Military Origin of ‘True Scotsman’ Tradition

[Regimental]

I’ve been taking a look into the development of the kilt as military uniform, and one point of interest is that I’ve struggled to find any evidence of the idea of going ‘regimental’ under the kilt being a thing pre-WWII. I don’t mean to suggest it necessarily wasn’t the case, but it is interesting that evidence of it seems so absent.

Post WWII, I’ve confirmed with former soldiers first hand that going without underwear under the kilt was completely the norm (though there is a bit of disagreement over whether that was ever enforced at all…). And that continues right through to the current day, with ample evidence of Scottish soldiers (and Canadians too, so I believe) routinely (though not completely universally) going true Scotsman under their kilts out of respect for tradition (and perhaps through a bit of military peer pressure )

And that military tradition has of course, at least in the last few decades, rapidly spread to civilians.

However, the trail just seems to run cold beyond WWII. Which raises an interesting question – is this really just something that developed as a ‘tradition’ in the second half of the 20th century as kilts were consigned to more ceremonial functions? And if so, how did it actually arise? Or is there evidence of its origns well before that, albeit perhaps now partly lost to time?

I would certainly be interested in any evidence or recollections anyone on here has as to this question!

[Steve Ashton]

There is a letter dated in the summer of 1918 in the archives of the Royal British Columbia Museum from a solder of the CEF to his girlfriend. In the letter he mentions that with the scant availability of sanitation and his unit not having baths or showers in over three weeks that lice were running rampant in his unit.

To combat head lice the solders had resorted to shaving their heads. To combat crabs they were also shaving their pubic hair and had dispensed with the wool underwear that they had been issued. His mentioning this in a letter makes it seem that this practice was new to him.

He mentioned in a previous letter from the winter that this unit were issued kilts for parade but had not worn them since moving up to near the front lines. He seemed glad that he was not wearing a kilt in the frigid weather.

[KennethSime]

Groups of young men often do foolish things, especially when isolated from their girlfriends, parents, and other adults whom they might otherwise worry about embarrassing.

[figheadair]

Go back to to the 18th century, or look at comments about Highland Troops in France during the Waterloo Campaign. What was worn then I wonder?

[neloon]

The practice definitely existed during WW1 when my father was in the trenches with the Gordons and the reason was simply to minimise laundry when on active service. BUT
1. The "rule" did not apply to officers and that included pipers.
2. Short trews were issued to be worn if the medical officer indicated that cold weather would require their use on sentry duty, when the soldier was behind the lines having his kilt deloused and when he went home on leave.
3. There are stories about mirrors on sticks to check on adherence to the practice but, in the Gordons, the command "prove" was simply issued which required the soldier to lift the aprons of his kilt to waist level.

Alan

[Regimental]

The practice definitely existed during WW1 when my father was in the trenches with the Gordons and the reason was simply to minimise laundry when on active service. BUT
1. The "rule" did not apply to officers and that included pipers.
2. Short trews were issued to be worn if the medical officer indicated that cold weather would require their use on sentry duty, when the soldier was behind the lines having his kilt deloused and when he went home on leave.
3. There are stories about mirrors on sticks to check on adherence to the practice but, in the Gordons, the command "prove" was simply issued which required the soldier to lift the aprons of his kilt to waist level.

That’s really interesting, and good to have some account directly from that era. I had definitely heard myself that the practice of going without underwear did not apply to officers in WWI (insofar as it applied to anyone) – interesting that this extends to pipers from your understanding. Certainly a contrast with the post-war era and today, where kilted officers very much abide by the ‘regimental’ tradition – I wonder how that evolved over time.

I’ve never seen any credible evidence of the mirrors on sticks approach, and it seems most unlikely that that level of effort would be gone to, to be honest (I’m not even sure how effective a small mirror would actually be!). The “prove” command seems more realistic if checks were actually to be made.

[Regimental]

Go back to to the 18th century, or look at comments about Highland Troops in France during the Waterloo Campaign. What was worn then I wonder?

There are some cartoons from that era that certainly demonstrate interest in what was under the kilts of soldiers, but nothing I’ve seen definitively indicating any truth (or otherwise) to the innuendos.

[Troglodyte]

The when and what was worn seems to have varied in the different regiments and battalions - each developing their own unofficial traditions.

During the '14-'18 war, kilted troops were issued with ladies' silk drawers, or bloomers, which were intended to act as some kind of protection against gas attacks. Personal reports by individuals are just what you might expect.

I was told as a young man, that the so-called 'regimental' (some now call it 'commando') was a matter of personal choice, but that underwear was expected when ladies were present, and when taking part in physical activities such as dancing or sports.

It must be remembered that our idea of underwear is essentially a 20th century concept, and history and traditions become confused. Highlanders of the 18th century are well-documented as sporting no underwear - but the same is true for all men at the time, kilted or otherwise.

Queen Victoria's diaries contain an entry in rather giggly, girlish terms, as she records her excitement at watching Price Albert dress and knowing that there was nothing between her and his manly charms but the silk of his breeches.

[neloon]

During the '14-'18 war, kilted troops were issued with ladies' silk drawers, or bloomers, which were intended to act as some kind of protection against gas attacks. Personal reports by individuals are just what you might expect.
It must be remembered that our idea of underwear is essentially a 20th century concept, and history and traditions become confused. Highlanders of the 18th century are well-documented as sporting no underwear - but the same is true for all men at the time, kilted or otherwise.

The ant-gas bloomers were a War Office invention in the late 1930s but , unsurprisingly(!), they were never issued. In any case the kilt on active service disappeared early in WW2.

"Highlanders of the 18th century are well-documented as sporting no underwear " Well documented where? It must be remembered that the kilt is really an OVERgarment therefore the word "underwear" really does not go with kilt wearing. Highlanders, unless they were very poor, continued to wear the short trews that they had worn before the arrival of the feileadh around 1580.

Alan

[Nemuragh]

I’ve never seen any credible evidence of the mirrors on sticks approach, and it seems most unlikely that that level of effort would be gone to, to be honest (I’m not even sure how effective a small mirror would actually be!). The “prove” command seems more realistic if checks were actually to be made.

My father was in the Irish Guards during WW2. He told us kilts were not worn for that period but he was posted to Buckingham Palace (which he called ‘Buck House’) - I don’t know how often. He said that there was a mirror set into the ‘Guard Room’ floor.