badging a WWII Battledress jacket

[OC Richard]

I'm embarrassed to post this amongst all the amazing DIY things on XMarks, people making kilts and jackets and sporrans and bonnets and all.

But it is a DIY project of a sort, putting the badges on a Battledress jacket to make it WWII correct.

The background is that the 51st (Highland) Division in WWII had three brigades, 152, 153, and 154, and these were distinguished by one, two, and three red bars beneath the HD badge respectively. For my WWII Black Watch kit this would mean either 153 Brigade (5th BW) or 154 Brigade (1st and 7th BW). I decided to go with the latter.

This is not mine, but a photo of a couple jackets I found online, showing the badging of these units:



I got a pair of HD badges, piper trade badges, chevrons, BW tartan, some red felt, and some khaki wool, and began cutting and sewing.

Here are the BW tartan badges cut to the shape of the BW Glengarry badge, being sewn onto khaki backings. I decided to do this (rather than sewing directly onto the sleeve) to make it easier to shift the badges onto a different jacket in the future. This is sometimes seen on WWII photos.



Likewise I grouped the red bars and HD badge onto a single rectangular backing; this is seen sometimes in WWII photos.



Here are all the badges ready to go on the jacket.



Here's the finished jacket.



The kilt bows/rosettes and distinctive BW pattern spats were also DIY things. I also had to remove the cockade from the Glengarry, as the BW put their badge directly on the hat without backing.

Here's the DIY thread about the spats http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...h-spats-84836/

The jacket being worn at a WWII thing. The paratrooper there is an actual US Army paratrooper who jumps in a group that does WWII uniforms.



(For those pipers out there my pipes are c1900 RG Lawrie with sheepskin bag... no Gore-Tex!)

About my beard, WWII pipers would never have those... no, wait...

[Profane James]

Great kit - super cool! You are, by far, more talented and resourceful than I am; skills worthy of confidence...

[Blupiper]

Great job on the impression, Richard. Do you run cane in the Lawries, just to go for full authenticity. I hear that cane helps a piper work on period authentic cussing. I liked your composition on the work in progress photos, too. Very cool. My son does WWII re-enacting--Russian partisan. Must show this thread to him. Keep up the good work, well done!

JMB

[Dughlas mor]

Very nice job, Richard. Don`t sell yourself short. And I finally know the meaning of Figheadair`s avatar.

[MacGumerait]

Well done Richard ! I have been reading your threads on the evolution of your kit and find them very informative .

My grandfather's nephew served with the 51 st BW during WWII after D Day and survived . I am not sure which Brigade . After the war he lived here in Indiana with us , got married and successfully farmed until he passed a few years ago . He only lived half a mile away and was a regular part of the family .

Thank you for helping to keep the 51 st memory alive .

Mike

[OC Richard]

Very nice job, Richard. Don`t sell yourself short. And I finally know the meaning of Figheadair`s avatar.

Thanks!

Yes, the HD stands for "Highway Decorators"

[OC Richard]

Great job on the impression, Richard. Do you run cane in the Lawries, just to go for full authenticity. I hear that cane helps a piper work on period authentic cussing. I liked your composition on the work in progress photos, too. Very cool. My son does WWII re-enacting--Russian partisan. Must show this thread to him. Keep up the good work, well done!

JMB

Thanks so much!

Yes at one WWII thing I saw some Russian re-enactors, very cool. There's nothing like running around with that huge drum magazine! (Regular Russian troops.)

No, not cane! When I started playing the pipes, 40 years ago, cane was all there was! I've spent countless hours messing with cane reeds, and I'm done with it. Those Lawries absolutely sing with Kinnairds (old ones, not Evolution). Oddly, EzeeDrones won't play worn a darn in those Lawries.

What I need to get now is a chanter that looks period-correct, with the huge ivory sole. Ivory isn't an option anymore, so I'm thinking about custom-ordering a McCallum chanter with the big old-school sole in imitation ivory. I do have the chanter that came with those Lawries, a 1960s Hardie with matching thistle-engraved silver sole. I suppose I should play that chanter when I'm doing the WWII thing.

It's hard for a piper to recreate WWII piping, because they didn't use tape on their chanters back then! All the tuning had to come from expert reed-work. When I attended a piping school back around 1980 under Pipe Major Evan MacRae (former Cameron Highlanders Pipe Major, and a WWII veteran) he did a chanter reed workshop where he explained the exact spot to shave a chanter reed to fix each note of the chanter. It's an art that's been lost, now that we stick any old reed in there and fix the bad scale with tape.

[Blupiper]

Thanks so much!

Yes at one WWII thing I saw some Russian re-enactors, very cool. There's nothing like running around with that huge drum magazine! (Regular Russian troops.)

No, not cane! When I started playing the pipes, 40 years ago, cane was all there was! I've spent countless hours messing with cane reeds, and I'm done with it. Those Lawries absolutely sing with Kinnairds (old ones, not Evolution). Oddly, EzeeDrones won't play worn a darn in those Lawries.

What I need to get now is a chanter that looks period-correct, with the huge ivory sole. Ivory isn't an option anymore, so I'm thinking about custom-ordering a McCallum chanter with the big old-school sole in imitation ivory. I do have the chanter that came with those Lawries, a 1960s Hardie with matching thistle-engraved silver sole. I suppose I should play that chanter when I'm doing the WWII thing.

It's hard for a piper to recreate WWII piping, because they didn't use tape on their chanters back then! All the tuning had to come from expert reed-work. When I attended a piping school back around 1980 under Pipe Major Evan MacRae (former Cameron Highlanders Pipe Major, and a WWII veteran) he did a chanter reed workshop where he explained the exact spot to shave a chanter reed to fix each note of the chanter. It's an art that's been lost, now that we stick any old reed in there and fix the bad scale with tape.

Richard:

Maybe you could go Old School on the chanter tuning and use those little dabs of putty in the chanter holes to tune. It would take a real sharp eye to see it (although with the 'stitch counters' of the reenactor world, you might have to do some explaining.) Or go for a more 'persona'-driven impression and tell 'em to bugger off. Just a thought.

JMB