wearing the military style kilt

[OC Richard]

This is my all-time favourite image of the military shirtsleeve order: Piper E. J. Dawson, 7th Battalion Black Watch, 154 Highland Brigade, 51st Highland Division, a lovely watercolour by artist Ian Eadie. Note some of the Black Watch distinctions such as the Red Hackle worn without cap badge and the light-khaki straps on the puttees. The pipes are wonderfully beat-up as one would expect. The Black Watch tartan cover, cords, and rear pipe ribbon can be seen. The kilt and front pipe ribbon are Royal Stewart. Note the holster for his pistol.



154 Highland Brigade consisted of the 1st and 7th Black Watch and the 7th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders and fought in North Africa, Sicily, and Europe 1942-1945.

[Profane James]

Ah very cool! I really dig the rendering of the footwear...

[carlisle401]

If I could just point out as a Royal Scot and an instructor at the Scottish Infantry Depot (Bootcamp) for all seven regiments at that time.

Black Watch shirt sleeve order dress with kilt. TOS, red hackle, no tartan patch, Shirt sleeves rolled above the elbow, one hand's width,no undergarment under the shirt shall be visible, kilt worn around the waist, (it is quite a few decades since the kilt was worn high.) Leather sporran, Lovat hoses, red flashes, black boots (low) with puttees.

You look good anyway, so wear it whatever makes you feel most comfortable. You might get a Black Watch veteran asking you when you served.

[OC Richard]

Here I was today out at a thing...



I don't know what the regulations were (or if it was a thing of regimental unwritten rules) but I've see numerous photos of WWII pipers wearing their Full Dress waistbelts with Battle Dress jackets. However they don't seem to wear the crossbelt or sergeant sash with Battle Dress, from what I've seen, even when they're wearing spats, coloured hose-tops, Full Dress sporrans, etc.

Actually all sorts of things are seen, such as wearing coloured hose-tops with puttees, wearing Full Dress sporrans with khaki hose and puttees, and every other combination one could think of.

(The guy in the photo above was an actual paratrooper... and I'm an actual piper...)

[OC Richard]

Black Watch shirt sleeve order dress with kilt. TOS, red hackle, no tartan patch, Shirt sleeves rolled above the elbow, one hand's width,no undergarment under the shirt shall be visible, kilt worn around the waist, (it is quite a few decades since the kilt was worn high.) Leather sporran, Lovat hoses, red flashes, black boots (low) with puttees.

In addition to that order, I have a photo (from the 1990s) captioned

At Headquarters Joint Forces Hong Kong, 1 BW mount a guard in No. 2 Shirt Sleeve Order (Review Order)

The enlisted men are all wearing short-sleeved light khaki shirts, kilts, horsehair sporrans, coloured hose-tops, spats, white waistbelts, and blue bonnets with hackles.

The officer is wearing a long-sleeved shirt with sleeves rolled up, and a Sam Browne belt, but otherwise as the men.

Likewise with the No. 2 Dress jacket one see two modes often worn, one with Lovat hose, low boots, and leather sporran, the other with coloured hose-tops, spats, and horsehair sporran.

Pipers can be seen wearing Glengarries with Shirtsleeve Order, No. 2 Dress, and No. 1 Dress.

[carlisle401]

In addition to that order, I have a photo (from the 1990s) captioned

At Headquarters Joint Forces Hong Kong, 1 BW mount a guard in No. 2 Shirt Sleeve Order (Review Order)

The enlisted men are all wearing short-sleeved light khaki shirts, kilts, horsehair sporrans, coloured hose-tops, spats, white waistbelts, and blue bonnets with hackles.

The officer is wearing a long-sleeved shirt with sleeves rolled up, and a Sam Browne belt, but otherwise as the men.

Likewise with the No. 2 Dress jacket one see two modes often worn, one with Lovat hose, low boots, and leather sporran, the other with coloured hose-tops, spats, and horsehair sporran.

Pipers can be seen wearing Glengarries with Shirtsleeve Order, No. 2 Dress, and No. 1 Dress.

This dress is known as No 14A Dress Ceremonial (Shirt Sleeve Order) No ribbons or medals.

With jacket it is called No 2B Dress Non Ceremonial No ribbons or medals. If medals are to be worn it is No 2A dress with diced hose, hair sporrans, flashes, spats and black brogues are worn with fore mentioned dress. NB! If trews are worn then the TOS is worn with red hackle.

[OC Richard]

Found a photo of a member of The Black Watch (probably in the 1990s) wearing this form of dress



1952: wearing Battle Dress, khaki web belt, leather sporran, with coloured hose and spats. Combinations like this strike me as odd, also the wearing of Full Dress waistbelt, dirk, and horsehair sporran with khaki hose and puttees. Note that the fellow on the right is wearing the WWII style Battle Dress jacket with a collar intended to be worn closed. Wearing it in the manner there, open with shirt and tie, proved to be so popular that the style seen centre and left was introduced after the war.



Wearing Full Dress dirks with otherwise ordinary Battle Dress



And WWII pipers would NEVER wear a beard... oh, wait...

[carlisle401]

First photo, No 14 A Dress Ceremonial.

Second photo, seems a bit like mixed dress, but this is way before my time. Regiments can introduce their own dress regulations for certain items. Being only one regiment today, there are only Dress regulation for RRoS.

Third photo, Pipe Majors may have beards, not many do have beards.
Great Photos. Many thanks.

[OC Richard]

Pipe Majors may have beards, not many do have beards.

Yes, this is one of the reasons I chose to wear a Pipe Major uniform- I'm an older guy with a beard. Another is that the Pipe Major badges are badges of office rather than badges of rank, and are worn by military and civilian Pipe Majors alike, and I did hold that office at one time.

Now, one occasionally sees, in modern times, pipers besides the Pipe Major wearing beards, like this Argylls piper

[carlisle401]

Yes, this is one of the reasons I chose to wear a Pipe Major uniform- I'm an older guy with a beard. Another is that the Pipe Major badges are badges of office rather than badges of rank, and are worn by military and civilian Pipe Majors alike, and I did hold that office at one time.

Now, one occasionally sees, in modern times, pipers besides the Pipe Major wearing beards, like this Argylls piper

This Piper was excused from shaving because of a skin condition. While he was doing basic training at Glencorse, he became Best Recruit. The only recruit who had a beard for many years.