Why the Army Banned Kilts from Battle in WWII

[Thistle Stop]

Army's wartime bloomers revealed

British troops were involved in a secret plan to go into battle wearing women's underwear, it has emerged.

The plan - recently declassified by the Public Records Office - was set up to protect World War II troops from mustard gas attacks.

Kilt-wearing soldiers in the Scots regiments were particularly at risk because their legs were exposed to the poisonous gas.

From the 1920s up until 1939, secret tests were carried out on volunteer soldiers dressed in long stockings and woollen bloomers.

Wearing underwear, soaked in protective chemicals dissolved in white spirit, volunteers were exposed to mustard gas.

The research and tests were carried out at Porton Down, the government-funded military research centre in Wiltshire.

Porton Down historian, Gradon Carter, said: "A great deal of attention was paid in those days to the impregnation of battle dress and socks with substances called impregnities.

"These were chemicals which could actually combine with mustard gas vapours to render them harmless."

Although the tests showed the underwear did protect the volunteers, it was decided that the protective clothing would be too costly to supply to all Scots regiments.

As a result, the kilt was banned from the battlefield in 1940.

Source: BBC News

[Kilted Kit]

Interesting story Cyndi. John Laffin in his book: Scotland the Brave (Cassell 1963) goes as follows:
"The War Office war on the kilt broke out again in 1939 when it banned the garment because of its 'unsuitability for mechanized warefare'. It could be worn only for ceremonial occasions and for walking out.
In December that year the War Office issued to the 1st.Argylls trial undergarments to protect the wearer from the effects of war gases. The colour of this undergarment was PINK. Worse,it looked remarkably feminine in its design. Several pairs of this monstrosity were sent to the Argylls 'for trial and report'. The Argylls report was brief and to the point and there was no further issue. The intriguing aspect of the matter is-what sort of intellect dreamed up pink bloomers for Scotsmen?
Still,Highlanders who took part in the raid on St.Nazaire in 1942 were given special permission to wear the kilt-and all the more aggressive they must have been for it."
Cheers Kit.

[Thistle Stop]

Interesting story Cyndi. John Laffin in his book: Scotland the Brave (Cassell 1963) goes as follows:
"The War Office war on the kilt broke out again in 1939 when it banned the garment because of its 'unsuitability for mechanized warefare'. It could be worn only for ceremonial occasions and for walking out.
In December that year the War Office issued to the 1st.Argylls trial undergarments to protect the wearer from the effects of war gases. The colour of this undergarment was PINK. Worse,it looked remarkably feminine in its design. Several pairs of this monstrosity were sent to the Argylls 'for trial and report'. The Argylls report was brief and to the point and there was no further issue. The intriguing aspect of the matter is-what sort of intellect dreamed up pink bloomers for Scotsmen?
Still,Highlanders who took part in the raid on St.Nazaire in 1942 were given special permission to wear the kilt-and all the more aggressive they must have been for it."
Cheers Kit.

I imagine the pink colour was from the chemicals they doused the 'bloomers' with, don't you think? I wonder what colour the anti-gas stockings were.

If it was otherwise, and there was indeed a diabolical cleverness behind the pink undies, then I think the answer to '...what sort of intellect dreamed up pink bloomers for Scotsmen?' is obvious : an Englishman's!

Thanks for posting the interesting excerpt, Kit!

[Kilted Kit]

Hi Cyndi,
My thought is that pink was the chosen colour as a result of some grotesque reasoning that the 'bloomers' would be less noticable.
Cheers Kit.

[Graham]

I'm guessing that if the mustard gas didn't kill you, the chemicals in the stockings would.

War is madness enough, but the crazy ideas it breeds makes it even worse, pink underwear indeed!

[Thistle Stop]

Hi Cyndi,
My thought is that pink was the chosen colour as a result of some grotesque reasoning that the 'bloomers' would be less noticable.
Cheers Kit.

Yes, I see what you mean -- an attempt at 'flesh tone'. That makes sense (sort of).

[Kilted Kit]

Graham,
War is madness indeed.
But in response to Hitler's and Japan's aggression at the time,what alternative was there?.
Cheers Kit.

[macwilkin]

The Long-Range Desert Group (LRDG), the forerunners of the Special Air Service (SAS), painted their jeeps a pink colour when serving in the North African desert in WWII -- pink being a suitable camoflauge colour in the Sahara. The SAS followed suit and painted their vehicles in Aden (Yemen) and Oman in the 1960's pink, and christened them "Pink Panthers"!

Kit mentioned the St. Nazaire raid -- one of the more colourful characters of WWII Was Major "Mad Jack" Churchill, an officer in No. 3 Commando who carried a Highland basket-hilt broadsword on Commando raids, piped his troops ashore, and also brough his bow & arrows with him!

The British Commandos trained at Achnacarry, Scotland (in Cameron country, if memory serves me), and also trained the US Army Rangers, led by Col. Wiliam O. Darby, who was born about three hours south of where I am, in Ft. Smith, Arkansas.

Cheers,

Todd

[James]

Whilst the kilt is an ideal garment in many ways-it is not of necessity so for the infantry soldier in modern war.

Aside from the well documented problems of chemical warfare: there is well documented evidence that highland troops were more prone to certain diseases as a consequence of wearing the kilt, besides it's propensity for harbouring lice.

Too it can pick up an amazing amount of mud and other 'filth' so enhancing the soldiers burden and again risk of disease.

Too there are the practicalities of soldiering as discovered in both world wars - try living in a hole in the ground for a few days-best if raining: then crawling across fields-through barbed wire etc when wearing the kilt. Too the increased casualties caused by the kilt getting caught up when cossing obstacles.

The reality as senior officers knew was that the kilt is entirely unsuitable for modern warfare-yet at the same time they were faced with the reluctance of the kilted regiments for romantic reasons to give up the kilt when on active service.

Having said that there were instances of individuals wearing the kilt in all campaigns during WW2. Here a story to terrify all kilt wearers-of John Masters on a Chindit expedition using his intelligence officer's kilt[whilst being worn] as a blackout curtain so he could examine a map by matchlight when in close proximity to a Japanese position!

I do think there is a vital role for tradition to play in the maintenance of military morale/recruitment. However the kilt should be likened to American cavalry officers wearing their campaign hats [circa Indian wars]-not entirely appropriate for in and out of vehicles/helicopters-or when bits of metal are in the air.

James

[macwilkin]

The reality as senior officers knew was that the kilt is entirely unsuitable for modern warfare-yet at the same time they were faced with the reluctance of the kilted regiments for romantic reasons to give up the kilt when on active service.

Having said that there were instances of individuals wearing the kilt in all campaigns during WW2. Here a story to terrify all kilt wearers-of John Masters on a Chindit expedition using his intelligence officer's kilt[whilst being worn] as a blackout curtain so he could examine a map by matchlight when in close proximity to a Japanese position!

I do think there is a vital role for tradition to play in the maintenance of military morale/recruitment. However the kilt should be likened to American cavalry officers wearing their campaign hats [circa Indian wars]-not entirely appropriate for in and out of vehicles/helicopters-or when bits of metal are in the air.

Hence the reasoning behind swatches of tartan worn behind cap badges on bonnets, or as a shoulder insignia -- that way, a little bit of the kilt is still there on the modern uniform.

James, was the story about John Masters from "Bugles and a Tiger", or "The Road past Mandalay"?

Nice analogy, btw, about the Cavalry slouch hat. Many forms of "ceremonial" dress were actually practical pieces of uniform at one time, and now, have become a symbol of unit pride & tradition.

Cheers,

Todd