The Highland Heart of North America

[Silk]

But they wear Black Watch aka Campbell!

Look at the list on the Cape Breton Highlanders thread. For the period when TowGuy's granddad was in the regiment to start, it does say "Black Watch" but lists that tartan. However in the most oldest part of their history it does list the Campbell tartan. So what do you think? Does that make any sense? Please take a look at the list in there to see what we were referring to.

Luanne

[bluebonnet]

Nathan, another area of study is the men of the Hudson Bay Company. The HBC intentionally recruited men from the islands of Orkney, Skye, Barra and Hebrides etc as the HBC felt the isolation of the islands would prove to be excellent traning areas for living in Rupert's Land.

The Northwest Company tended to recruit from the Acadians/Eastern Townships in Quebec and viewed their primary role as fur traders and missionaries. The HBC was never interested in mission work and for a few decades attmepted to ban drink, women and bad behaviour of their men. There was a huge territory "turf war going on between these two companies which makes for very interesting reading.

It was the Scots-dominated fur trade that pushed European Canadians west toward the Rockies and launched a 30-year turf war that makes many of today’s drug gangs look like a bunch of Sunday school kids.'

'How the Scots created Canada', Paul Cowan, 2007

Manitoba has put some of the records online at: http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/biographical/ (and yes, the HBC has its own tartan...http://www.scotland.com/tartans/huds...porate-tartan/)

My own territory, the Yukon was profoundly affected by the Scot diaspora. They poured into the territory during the gold rushes

Alexander 'Big Alex' McDonald became known as 'the King of the Klondike'. Alex MacDonald was the Gaelic-speaking son of Highland immigrants. He was born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. MacDonald made an immense fortune by buying up claims and hiring miners to dig for gold.

Does anyone recall that iconic photograph of the Last Spike? Another Scot. The railway was completed in November of 1885. A Scot, Donald Smith, hammered in the 'last spike' at Craigellachie in Eagle Pass, British Columbia. Donald Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, born in Forres, Moray, was a businessman, railroad financier and politician.


Some links that might be of interest to the rabble:

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/...pany/index.asp
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...tland-15853349
http://www.electricscotland.com/hist.../chapter23.htm

[TowGuy]

Being a MacDonald, I can't wear a Campbell tartan The tartan Silk is referring to is the WW1, 185 Battalion tartan which was Sutherland.

But they wear Black Watch aka Campbell!

[Mike_Oettle]

But TowGuy, Black Watch is a government tartan first and foremost, and only incidentally also a Campbell tartan (and then usually in muted shades).
Not to mention that it is a hunting tartan for a number of clans, too.
My regimental tartan is a variation on Black Watch (Graham of Montrose, which adds two white stripes), but for myself I don’t plan to wear either Black Watch or Graham.
Regards,
Mike

[TowGuy]

Thanks Mike. After Nathan's post I liked a little deeper into the tartan of the 185th and it was a muted version of Campbell or Sutherland. It is very hard to tell the difference but it looks more like the "Black Watch" that was worn by most kilted regiments around WW1. Can't really find a good photo of the 185th in full uniform.

But TowGuy, Black Watch is a government tartan first and foremost, and only incidentally also a Campbell tartan (and then usually in muted shades).
Not to mention that it is a hunting tartan for a number of clans, too.
My regimental tartan is a variation on Black Watch (Graham of Montrose, which adds two white stripes), but for myself I don’t plan to wear either Black Watch or Graham.
Regards,
Mike