Not appropriate for a soldier?

[macwilkin]

Finland has a great martial tradition, but keep it very quiet. Correct me if I'm wrong but, basically, during WW2, Finland was at war with the whole world. She originally defended herself against the Russia/Germany alliance but when Russia joined the Allies, Finland refused to allow Russia any part in the Alliance. No Russian was allowed in Finland. It was a very brutal war using avalanches as weapons.

For those reasons, if my info is correct, I'd suggest the Cameron's as the last official kilt of WW2.

Suggested Reading: William Trotter's "A Frozen Hell:The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940". The Finns fought two wars against the Russians; the Winter War and the "Continuation War", or World War Two, as well as the Lapland War in 1944-1945 against the Germans.

Trotter's book was one of the most riveting books I have read. I greatly admire the Finnish people, their gallantry and courage after reading it.

Now, as to potential tartans: I had a look in "The Mark of the Scots" by Duncan Bruce and he mentions two Scots soldiers-of-fortune with the name Ramsay; Hans Ramsay, who was a cavalry officer in the 1500's, and Anders Ramsay, who was commander-in-chief of Finnish military forces in the late 1800's.

I found theses artices about the Ramsays in Finland:

http://www.eddieramsay.com/finland_Ramsay's.htm

http://www.kolumbus.fi/andreas.ramsay/clan_eng.htm

http://www.geocities.com/rammac.geo/clan.htm

I would say that the Ramsay tartan would be a good choice for a Finn wishing to honour the links between Finland and Scotland, especially the "Ramsay Blue" tartan:

http://www.clanramsay.org/ramsblue.gif

And finally, for reference, the Clan Ramsay Society's web site:

http://www.clanramsay.org/

I hope this helps!

Cheers,

Todd