Puttees for RGA Mountain Batteries?

[RobL]

Quite a strange one... but i'd always assumed all Royal Artilley men, whatever branch, had their puttees in mounted fashion, ie started just under the knee and wound downwards, finishing off at the boot. However, the only photograph I have showing in close enough detail the leg of a WW1 British mountain gunner - in the book 'Under the Devil's Eye', shows a 4th (Highland) Mountain Brigade gunner at his weapon, and the trousers are folded over the top of the puttee which I have only seen done when puttees are wound bottom to top, and the lighter coloured 'tape' is also not visible at the lower end of the puttee which, to me, suggests that the puttees are wound in dismounted fashion, This would make sense as they weren't mounted as the horses/mules had the guns mounted onto them and so the men led the animals, not riding on them

Does anyone have any photographs showing the puttee arrangement of men in RGA Mountain Batteries, or any other information to suggest whether they would have worn puttees in mounted or dismounted fashion?

Thanks, Rob

[FROGSMILE]

Quite a strange one... but i'd always assumed all Royal Artilley men, whatever branch, had their puttees in mounted fashion, ie started just under the knee and wound downwards, finishing off at the boot. However, the only photograph I have showing in close enough detail the leg of a WW1 British mountain gunner - in the book 'Under the Devil's Eye', shows a 4th (Highland) Mountain Brigade gunner at his weapon, and the trousers are folded over the top of the puttee which I have only seen done when puttees are wound bottom to top, and the lighter coloured 'tape' is also not visible at the lower end of the puttee which, to me, suggests that the puttees are wound in dismounted fashion, This would make sense as they weren't mounted as the horses/mules had the guns mounted onto them and so the men led the animals, not riding on them

Does anyone have any photographs showing the puttee arrangement of men in RGA Mountain Batteries, or any other information to suggest whether they would have worn puttees in mounted or dismounted fashion?

Thanks, Rob

Unlike the RFA and RHA (the latter were a sub strata of the former), the RGA were dressed and accoutred as dismounted troops. This is why they wore puttees in that manner. Before the issue of puttees they wore leather gaiters and ankle boots when in marching order, whereas their brethren in the RFA/RHA wore mounted dress and thus riding boots, or ankle boots and puttees in the mounted manner.

[RobL]

Thanks Frogsmile, very much appreciated - I did wonder whether it applied to RGA as a whole as well, especially with the motorisation as the war went on.

Thanks, Rob

[FROGSMILE]

Thanks Frogsmile, very much appreciated - I did wonder whether it applied to RGA as a whole as well, especially with the motorisation as the war went on.

Thanks, Rob

There are quite a lot of RGA photos available showing the dismounted dress. The Mountain Gunners were to the RGA what the RHA was to the RFA, an elite.