Tony Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 Is the 'S' on his sleeve for sniper or sharpshooter maybe? Or something else?CheersTony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rick Research Posted November 8, 2005 Share Posted November 8, 2005 Never mind THAT-- Why is he wearing a fur kilt???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Stewart Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Tony,He's a "Scout" of the 1st Battalion, Queens(Royal West Surrey Regiment), the photo obviously taken in India circa 1900, which is where the battalion was stationed from 1892 until 1908 when it was posted to Aden.Rick,If that's a fur kilt I'll eat hay with a cuddy.Graham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted January 16, 2006 Author Share Posted January 16, 2006 Thanks Graham,How do you know he was 1st Battalion?Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Stewart Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Tony,2nd Bn, Queens was in South Africa from 1899 to 1904 when they returned to England, then went to Gib in 1910.Graham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted January 16, 2006 Author Share Posted January 16, 2006 Graham,My great grandad was in the Queens and in S. Africa so that's very interesting to hear. I don't know who the above soldier was but he was a mate of my g grandad's brother Bill who is in my avatar, I think the whole family were in the Queen's till the Great War.Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leigh kitchen Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 I may be wrong, but was'nt this "S" scout badge worn only in India? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted May 17, 2007 Author Share Posted May 17, 2007 I may be wrong, but was'nt this "S" scout badge worn only in India?Spot on Leigh, see Graham's post No. 3.CheersTony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david grumpy Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 No. It was however Indian issue, although the example shown is a variant I have not seen before, with the little spiky bits indicating compass points. The Indian government were responsible for clothing ALL british soldiers in India, and erred on the economical side, shall we say. Cavalry scouts in India wore the regulation British fleur de lys. I have a few ills. of the S wreath badge worn on the Western Front by units fresh from India. The 'jacket' is the standard Indian Pattern dress frock, unlined but tailored and fitted. It has the same cuff, facings, collar etc as worn in the period of the Zulu war, long since replaced at Home. SNCOs had piping to the frock front and bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david grumpy Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 another thort .... I would be surprised if the badge was 19th century. Mafeking had not happened, Baden-Powell had not happened, Scouting [military] was not the in-thing. More like 1904 =20th century. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 22, 2009 Author Share Posted December 22, 2009 That's interesting to hear. Don't you just wish people wrote their names, unit and date on photos. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david grumpy Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 No, not at all, it would ruin the fun of detective work. I like to make old photos talk to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Please 'talk' to us - I found thread 10 a little confusing with your events and the dates ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david grumpy Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 OK! The badge was invented in c.1904 which is 20th Century not 19th. 'Scouting', both for the army and for boys, became all the rage in the ten years that followed the end of the SA [boer] War, ie 1902 onwards. I do not have a firm date for the India Pattern badge, but the British Fleur-de-Lys large size was sealed and introduced 1905, the small size 1907, whereas the India version appears for the first time in Indian Clothing Regs 1909 although photo evidence says a few years earlier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 David - I was not querying your badge knowledge - it was the bit about Mafeking hadn't happened ? Mervyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david grumpy Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 The Siege of Mafeking was the most famous British action in the Second Boer War. It took place at the town of Mafeking (now Mafikeng) in South Africa over a period of 217 days, from October 1899 to May 1900, and turned Robert Baden-Powell, who went on to found the Scouting Movement, into a national hero. The Relief of Mafeking (the lifting of the siege) was a decisive victory for the British and a crushing defeat for the Boers.[1] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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