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Transvaal Scottish first active service. (1906)

In the 1906 Rebellion in Natal, the Transvaal Scottish volunteers swung into action in the form of a company commanded by Capt. Arnold Statham Milne. Capt. Milne his men and their actions were responsible for the first battle honour, Natal 1906.

This picture indicates the uniform that was worn on active service:



The quiet years. (1906 - 1914)

Prior to the Great War, the Transvaal Scottish Volunteers had companies stationed across the Witwatersrand. Even as far north as Pretoria.

This picture shows uniformed officers in Pretoria (1910):

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This NCO was a member of one of Canada's most famous regiments, The 48th Highlanders of Canada. The 15th battalion of the C.E.F. was recruited from the 48th which was a Toronto based militia regiment already in existence prior to WW1. The distinctive cap and collar badges of the 48th were incorporated into the 15th Battalion's badges.

The 15th was part of the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Division of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and arrived in France on 15 September 1915. Over the next three years the unit was engaged in many of the war's most famous battles such as Vimy, Passchendaele, Festubert, Mount Sorrel, The Somme, Hill 70, Arras, Amiens and many more.

An unsteady hand has written the name "Jimmy Bryce, 15th Can. Bn. 1918" on the reverse of this RPPC taken in The Wykenham Studios, 304 High Holborn.

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Photo caption:
The beautiful sepia tones and sort of pearly finish might be clues that it was taken in India. Another dead giveaway might be the leopard skin on which the soldier is standing, which seems to have been a di rigour prop for many of the photograph studios in India at the time. (This is not a hard and fast rule, however, as photographs from other studios in other places do turn up with leopard skins.)

The back of the photograph is bereft of any message or identification of the young Scottish soldier. The only things that can be identified with any certainty are his cap badge and collar badges, which when viewed in a closeup reveal that he is a member of the Gordon Highlanders, a Scottish regiment with a long and noble history going back over two centuries.

The style of cap the soldier is wearing is called a Glengarry, and it has ribbons hanging down in the back which are not visible in the photograph. Although he is not wearing a sporran, he wears a cutaway tunic, which was designed so that a sporran could be worn and not covered up by the tunic. Since the traditional kilt does not have pockets, the sporran serves as a wallet and container for any other necessary personal items. He carries a bamboo swagger stick loosely in his hands.

Standing on an Oriental rug in front of a beautifully painted backdrop with his hand resting casually on a carved, diamond-tufted side chair, he presents quite the elegant picture - a far cry from the interior of the usual military barracks in British India.



Colourized version:

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Men of the Gordon Highlanders resting at Tilloy-les-Moflains on their way to the front in 1917.



NCOs of the Gordon Highlanders divide up rations in a reserve position near Tilloy-les-Mofflaines during May 1917.

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Reginald Knightley Page

Sergeant.
51st Gordon Highlanders.
Joined the Army in May 1918, & was sent to the Inns of Court O. T. C. Berkhampsted.
On the signing of the Armistice on November 11th 1918 he was transferred to the London Scottish Regiment, and later on he was transferred to the 51st Batt Gordon Highlanders.
Went to Germany in March 1919.

Before joining the Army he was a Clerk in the London & Provincial Bank.

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Reginald Arthur Blyth
67th Battalion (Western Scots) C.E.F.
August 10, 1916

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Black Watch at bayonet practice during a rest period.
August 1916 - Near Albert, France