Highland Regiment ID

[adrianjohn]

Can anyone ID this uniform for me please? I don't have any dates but do know that it should be 1900 - 1920s ish! I'm also presuming that it's 'Highland regiment'.

Family history centres around Edinburgh and Dumfriesshire.

TIA

Adrian

[FROGSMILE]

His sporran and plaid seem reminiscent of the Gordon Highlanders, but a Scottish expert will no doubt give a definitive answer shortly. One of the forebear regiments, the 92nd wore a little shield on the cantle.

[gordon92]

The belts would indicate the dress of a piper. However, I do not think that this is a military piper. The furniture on the belts is not reminiscent of any British Scottish regiment, either Highland or Lowland. In the era you cite (1900 - 1920s) only one regiment's pipers, The Black Watch, wore feather bonnets, and this is not a BW piper. In 1928, Scots Guards pipers adopted the feather bonnet upon the exhortation of KG V who dined in the mess of one of their battalions one evening suggesting how smart BW pipers looked in their feather bonnets. KG V was colonel-in-chief of the BW. The photo is not of a Scots Guards piper either. While there is some slight possibility that this is a piper of a volunteer or militia unit pre-1908, my opinion is that this is a civilian, perhaps police band, piper. Further, the kilt is a bit on the short side for this to be a military piper, at least from a regular battalion.

[adrianjohn]

I appreciate your input, Gordon. The uniform does seem rather ornate, which is why I wanted to clarify its origin.

I do know that Finlay Black, the man in the photo, served in the Cameron Highlanders as a second lieutenant during WW1.

[tn.drummond]

Just a thought; you could try posting a close up of the sword on the 'Arms' forum.