Vic B Posted 9 January Share Posted 9 January Does anyone know whether this photo is of a Scots Guards Piper? Also, any idea of the year? Thanks! Vic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGordons Posted 9 January Share Posted 9 January There are other - better qualified experts on here - but this doesn't look like a military piper to me. I can see no regimental insignia at all - I would expect to see it on the sporran cantle and belt buckle and plates on the cross belt. I would also expect to see collar insignia (the collar on his doublet does not look like the standard military doublet collar), same with his brogues. My guess would be this is a civilian piper. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic B Posted 10 January Author Share Posted 10 January Thank you! Vic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4thGordons Posted 10 January Share Posted 10 January 30 minutes ago, Vic B said: Thank you! Vic I would wait for one of the experts to chime in - I am frequently in error! Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
16thBNCanScotJim Posted 10 January Share Posted 10 January I wonder if @Rosspiper has any insights to help with this. Over to you sir. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosspiper Posted 10 January Share Posted 10 January Civilian. Pipe bands are almost paramilitary in nature drill, commands and dress to some extent. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic B Posted 10 January Author Share Posted 10 January Thanks again, much appreciated! Vic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 10 January Share Posted 10 January (edited) The open rever, stepped collar, with white gingham shirt and dark tie, plus the lack of any insignia whatsoever, are a dead giveaway that it’s not a British military piper. I think that his shirt is actually hanging out over the top of the kilt as it’s bottom edge can be seen in several places beneath the doublet. His kilt appears to be new, as it still has white threads securing the pleats on one edge. The kilt appears to have a hem and seems uncharacteristically smooth in its weave too. There are also no hose tabs. Edited 10 January by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic B Posted 10 January Author Share Posted 10 January That's good information. The photo was taken in Canada. Vic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 10 January Share Posted 10 January (edited) 22 minutes ago, Vic B said: That's good information. The photo was taken in Canada. Vic That doesn’t surprise me. At the turn of the century and up to the outbreak of WW1 there was apparently huge and heartfelt enthusiasm for things Scottish Highlands, but a not surprising lack of detailed knowledge given the modernity of North American culture in general. Apparently there was a lot of adaptation and surmise in some areas during the early stages of dressing Canadian Scottish units. That’s not to say it was the case everywhere, with parts of upper Canada and Newfoundland having great family based knowledge. Edited 10 January by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic B Posted 10 January Author Share Posted 10 January It must have been interesting times back then. The gentleman, whose identity is unknown, undoubtedly had great pride in his Scottish heritage and wanted a photograph taken of him in a studio setting. It's a great photo, I think. Thanks! Vic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolt968 Posted 10 January Share Posted 10 January There is something strange about the way that kilt sits. Has a pleat been let out by any chance? RM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 10 January Share Posted 10 January 27 minutes ago, rolt968 said: There is something strange about the way that kilt sits. Has a pleat been let out by any chance? RM It looks like it I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnr.ktrha Posted 16 January Share Posted 16 January Looks like his kilt is inside out! If you observe the white cloth behind his sporran cantle, that is the waist lining and also indicates that this is a civilian kilt as army liners are plain off white blanket material without a design printed on them. It also looks like this is a new kilt as the pleats are still sown closed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TullochArd Posted 16 January Share Posted 16 January He's a proud civvy. His kit's a bit of mess ......... besides what's been pointed out he has a missing buckle on his left shoe. The kilt does look a bit like a part finished home made affair dosn't it. All said, that's one fine moustache and a fine set of pipes by the look of the drones! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 16 January Share Posted 16 January (edited) 46 minutes ago, TullochArd said: He's a proud civvy. His kit's a bit of mess ......... besides what's been pointed out he has a missing buckle on his left shoe. The kilt does look a bit like a part finished home made affair dosn't it. All said, that's one fine moustache and a fine set of pipes by the look of the drones! I hope that he could actually play the pipes he holds. The dress was so closely associated with the pipes themselves that I struggle to see how a truly competent piper could be so unfamiliar with the dress that he ends up looking jarringly odd. The position of the sporran alone makes me wince. It seems likely to me that he’s one of two things. Either, a man with perhaps a proud Highland name, who wanted a portrait photo of himself dressed in the clothes of what he perceives to be ‘the old country’, or or perhaps a North American (in its widest sense) who genuinely learned to play the pipes, but wasn’t raised in the right environment to become familiar with the dress. Edited 16 January by FROGSMILE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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