Khaki Aprons circa World War I

[macwilkin]

The khaki kilt apron originally came about in the Second South African (or Boer) War at the end of the 19th century, when the British Army discovered that tartan kilts were perfect targets for Boer marksmen. Unfortunately, the first kilt aprons were only for the front of the kilt, so soldiers lying in the prone position still had their "backsides" exposed to the enemy. A second version of the kilt apron came about in the First World War, which covered front & back of the kilt. The kilt apron included a "built-in sporran". They were used up until 1940, when Scottish soldiers stopped wearing the kilt in combat.

I have seen pictures of Scottish troops using gas mask bags as impromptu sporrans as well, looking a little bit like the sporrans Jeff @ Pittsburgh Kilts makes.

A good reference on this subject is Osprey Publishing's "Scottish Units in the World Wars (Elite Series No. 56), by Mike Chappell. This book has some nice photos of kilt aprons and gas-mask bag sporrans.

Before I forget, there were actually khaki-coloured kilts in World War I -- one of the militia battalions on the Royal Highland Regiment (The Black Watch) of Canada wore a khaki-coloured kilt & matching glengarry with blue, green and red trim (the colours of the Black Watch, as seen on their regimental tie) -- Another Osprey book, "The Canadian Army at War", also by Mike Chappell, which has a colour print of this particular kilt.

And, I would be remiss in not mentioning the London & Toronto Scottish regiments, which wore kilts in "Hodden Grey", a homespun brown colour. Lord Elcho, who raised the London Scottish in the 19th century, chose the colour of Scotland's ghillies & stalkers as a practical military garment, and to prevent any "alliegance" to a particular clan.

Cheers,

Todd