Argyll or not?

[OC Richard]

hmmm.... another poser from Ebay... this photo is on auction, but I'm at a loss to figure out just what it is



He appears to be a soldier, but is he? Or is it a "dress-up" photo?

He seems to have the bearing and deportment of a military man. It would be strange for a photo studio to have a khaki tunic and spats on hand, as they usually go for the showy stuff.

However, in genuine photos of soldiers everything goes together, while in dress-up photos there's always a mix of things, either civilian and military items mixed and/or military items from various regiments mixed.

This man is obviously wearing the "swinging six" of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, and his kilt might be Sutherland too.

But what about his Glengarry? Why no dicing? And why the dark hose-tops? Both things would indicate a piper, but the pipers wear a different pattern of sporran. If I could only see his cap-badge better.

Here's a indisputably genuine photo of an Argyll where you can see the expected consistent items of dress: sporran, red & white diced Glengarry, red & white diced hosetops, etc.



Here's the typical "play dress-up" sort of photo with the bizarre mix of civilian and military, and of various regiments worn together. This is the most interesting of this sort I've come across




The photo in question, at the top of this post, is neither a typical "play dress-up" photo nor one that shows the consistent dress expected in a genuine military photo. So what is it?

Of course in WWI there was a vast number of battalions, in Scotland and overseas, allied to the traditional parent regiments, and it's possible that there was one that wore some elements of the Argylls' uniform mixed with plain Glengarries and dark hose.

Here's another interesting photo which appears to show genuine soldiers and their dress is a bit puzzling






And this fellow... what regiment?