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Highland service dress with khaki trousers


Guest Wolfhound63

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Guest Wolfhound63

Hello

I'm trying to get some information about the uniform in this photo I ran across on the Cameron Highlanders site http://www.cameronians.siteiscentral.com/glossary/service-dress

Interesting that he is wearing general pattern service dress and not the Other Ranks cutaway coat and kilt as I believe the Cameronians were a kilted regiment. 

If trousers were worn with the OR highland cutaway coat wouldn't it have to be trews rather than plain khaki trousers? Perhaps it was a supply issue? If so was there a point at which the army issued  highland regiments with standard service dress during the 1914-18 war? Was it possible to see the highland pattern OR coat with plain khaki trousers?

 

Thanks for any replies

Wolfhound

image.jpeg

Edited by Wolfhound63
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This was very common during the war. Officially it should have become universal but it never really did.

O/R's Service Dress Jackets were modified at the unit level. It was not until the post war 1922 Pattern that a separate version for highland troops was introduced. So strictly speaking there were only modified jackets not "highland pattern".  At the outbreak of war units were instructed to stop the modification. There are very large numbers of photographs of soldiers in kilted regiments wearing unmodified SD jackets throughout the war (CF my avatar my great grandfather in the 1/4th Gordons).

The practice of modifying the jackets whether at unit level or by private tailors clearly continued throughout the war as the photo evidence demonstrates.

Sometimes men who had been issued unmodified jackets folded back the skirts to resemble the modified jackets -- I have several photos of this. Presumably just for the photo!

 

In answer to your final question - I will have to trawl through my photos but I suspect the answer is yes. Men in kilted battalions who had modified jackets and then wore trousers either as a result of mounted duties or particularly inclement weather and in that case the pairing of a modified jacket with a plain trousers. I'll have a quick look for illustrations.

 

Chris

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OK that didn't take long!

I think I have examples of everything mentioned here - forgive the bias towards one particular regiment!

111.jpg

Altered Jacket and trousers

a31a.jpg

Unaltered Jacket and riding breeches

 

A49.jpg

Folded back skirts of jacket

scan0027.jpg

and again

BeerbottleGroup.jpg

Altered Jackets and unaltered jackets with trousers

a5.jpg

Unaltered jacket with kilt (very common)

6thGordonsLunch.jpg

Altered jackets with trousers

 

Chris

 

Edited by 4thGordons
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The man shown in your first photograph is from The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), who were a Lowland regiment.

 

The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders were a Highland regiment, and are usually referred to as The Camerons.

 

It's very easy to get confused between Cameronians and Camerons, (particularly as the Camerons were originally called the 79th Cameronian Volunteers) but they were two separate regiments.

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All kilted regiments were moved into trousers when the weather required - for which read winter.

 

Search for posts by Joe Sweeney giving the chapter and verse on this.

 

Cheers,

 

GT.

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1 hour ago, TwoEssGee said:

The man shown in your first photograph is from The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), who were a Lowland regiment.

 

 

I'm glad you said that - it was my first thought, too. He even appears to have black buttons.

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10 hours ago, 4thGordons said:

 forgive the bias towards one particular regiment!

Chris

 

 

No need to apologise: quite understandable.

 

 

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It is also worth mentioning that in the original image the Cameronian (Scottish Rifles) soldier is wearing a jacket with blackened buttons as would be expected for a rifles regiment.  This would not be seen on jackets worn by any of the Highland regiments.

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Guest Wolfhound63

Thanks so much to everyone for all the replies. I had no idea the highland OR cutaway was post war. As you show I indeed have seen wartime pictures of it. That curtainlly answered my questions. 

Much appreciated! 

Wolfhound

Edited by Wolfhound63
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On 8/15/2016 at 22:03, gordon92 said:

It is also worth mentioning that in the original image the Cameronian (Scottish Rifles) soldier is wearing a jacket with blackened buttons 

Indeed. So worth mentioning that I did so in Post 6 :lol:

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15 hours ago, Steven Broomfield said:

Indeed. So worth mentioning that I did so in Post 6 :lol:

 

So you did.  My apologies for overlooking this.

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I'm easily overlooked.

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2 hours ago, Steven Broomfield said:

I'm easily overlooked.

 

Not so sure about that....;)

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