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 Here is the recent documentary broadcast on the BBC about Mad Mitch in Aden. A true great of the British Army.

Mad Mitch and the Last Days of Empire

 

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Excellent Graeme, I often wonder what would have become of him if he hadn't stood down as an MP. Here's what Field Marshal Montgomery said to him on when he retired from the Army. Montgomery: ``Why on earth do you want to go into politics? Professional soldiers make lousy politicians.'' CM: ``What about Wellington, sir?'' Montgomery: ``Exactly.'' he was then elected member of Parliament for West Aberdeenshire in 1970. 

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  • 1 month later...

Or even Prime Minister, his time as PPS to the Secretary of State for Scotland, Sir Gordon Campbell, was marked by a keen interest in Scottish environmental matters. How far he was driven into politics through his wish to ``Save the Argylls'' is a question a biographer might one day answer. He was one of 39 Conservative MPs to vote against British entry into the Common Market on October 28, 1971. 

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  • Kenny Andrew featured this topic

The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in Aden 1967, the rare soundtrack of Argylls in Aden "700 Glengarried men"  

 

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Good documentary.Very refreshing in todays world of Political Correct bullshit! Need Officers and men like Mitch today and his Argyll's but our weak liberal politians and media wouldnt tolerate it.

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I just had to dig out my glengarry after seeing these posts, do any other regiments have the red and white checked band?

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Nice item, these look practically unchanged since WW1 and very hard to determine the age. I think most had red and white dicing, but I think Kenny will be able to answer that better.

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I know the RHF had red white and black checkering but not sure about others. There's  not any real age to this cap but dont know if the badge is old.

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Rather hard to tell with badges that don't have a Queen's or Kings's crown and are still made of traditional metals rather than staybright.

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Nice cap Buster, The Glengarry did not change much over the years. During the First world war and before they had a leather sweat band instead of the cloth sweat band worn up to present day. The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders cap badge changed little too, again during the First World War and before the center of the badge was more convex, later white metal badges like yours were worn up to the 1950's and 60's before being replaced with the stay bright versions. Officers could wear silver cap badges which would be hallmarked.  

As regards dice colours I have looked on the net before and there does not seem to be a list of them, so I will start a new thread where we can add each regiment and their dice colours for future reference.           

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very good. Original glengarrys from the WW1 I have seen on offer, very expensive indeed, and although they look old, who knows if they are really from WW1. A badge alone is much easier to find.

I remember one old Scotsman I encountered in the late 1960s in a library in London E., Carnegy Hall Library (I was looking at a book about the Somme at that moment), told me he had been an officer in WW1  (I was only about 15 or 16 the time, and a little awestruck) - and at the beginning the regiments all had their own individual kilts, but as from 1915 or 1916 (?) it was decided on "Hoddengrae" (that's how he pronounced it! He was really genuine, an absolute original, impossible to describe) - all kilts from the clans regiments were withdrawn and put through the "Reißwolf", so that with the mixture of different colours a completly new colour evolved - a pinkish grey - "Yur Kilt un' mae Kilt 'nd all uther Kilts....."  This was then remade into new "Hoddengrae" Kilts then worn by the regiments at the front! I don' know if you can find anything recorded about this? But I'm sure it's true. Wow! Auld memories! Can anyone say some more about this?

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I think that old soldier probably served with the London Scottish, they wore hodden grey kilts although the other Scottish regiments continued to wear their regimental tartans. 

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london scottish soldier.jpg

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Trying to remember, but I think you're right! Apart from that, a cover or apron was generally worn, this was in a light khaki shade of drill material, similar to the tunic linings. Never seen one (Hoddengrae), but as in the photos, that's how I imagine it must have looked like.

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My mother (*1910)  once told me, she had two uncles, who were blown to pieces on the Somme, Uncle Willie and Uncle Sam (Gregg). All long forgotten (?)

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