Vintage photo: Basil Rathbone, London Scottish Regiment

**AJBryant** · 16th November 12, 07:04 PM

I was going to post this in the vintage photo section, but... dang. Basil Freaking Rathbone.

He joined the London Scottish Regiment in WW1, eventually reaching the rank of captain in the Liverpool Scottish, 2n Battalion. Here he is:

I don't know which regiment is shown there, but... dang. Basil Rathbone.

**Cecil** · 16th November 12, 07:21 PM

What a great find. Thanks for posting. I never know he served in the great war.

**AJBryant** · 16th November 12, 07:28 PM

Apparently, he was in intelligence. Wiki says he made great use of "disguises" -- which seems to have been part of his actor-thing.

I have a feeling there is a whole book to be gotten out of his ww1 career, but we'll never read it.

**plaid preacher** · 16th November 12, 08:05 PM

That uniform is from the Liverpool Scottish. London Scottish wore hoden grey kilts and tunics.

**figheadair** · 16th November 12, 11:43 PM

Rathbone won the Military Cross (still the nicest British Army medal ribbon IMHO) in 1918.

A slight digression (sorry) but the Liverpool Scottish count amongst its former members Capt Neol Chavasse one of the few double VC winners.

**AJBryant** · 17th November 12, 06:28 PM

Cool! Thanks for the additional info!

**auld argonian** · 18th November 12, 10:20 PM

Always liked the story that Basil was a very good fencer and had to carry Errol Flynn through all of those duels that they fought in the movies...the two BEST EVER: Captain Blood and Robin Hood...the former is the better but the latter is, unintentionally, the root of many sight gags during duels that later movies had.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uog-mJYyloQ

Best

AA

**English Bloke** · 18th November 12, 11:35 PM

Nice picture. As previously stated here, the London Scottish wear Hodden Grey and the Liverpool Scottish wear Forbes. So the photo shows a Liverpool Scottish Kilt. Forbes Tartan is essentially Black Watch with a white over stripe. There is also another Liverpool Scottish tartan (special weave by X Marker Nick Fiddes at Scotweb) Which is brown over blue with a white guarded overstripe but this is not the tartan the Regiment wears.

Speaking on Chavasse... Some interesting facts to amaze your mates with down the pub....

The final resting place of Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse Victoria Cross & Bar, Military Cross, Royal Army Medical Corps, Attached Liverpool Scottish is Brandhoek New Military Cemetery – near Ieper (Ypres) in Belgium. This chap was an Army Doctor who won the VC twice, one of only three men in history to do so. He received his awards for treating the wounded under fire at Guillemont, France on 9 August 1916 and the Bar was received posthumously for attending to and rescuing the wounded at Wieltje, Belgium during the period 31 July to 2 August 1917; he died of wounds sustained at the beginning of that period and is buried at Brandhoek. On headstones in CWGC cemeteries, VC winners have the VC etched into the headstone. Chavasse’s stone is unique in that it is the only one in the world with two VC’s on it.

One of the two other double VC’s, Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Martin-Leake, VC and Bar. Royal Army Medical Corps. (Medals awarded Boer War, South Africa 1902 & Zonnerbeke, Belgium 1914) was a Military Surgeon with the 5th Field Ambulance RAMC and treated Chavasse at Potijze after he was fatally wounded... What are the chances of that? Martin-Leake died in 1953 aged 79.

The third double VC was Captain Charles Hazlitt Upham of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force. He wasn’t a Medic but he was an all round good egg. He was awarded his for actions during the 2nd World War at the Battle of Crete in May 1941 and his Bar at First Battle of El Alamein in July 1942. Also turns out... Chavasse was related to him by Marriage! What are the chances of THAT? Upham was also taken prisoner by the Italians in the Western Desert and after repeated escape attempts was passed to the Germans and following further escape attempts, was sent to the infamous Oflag IV-C (Colditz Castle). He died in 1994 aged 86. His medal set [Victoria Cross & Bar, 1939-45 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal (1939-45), War Medal (1939-45) with Mentioned in Despatches Oakleaf, New Zealand War Service Medal (1939-45), Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (1953), Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (1977) New Zealand Commemorative Medal (1990) ] was purchased by the Imperial War Museum London in 2006 and was then lent to Queen Elizabeth II Army Memorial Museum in New Zealand for a period of 999 years. And with the greatest respect to him, he was completely bonkers.