I mean this entirely respectfully towards the troops of Canada, Scotland and any other country involved.
So, was just watching a YouTube Video called, "The Devil's Brigade. Here come the Canadians", and now I have questions.
In the clip when the Canadian troops marched into the base, The Bagpipes were in front, about 16 of them. Then came Male troops in Kilts, about 20 or so of them. Then were perhaps 100 Troops in battle pants and blouses.
I was in the American Army, Military Police, so our uniforms approximated what the Infantry wore, aside from Arm Bands and Helmets that said, "MP" on them. Mostly, I wore my .45 in a holster and was seldom in a situation where I carried an M14.
Had I gone to Vietnam, I was told that MPs were in front of Convoys and behind them and survived about 30 seconds. By some miracle, I spent a year and a half in Alaska, and a year in Oklahoma and that was it.
So, my question pertains to the Canadian troops. Obviously, the men playing the Pipes, Played the pipes and I imagine that in combat, they carried rifles and fought. Surely those who wore Kilts, had pants for combat? It seems that close to half of the troop was taken up by those piping and wearing Kilts. I assume that they fought when on the front lines?
Sorry, no insult intended.
Comments
Kits were the uniform
of many Scottish regiments and are still that today when it comes to ceremonial use.
Certainly the Kilts was worn into battle in WW1. The pipers led the way. In some parts of the world, the sound of the bagpipes put a lot of fear into the people fighting against the British.
I don't know about WW2. It appears that the kilt had been replaced by fatigues by 1939 for battle. The pipes were still used.
When the Gurkhas left their old base near me at Church Crookham in the 1990's, they paraded through the town of Fleet. They were led by Gurkas playing the bagpipes.
Oh, and the Irish Regiments also use a slightly different form of bagpipe.
Samantha
The last piper in Battle
The last piper to go into battle wearing his kilt and playing the bagpipes was Pte. Bill Millin, the personal piper to Brigadier Simon Frazer, the 15th Lord Lovat, during the Normandy landings, despite it being forbidden by the War Office. For many years his pipes were an exhibit at the Imperial War Museum in London.
For the story see this online article from The Scotsman
Persephone
Non sum qualis eram
Pipers
Pipers and the Rest of the Regimental Pipe Bands Did go everywhere their Regiment went. (I am unsure about present day due to amalgamation of all Scottish Regiments into the Scottish Division) they served as stretcher bearers and ammo carriers. At one time there was at least one Scottish volunteer regiment from just about every Canadian Province as well as a Canadian based versions of the major regiments The Black Watch, Argylls, Seaforths, etc. But as it was pointed out WWI was the last war kilts were worn and being led by a piper into battle. On a side note there were a couple oh Highland Regiments that didn't wear kilts other than the pipe band they wore tartan "trews" (trousers) I was in the US Air Force stationed in Thailand in the 70's but had my bagpipes with me and often played for my Squadron Commander for one formal event.
Canadian Scots
My first bagpipe teacher had served in the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada during World War II. He was American, but didn't feel he could just stand by after war broke out in 1939, so he went to Canada and joined up. I don't know if he was a piper during the war. My second bagpipe teacher was a Scot from Port Glasgow, who had served with the Gordon Highlanders during the Malayan Emergency in the early 1950's.
Dress uniforms now.
I just did a quick tour around Google, and it seems that the kilt is still worn as part of the dress uniform, when wearing that uniform is appropriate.
There are, for example, recent video clips and still pictures of troops wearing the kilt uniform standing guard at Canada's 'tomb of the unknown soldier,' at Buckingham Palace in London, at the Scottish war memorial in Edinburgh, etc.
I am sure, however, that the troops sent to (for example) Afghanistan or Iraq wore 'normal' camouflage army uniforms, with trousers, not kilts.
Lindsay
Carry On Up the Khyber
But were they as successful as the 3rd Foot and Mouth regiment (The Devils in Skirts), ultimately, was in "Carry On Up the Khyber"?
its
Not unusual to see kilt wearing pipers pretty much anywhere around the UK. There is often one in York and i've seen pig squealers in Berlin and other furren parts too. Not sure why you have to wear a kilt to play the pipes, it is however quite possible to wear a kilt without the pipes!
My kilt wearing days were - well unusual. AFAIK our family have no Scot or Irish connections but my parents had a thing for Scotland and all things Scot. As luck would have it, a large Scottish community lived just up the road in Corby, attracted by the then new (now closed) steel works.
There was an annual Higland games and tattoo, the equal of anything in Scotland.
And so at the age of @ 8 I was kitted out (at some expense) with a fetching kilt et al which I then had to wear as Sunday best for the following couple of years. Given more normal clothing at the time was flares, maxi's and denim, I don't actually remember ever having negative comments directed at me.
So that's who wore a kilt!
Madeline Anafrid Bell
Kilted bagpiper
We had a bagpiper on one base I was stationed on in the US Army. He played the pipes for us every Sunday morning, marching around the regimental square. He played traditional hymns and some Army marching songs. Sometimes he had a drummer with him. It sounded terrific!
I remember him as wearing kilts and the black coat of a full dress uniform with a black beret but that seems unlikely.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Black beret
Unlikely. When I was in the Army, and probably when you were, too, the black beret was unique to Rangers. Now, ordinary troops wear black berets and the Rangers have switched to tan berets.
For awhile
For a while, I was in a unit that had a Ranger as top kick. He was assigned to our Security Battalion until his leg healed up from a helicopter crash or his current enlistment was up. So it might be that the piper, a staff sergeant, was entitled to a black beret since that was in a training brigade for specialized security training. Still seems a bit unlikely. This was Nov-Jan, '70-71.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
An advantage of the Kilt.
For some odd reason, I decided to dress as a man tonight, thinking "I'll just be a man". After all I was born as one, or they thought so.
Then it dawned on me that in the midst of battle, it would be much easier for a man to piss, or do the other, and never have to stop swinging his sword or knocking arrows perhaps?
in a time
Before sewing machines, it was much cheaper and easier to wrap a kilt around you than pay for expensive trews. The Hoi Polloi could afford breeches, the serfs could not.
Madeline Anafrid Bell