Tyneside Scottish piper uniform 1914-18

**Patty Logan** · 5th February 23, 01:04 PM

Originally Posted by OC Richard

Here's the Tyneside Scottish tartan image (which I cannot vouch for the accuracy of) compared to Black Watch (in "ancient colours" the better to see the sett)

I dont know where I read it (hopefully it was on this forum) but it said that the Tyneside tartan was just a recreation of a Black Watch tartan kilt found in a bog after years of being submerged. Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

**figheadair** · 5th February 23, 10:47 PM

Originally Posted by Patty Logan

I dont know where I read it (hopefully it was on this forum) but it said that the Tyneside tartan was just a recreation of a Black Watch tartan kilt found in a bog after years of being submerged. Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

I believe this is one of those modern tartan myths. To paraphrase Jerry Maguire Show me the kilt!

**Patty Logan** · 6th February 23, 08:01 AM

Originally Posted by figheadair

I believe this is one of those modern tartan myths. To paraphrase Jerry Maguire Show me the kilt!

Thx Figheadair, I was trying to find a way to tag you in my message but I dont think tagging someone is possible on this forum.

**OC Richard** · 6th February 23, 05:59 AM

Originally Posted by Patty Logan

I dont know where I read it (hopefully it was on this forum) but it said that the Tyneside tartan was just a recreation of a Black Watch tartan kilt found in a bog after years of being submerged. Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

That could be an unrelated story, or it could be a version of the DC Dalgliesh creation myth of their "reproduction colours" range of tartans they introduced in the late 1940s.

Thing is, it's impossible to know what the colours of such tartans would originally have been.

About the Tyneside tartan, a creation story says that they decided to use the Black Watch sett, but used dyed yarn already to hand: khaki drab, dark green, and dark blue.

I would imagine if a large stock of unused dyed yarn was sitting around in 1914 it would be scarlet! Because Full Dress (and its scarlet doublets and tunics) was suddenly abolished in that year.

About using khaki drab for military tartan, the same thing happened in Canada in WWI.

**OC Richard** · 14th May 23, 04:36 PM

Originally Posted by Patty Logan

I don't know where I read it but it said that the Tyneside tartan was just a recreation of a Black Watch tartan kilt found in a bog after years of being submerged.

About what being in a bog would do to Black Watch who can say, but this kilt does show what colour-changes can happen to a Black Watch based tartan above ground.

Indeed the black has turned pale khaki drab while the blue and the green have retained their colours.

(The tartan is MacKenzie Seaforth, which is Black Watch with the addition of white and red lines.)