Scottish Cap Badges

[Johnny1]

Hi,

I am making up divisional boards with their Order of Battle for the 10th November, 1917 and can anyone give me advice on the Scottish regiments, if they wore a tartan patch behind their badges please I would be grateful for any help. Regards John

[FROGSMILE]

Hi,

I am making up divisional boards with their Order of Battle for the 10th November, 1917 and can anyone give me advice on the Scottish regiments, if they wore a tartan patch behind their badges please I would be grateful for any help. Regards John

The wearing of tartan patches behind Scottish regimental badges was patchy in WW1, some battalions of a regiment did and some did not (so it is perhaps best not to use them definitively on your boards). This was in part because the various bonnets were a relatively new thing for wear with a field and thus drab uniform and partly because in a desperate war for survival and set priorities of supply, the wearing of tartan on bonnets was a relatively low priority. It was not until between the wars and throughout WW2 that the practice was standardized.

Tartans that were worn:

Royal Scots: Hunting Stuart.

Royal Scots Fusiliers: Government tartan until changes in both 1928 and 1948.

King's Own Scottish Borderers: Leslie.

Cameronians: Douglas.

Black Watch: Government tartan (often referred to as Black Watch because they were the original regiment to wear it).

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders: Often referred to as Sutherland but actually a slightly paler green shade of Goverment tartan.

Gordon Highlanders: Gordon.

Highland Light Infantry: Mackenzie.

Seaforth Highlanders: Mackenzie.

Cameron Highlanders: Cameron.

London Scottish: Elcho (of Hodden Colour).

Liverpool Scottish: Forbes.

Tyneside Scottish: Initially each battalion in the Brigade was different but with a preponderance of 'Shepherds Check', and then from late 1916 on the so-called 'Sandbag' Tartan in muted shades of greens and browns to a Black Watch pattern.

Lovat Scouts: Hunting Fraser.

[Graham Stewart]

Tyneside Scottish: Initially each battalion in the Brigade was different but with a preponderance of 'Shepherds Check', and then from 1916 on the so-called 'Sandbag' Tartan in muted shades of greens and browns to a Black Watch pattern.

The tartans used by the pipers and as capbadge backings were;-

1st Tyneside Scottish - black & white checked plaid and kilt known as " Northumbrian or Shepherds" tartan.

2nd Tyneside Scottish - Plaid and kilt was the Campbell of Loudon tartan.

3rd Tyneside Scottish - Plaid and kilt Campbell of Argyll tartan.

4th Tyneside Scottish - Plaid and Kilt same as 2nd Battalion.

29th(Res)Bn, N.F.(T.S.) - kilt and plaid same as 1st T.S., but thought to be chocolate and white. I have actually seen a strip of this, but couldn't determine if it was sun faded black & white.

By the end of 1916 a special T.S. Bde tartan was introduced for the pipers and as a cap badge backing known as "Sandbag" tartan, as mentioned by Frogsmile, the colouring being similar to khaki and dark green.

[Johnny1]

To Frogsmile and Graham, thankyou very much to you both for your information on the backings and the tartans themselves, I had not even thought of the Tyneside Scottish battalions, so I am grateful to you both. Regards John

[4thGordons]

Black Watch: Government tartan (often referred to as Black Watch because they were the original regiment to wear it).

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders: Often referred to as Sutherland but actually a slightly paler green shade of Goverment tartan.

Is the Argyll & Sutherland kilt actually a "paler green shade of Government tartan" or is it just the effect created by Box vs Knife pleating?

Chris

[FROGSMILE]

Is the Argyll & Sutherland kilt actually a "paler green shade of Government tartan" or is it just the effect created by Box vs Knife pleating?

Chris

Officially it is a lighter coloured pattern and indeed was issued with a separate nomenclature. Black Watch is Government No1 Tartan and A&SH is Government No1A Tartan.

[4thGordons]

Officially it is a lighter coloured pattern and indeed was issued with a separate nomenclature. Black Watch is Government No1 Tartan and A&SH is Government No1A Tartan.

Thanks - I was not aware of this.

Chris

[Tinhat47]

Here is a question ... I thought I saw somewhere that the MacKenzie tartan backing has the sett oriented in a t-shape, and that the HLI is oriented like an X. Is this right?

[FROGSMILE]

Here is a question ... I thought I saw somewhere that the MacKenzie tartan backing has the sett oriented in a t-shape, and that the HLI is oriented like an X. Is this right?

Yes Matt the Seaforths wore the white overlay in a cross (rather than a T) and the HLI in a X. More latterly the RHF maintained its predecessor HLI tradition.

[Ron Abbott]

Nope.  I wore the RHF Tam O Shanter.  

The tartan patch had the white line on the vertical and the red line on the horizontal.  The same as was worn by the HLI.

The RHF white hackle came out the centre.

It was not in an X.

 

(It was the old Seaforths that wore the MacKenzie tartan patch as an X).

[FROGSMILE]

23 hours ago, Ron Abbott said:

Nope.  I wore the RHF Tam O Shanter.  

The tartan patch had the white line on the vertical and the red line on the horizontal.  The same as was worn by the HLI.

The RHF white hackle came out the centre.

It was not in an X.

 

(It was the old Seaforths that wore the MacKenzie tartan patch as an X).

 

 

Thanks Ron, I inadvertently transcribed them.  I do indeed recall the difference, having seen the RHF many times.

Edited 15 November , 2016 by FROGSMILE