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Scottish regiment identification

Scottish regiment identification

Posted: 1 May 2015 9:18AM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Stewart
Hello,my grandfather,William Stewart was in the Seaforth Highlanders,Border regiment or Black Watch. Can anyone please identify his regiment by his hatband?he served in the Boer War and was born in 1877
Ann Toussaint
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Re: Scottish regiment identification

Posted: 5 May 2015 5:41PM GMT
Classification: Query
I'm far from an expert, but none of the cap badges seem to match. Here's a larger version of the photo, hopefully someone can make a better determination of the badge.
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Re: Scottish regiment identification

Posted: 5 May 2015 8:18PM GMT
Classification: Query
Thank you for your reply. It has now been identified ss Black Watch and this info has now been backed up by my 100yr old Mother who said he fought in the second Boer War in S.Africa with the regiment!

Re: Scottish regiment identification

Posted: 7 May 2015 1:15AM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 7 May 2015 1:17AM GMT
Although your grandfather may have served in the 2nd Anglo-Boer War with the Royal Highlanders (Black Watch) whoever told you that photograph is of a soldier of that regiment is completely wrong.

There were 3 styles of glengarry cap worn by various Scottish regiments, a plain one, one with a bi-coloured red & white dicing (unique to the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders) and the 3rd version had tri-coloured dicing, most were red/white with a dark blue square in the centre of the cross, but a few regiments had a rifle green square.

In the picture the glengarry’s band is tri-colour, so that certainly eliminates the Royal Highlanders (Black Watch) who wore a plain glengarry.

Of the other two you mentioned, the Seaforth Highlanders wore the tri-colour glengarry but that cap badge definitely isn’t their badge (stag’s head) and the Border Regiment was from south of Hadrian’s wall i.e. was an English county regiment and didn’t wear the Glengarry; perhaps that should have been the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, even so the badge isn’t theirs.

There’s only one Scottish regiment of the WWI period that wore a tri-colour diced Glengarry with a badge that size and shape, the Royal Scots Fusiliers; I’m certain it’s their flaming grenade badge in use 1901-1959.

The khaki SD uniform is from 1902 at the earliest and lack of collar badges makes it more likely WWI era, and as the person isn’t wearing any medals it seems unlikely he received the Queen’s South Africa Medal from the Boer War.

You can read a description of the Black Watch & Seaforth Highlanders kilt, glengarry and badges (scroll down for images of badges) at http://www.scottishmilitarydisasters.com/index.php/titles-sp... but as the RSF wasn’t kilted their WWI era badge isn’t shown but it was the same as WW2, see attached.
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Re: Scottish regiment identification

Posted: 7 May 2015 10:15AM GMT
Classification: Query
Thank you for this excellent information. I do agree with you that the cap badges are more likely to be the Royal Scots Fusiliers even though the photo is blurred. I have looked at the links you kindly sent and have definitely dismissed these regiments. My Mother (his daughter) is most likely a little confused on this subject but she said she "thought" it was Black Watch. Thank you again for this valuable information!

Re: Scottish regiment identification

Posted: 8 May 2015 3:51AM GMT
Classification: Query
Well speaking of the WW1 RSF and glengarries and the size and shape of their cap badge in pics and so on, recognise this guy from his WW1 service picture ?, notice any similarity between his cap badge and your relative's. ?
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XdTG1a0aq-k/TblgIw0_ATI/AAAAAAAAAD...
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