Bill Millin Reenactor

[Kilted Karl]

Thanks OC Richard!

here is a photograph of Mr. Millin showing the badge being worn on the "wrong" arm http://nfs.stvfiles.com/imagebase/18...ps-in-1944.jpg

Perhaps, Mr. Richard, you could hazard a guess as to whether that is the "dress" version or the "Khaki" one?

Here is a picture of the sporran Mr. Millin wore on D-Day. It now resides with his kilt in the Dawalish Museum.



As you can see, it is pebbled leather (more easily seen in other photos) it has a button instead of a stud.

According to John Millin (his son) Mr. Millin wore "his own" hose, but whether that means army ones that he had or civilian ones, I don't know. I will most likely just have to get a pair of the Khaki ones.

Thank you all for your encouragement and advice! I will post more pictures when I finish accumulating all the webbing.

Sincerely,

:ootd: Karl

[jock gray]

Good look...BUT..your puttees need to be further round on the ankle, if I can explain this one without a diagram. when you look down at your boots and the two line's of eyelets, the line of stitching to the right of the far right hand line of eyelets on the right boot, and the stitching on the far left of the left hand set of eyelets on the left hand boot are used as a guide to the final position for the line of stiching on your puttees at the point where the puttee is stitched and starts to reduce down to the tape, which in turn is wrapped around the puttee and is finished by turning around its self as you have done in your photos.
This ensures uniformity and neatness of the puttee in relation to the boots.
SORRY EX ARMY..ROYAL ENGINEERS,...I mourned the demise of the putter for the preference of the high leg boot in the 80's.

[Bruce Scott]

Good look...BUT..your puttees need to be further round on the ankle, if I can explain this one without a diagram. when you look down at your boots and the two line's of eyelets, the line of stitching to the right of the far right hand line of eyelets on the right boot, and the stitching on the far left of the left hand set of eyelets on the left hand boot are used as a guide to the final position for the line of stiching on your puttees at the point where the puttee is stitched and starts to reduce down to the tape, which in turn is wrapped around the puttee and is finished by turning around its self as you have done in your photos.
This ensures uniformity and neatness of the puttee in relation to the boots.
SORRY EX ARMY..ROYAL ENGINEERS,...I mourned the demise of the putter for the preference of the high leg boot in the 80's.

I'm no expert on wearing puttees, having only used them briefly with tropical dress (shorts) but this photo may help......

[jock gray]

What can I say..a picture paints a thousand words....
Where on earth did you that image....brilliant.

[Bruce Scott]

Hi jock gray,
I was just scratching around looking for a decent pic and I stumbled onto this site:
http://mpmuseum.org/postboots.html
Happy New Year!
BS

[jock gray]

Thanks for the info.
Ours in the British army were wool with the same coloured tape...we were useing boots ankle BMS, they had eight eyelets and a smooth stitched toe cap...the rest of the boot was dimpled leather, which we would smooth useing a candle and a spoon.
We would then "BULL" the boots with a mixture of beeswax, polish & spit with lots of elbow Greace.
Hence the term spit and polish.....to a mirror Finnish.

[mookien]

Karl: You look sensational! Great job. And, a very handsome kilt.

John

[jock gray]

On a quick note...the kilt is fantastic ...love the tartan....reminds me of my first kilt ...a hand me down through the family on my mother's side when I was a child.... I have no right to it but I like the tartan so much I may have one made some time.

[freddie]

On a quick note...the kilt is fantastic ...love the tartan....reminds me of my first kilt ...a hand me down through the family on my mother's side when I was a child.... I have no right to it but I like the tartan so much I may have one made some time.

According to at least one old book I have: Although some Cameron's wear it as a hunting tartan the Cameron of Eracht was never regarded as a clan tartan, so I think it's fair game. It's my favourite tartan and would love to wear it. BTW Karl your outfit is superb and a fine tribute to a brave soldier. Happy New Year.

[OC Richard]

According to at least one old book I have: Although some Camerons wear it as a hunting tartan the Cameron of Eracht was never regarded as a clan tartan...

Yes as our own Peter MacDonald writes in his work The 1819 Key Pattern Book:

"Tradition has it that this tartan (Cameron of Erracht) was devised in 1793 when the regiment (the 79th Foot) was raised... given the lack of earlier portrait evidence to support these patterns (Cameron of Erracht and MacDonald) as family tartans, and also their basic colours and military connections, it is probable that both were designed for military units (the 79th Foot and the Glengarry Fencibles) in the latter part of the 18th century."

However, Donald C Stewart, in his The Setts Of The Scottish Tartans, has the following:

"The Erracht Cameron is the only Cameron tartan recorded by Logan (The Scottish Gael, 1831)... the Erracht Cameron was for long treated as a Hunting tartan..."

The tartan used as the Cameron clan tartan in modern times appears to have been invented by the Allen brothers in the 1840s (red with four equal green bands, one of a number of Allen brothers tartans using the same pattern).