play dress-up military photos

[OC Richard]

I did a thread a few years ago "soldiers or posers?" but my photos were on Photobucket which service I've dropped.

So here goes, delving into the fascinating realm of "play dress-up" photos, generally American soldiers on leave in Scotland, dressing up in the random bits of clothing and accessories which the photographic studio has to hand for that purpose.

The fascinating part is spotting the strange mix of civilian and military kit, and within the military items the mix of ranks and regiments, and things worn wrongly.

Some photos are obvious. At least here they've separated military and civilian items, but one can spot numerous issues with the Highlander at left. What regiment does he represent? It's complicated.

[OC Richard]

What about this one? What do you see?

Is he a Highland soldier, or somebody just putting on bits of kit?

[OC Richard]

Is this guy a military piper, a civilian piper?

If military, which regiment?

Or is he not a piper at all?

[BobF]

Well, give me your impression of this one. I found it among photos in my grandmother’s garage. I’m fairly certain it was a family member, as it had been at some point cut and fitted into an oval frame. We had family (and apparently still do) in Dalry, North Ayrshire, from where my great-grandparents came to the US in 1907, initially living in Waterbury, Connecticut with other emigrated family in the area. I can confirm that at least one of my grandmother’s cousins played bagpipes (not well), but this isn’t him. Can you discern from his outfit whether he may have actually been a piper, or just playing dress-up?

[OC Richard]

Beautiful photo! I would say 100% he's a piper.

His pipes are properly set up and he's wearing all the various parts of the uniform correctly.

Putting drone ribbons on correctly is something only an experienced piper would know how to do. Frankly it's a pain in the butt, which is why nowadays almost nobody wears drone ribbons (except in the military).

In the photo I posted above you can tell the guy isn't a piper because the pipes he's holding aren't playable the way they're set up.

The drone cords go directly from the Bass drone to the outside Tenor drone, leaving the middle Tenor drone unsupported. So they've stuck the middle Tenor into the space between the outer Tenor and the tassel. I don't think you could even fully inflate the bag with the drones that messed up.

[jsrnephdoc]

Well, give me your impression of this one.

Perhaps foolish of me to enter my own vote after I've already been proven wrong by OCR, but if I'd had the time to type when I first saw your post yesterday, I would have said it looked like your guy was the SAME guy as in the larger photo OCR had posted yesterday

[SF Jeff]

In the photo I posted above you can tell the guy isn't a piper because the pipes he's holding aren't playable the way they're set up.

The drone cords go directly from the Bass drone to the outside Tenor drone, leaving the middle Tenor drone unsupported. So they've stuck the middle Tenor into the space between the outer Tenor and the tassel. I don't think you could even fully inflate the bag with the drones that messed up.

I noticed all of that straight off. The length of cord between tenor and bass drones is crazy. That would never stay on his shoulder... and where are the tuning pins? Definitely not set up to play. Also, those look like right handed pipes (hard to tell with the wonky way the drones are laying) so I would expect him to hold the pipes in his left hand. Not a smoking gun, but just something to add to the overall "wrongness" of the photo.

BobF's photo is spot on. Definitely a piper.

[BobF]

Thanks so much for all the insight. Now if I could only determine who it is! Unlikely, but I’ve done it before with another photo from Grandma’s garage, though it took quite a few years. It was a photo of a man standing at a large machine with large pipes around him. Years later, researching my genealogy, I found that my second great-grandfather’s occupation was as an engine operator at a colliery. Long story short, I was put in touch with volunteers at the National Mining Museum in Scotland who confirmed that the machinery was consistent with the winding gear for hauling the cage up and down a mineshaft. So it’s highly likely that the man is my second great-grandfather. The photo is now being included in a book by a woman who writes about mining history in Dalry, North Ayrshire. And then just last week I came across another unidentified photo that I had set aside years ago and realized it looks like the same person, so now I have two photos of him. So, you never know, I may someday be able to identify the piper. But at least I can be happy that he really is a piper.