New and looking for help identifying a photo

[Arlen]

Welcome, Diane.


Looks like a regimental uniform to me. I couldn't be positive, but it looks like Gordon Highlanders?

Anyone else care to chip in?

[BoldHighlander]

Looks like a regimental uniform to me. I couldn't be positive, but it looks like Gordon Highlanders?

Anyone else care to chip in?

That would be my guess too.

[Spc. Scott]

Double post

[Spc. Scott]

Welcome, Diane.


Looks like a regimental uniform to me. I couldn't be positive, but it looks like Gordon Highlanders?

Anyone else care to chip in?

That would be my guess too.

I'm no expert but I would have to agree with this as well. I wish I could make out the badge on his glengarry...

That is a great piece of family history. Thanks for sharing it. Love me some vintage photos.

[BobsYourUncle]

Welcome, Diane.


Looks like a regimental uniform to me. I couldn't be positive, but it looks like Gordon Highlanders?

Anyone else care to chip in?

I agree, the tartan looks like the Gordon Highlanders. Given that the photo is Canadian, and is of a Canadian, a good working hypothesis for the investigation is that the worthy fellow belonged to a sister Regiment in Canada. A likely possibility is the 48th Highlanders of Canada--they would have worn the Gordon tartan. The cap badge is not the "Bydand" stag cap badge of the Gordon's UK, however, it does resemble the circular cap badge worn by the 48th Highlanders. The cap badge is somewhat indistinct in the photo, but it seems to be generally circular, and it does not seem to contain a St Andrew's cross or saltire. Here is a pic of the 48th Highlander cap badge for comparison:



The sporran is a bit confusing to me, as it seems to be a Black Watch pattern. However, I have learned through my own research that sporran patterns varied the most, and regimental sporrans evolved considerably over time, and what was worn was somewhat subject to availability, so I am not necessarily put off by the sporran.

You might consider researching the rolls of the 48th Highlanders for your relative's name, and the curator of the Regimental museum may help you identify the uniform in a more definitive fashion. You could also request your relatives' war records from the archives--service records would identify the Regiment(s) with which your relative served. Good luck! Cheers!

[Ancienne Alliance]

Welcome from France !

It’s good to have you here.




Best,

Robert & Lady Chrystel

[BoldHighlander]

First, I forgot when later viewing this photo that it was (probably) taken in Canada

I agree, the tartan looks like the Gordon Highlanders. Given that the photo is Canadian, and is of a Canadian, a good working hypothesis for the investigation is that the worthy fellow belonged to a sister Regiment in Canada. A likely possibility is the 48th Highlanders of Canada--they would have worn the Gordon tartan.

Actually the 48th wears Davidson, not Gordon. No Canadian regiment (that I have found tartans listed for) wore the Gordon tartan....However being it's a black & white photo, the overstripe could be red, as is seen in the Davidson...

The cap badge is not the "Bydand" stag cap badge of the Gordon's UK, however, it does resemble the circular cap badge worn by the 48th Highlanders. The cap badge is somewhat indistinct in the photo, but it seems to be generally circular, and it does not seem to contain a St Andrew's cross or saltire. Here is a pic of the 48th Highlander cap badge for comparison:

Just for sake of comparison here are two photos of WW1 era Gordons.
In the first the badge does appear somewhat round:



In the second, however we can clearly see the "horseshoe shaped" ivy wreath
(though some further back, due to angle etc, do look round):



Other badge comparisons:

Reginald Arthur Blyth
67th Battalion (Western Scots) C.E.F.
August 10, 1916
(to bad he's wearing a kilt apron & we cannot view the tartan)


Seaforth Highlanders of Canada

in this photo taken in France, the tartan sort of resembles the one in question,
but the cap badge is obviously wrong:


Piper James (Jimmy) Cleland Richardson VC (in the Seaforths uniform)
note his sporran:


I think we can rule out these regiments....

(continued below)

[BoldHighlander]

Continued from above)

The sporran is a bit confusing to me, as it seems to be a Black Watch pattern. However, I have learned through my own research that sporran patterns varied the most, and regimental sporrans evolved considerably over time, and what was worn was somewhat subject to availability, so I am not necessarily put off by the sporran.

I am bothered by the sporran too!

If this was during the war I probably would agree that it was subject to availability,
however we're told this photo is circa 1920, and this is the sporran the 48th were wearing at that time:


it's very distinct from the one being shown in the photo in question.

Like you, in looking at just the sporran in the photo in question,
I'd say it looks a lot like the Black Watch (13th Battalion Black Watch of Canada C Company circa 1924):


But the rest of the uniform (tartan & cap badge) are wrong for the Black Watch
Besides the cap badge, I wish we could better see the collar badges.

In reviewing my collection of WW1 era Canadian photos,
I'm starting to lean in the direction of the 48th as well (see uniforms below):

John Cannon Stothers and Jim Paterson, 15th Battalion, 1916:


This NCO was a member of one of Canada's most famous regiments,
The 48th Highlanders of Canada. The 15th battalion of the C.E.F. was
recruited from the 48th which was a Toronto based militia regiment already
in existence prior to WW1. The distinctive cap and collar badges of the 48th
were incorporated into the 15th Battalion's badges.

The 15th was part of the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Division of the Canadian
Expeditionary Force and arrived in France on 15 September 1915. Over the
next three years the unit was engaged in many of the war's most famous battles
such as Vimy, Passchendaele, Festubert, Mount Sorrel, The Somme, Hill 70, Arras,
Amiens and many more.

An unsteady hand has written the name "Jimmy Bryce, 15th Can. Bn. 1918"
on the reverse of this RPPC taken in The Wykenham Studios, 304 High Holborn.


Men from the 15th Battalion, 48th Highlanders of Canada, newly arrived on the
siding of Exhibition Station (not the current one; the siding pictured was further west).
Having reached Halifax on 7 May 1919, the battalion history tells us that the men
entrained for Toronto and after "a gay journey and an unforgettable one," the unit's
782 officers and enlisted men "rolled up to the Exhibition sidings and were clambering
out in a hysteria of greetings as half the city crowded the grounds to meet them."


Note too the wearing of Government/BW tartan by regiments that normally did not wear it.
I don't read too much into that as it seems a common stop gap measure during the war.
That pesky sporran though keeps throwing me!

Diane, do you know where in Canada your grandparents resided in 1920?
This would go a long way in narrowing down which regiment your grandfather served in.

[McKenith]

To all who have replied--Thanks so much for your time and sharing your knowledge. This is all new to me (I had to look up "sporran" to know which part you were discussing.

I need to check with my Mom again, but I think they lived in Montreal.

My guess was 1920, but could have been earlier (he was born in Ireland near Belfast in 1901 and his family moved to Canada about 1910) or later (he married an American and lived in Ohio after Sept 1925).

Grandpa's father was Northern Irish and his mother was Scottish (Harvey). Protestant if that makes a difference.

My uncle gave me a copy of the photo last year. I didn't know he ever wore a kilt. Wish I was interested enough when Grandpa was still alive to ask questions.

Again, thank you so much for all the information.

Diane

[BoldHighlander]

Montreal is the headquarters of the Royal Highland Regiment of Canada (the Black Watch).
However the cap badge & tartan are all wrong for that regiment.

The mystery deepens

Are there any relatives still living from your grandfather's generation (or close to it) that might have a clue?

Of course you could also follow BobsYourUncle's advice and research regimental rolls, but I'm thinking
in terms of narrowing your search first