Highland Regiments footwear during the Great War

[Ninehostages]

The original boots that were issued to the First Canadian Division at the beginning of the war were complete cr_p. They were of such inferior quality (another purchasing boondoggle by our infamous Minister of Militia, Sir Sam Hughes) that they fell apart as they camped on the Salisbury Plain during the winter of '14-'15. They were rubbish ... almost like cardboard and whatever the Canadian Corps wore after that is whatever the British could spare. My wife's great-grandfather served in Flanders/France with the Toronto Scottish (can't remember the Battalion number) and their kilt was a tawny brown solid colour. Brown makes sense but who knows when a million or so Imperial troops are scrambling for kit during a few short month.