as they are becoming hard to find and can be expensive.
TOS does not appear to have eyelets.
South Africa First City Regiment Balmoral
Again, not easy to date. The First City Regiment starting using this badge in 1952, so it dates after that. The diamond-cut Graham of Montrose tartan may indicate it is for an officer. Many of the photos I have seen pictures from the 1970s and 80s with other ranks using a square piece of badge backing. However, I cannot 100% confirm this and the picture below seems to show soldiers wearing diamond-cut tartan on their TOS in the 1950s and 1960s. Perhaps the change was made in the late 1960s or during the border wars, when you would want your tartan to not be flapping when on patrol. I need to find the source I read that said officers wore the tartan cut this way. The screw post is also used for most of my non-Scottish SA headgear as the method for attaching badges.
I have seen First City TOS with a plastic/rubberized badge also.
I am always amazed that four later famous actors all served in the London Scottish in WWI; Claude Rains, Herbert Marshall, Ronald Colman, and Basil Rathbone, who was awarded the MC.
BobS
BobS - It is interesting to see how many actors served during World War II, sometimes earning valorous awards. We do not see that as much today. (Of course a much larger amount of the population served during WWII. This leads a bit into my next post.
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