Epaulettes and cuff links

[Downunder Kilt]

I know one member here runs a Clan tent at Games and wears clan tartan slides when "on duty" , just can't remeber who it is though.

[duke_19_62]

http://www.heritageofscotland.com/Ep...p#.U_6iQTJdWSo


"Available in a huge range of tartans." The price is £24.99 ($49.63), allow 4-7 weeks.

[TheOfficialBren]

I'd consider tartan shoulder slides for more flamboyant daywear, THCD notwithstanding but for regular wear...no. Neat idea for your motorcycling jacket, though.

[AFS1970]

I can think of a couple of times when I would have liked a set of those slides, but all would have been uniform uses not civilian style. When I was with the St, Andrew's Society color guard and we all wore our own kilts, I think these would have been great on the uniform shirts. When I was designing the distinctive uniform for our Explorer Post I think (I know this has been brought up many times) that these in MacLarren with the ranks on them would have made an interesting and somewhat subtle nod to our roots as a BSA organization even though our uniforms did not follow BSA regulations. I can think of one set that If I could get them now would make a fine gift for someone, the real question is if I can find the scraps of the more appropriate of two tartans.

[macwilkin]

I can't find a decent photo, but the Cameron Highlanders in North Africa in WWII, in shirtsleeve order, often wore slides which had a square of Cameron of Erracht tartan, and the HD badge/patch. It's odd because these sometimes were worn sewn onto the upper sleeve, sometimes worn on a slide on the epaulette, oftentimes seen worn both ways in the same photo.

I know that picture, although I remember it as a Seaforth Highlander in North Africa. I believe it's in Mike Chappell's Scottish Regiments of the World Wars Osprey book. My copy is at home, so I'll look tonight.

T.

[Thomas H]

I know one member here runs a Clan tent at Games and wears clan tartan slides when "on duty" , just can't remeber who it is though.

When I am hosting our Clan tent - I wear Shoulder Board's made from Ferguson tartan and my wife embroidered
the words Region 4 RVP on them for me .

[Bruce Scott]

Just to make the terminology clear, epaulettes (or 'shoulder straps') are straps on British military shirts and jackets which are sewn into the shoulder seam on one end, and held with a button on the other end. Sometimes I've seen, on the British tropical khaki shirts, shoulder straps sort of like German ones, where they're a separate thing (with top and bottom) which slips through a narrow cloth loop at the shoulder seam.

Rank slides are tubes of cloth which are slid over the epaulettes.

Rank slides wouldn't be called 'shoulder boards' because rank slides aren't stiff and boardlike. They're simply cloth.

Rank slides are now worn on the chest in the British Army and epaulettes seem to have disappeared from combat uniforms:

[Grizzled Ian]

Rank slides are tubes of cloth which are slid over the epaulettes.

Rank slides wouldn't be called 'shoulder boards' because rank slides aren't stiff and boardlike. They're simply cloth.

The Australian Army used to provide officers with both rank slides and shoulder boards, Richard, so you may retain both terms in your lexicon. The slides were worn in the field and had the rank embroidered on, while the boards had the metal pips and crowns, etc, individually attached, and came out with the Sam Brownes for the summer parade ground. (On jackets, badges of rank were attached directly to the epaulettes; while WOs' and NCOs' were on their sleeves in all orders of dress.) But now, the badge of rank for all ranks, even for princes and dukes, seems to have become another layer of protection for the lower sternum.

[pn1scott]

I've seen some members of the Scottish-American Military Society wearing the epaulette covers or "slides". After checking the uniform regs, it seems that they aren't mentioned, but each post has their own interpretation of the regs.

[Just Hugh]

Our Pipe Band has a Scottish Military style uniform and we have the epaulette slides. I can't get the picture to embed, but here's a link.

http://www.rlpb.org/uniform/#epaulettes

If you scroll up you can see them on the "khaki shirt" and then when you scroll up further, you can see some kids with the shirts on and the slides are on the epaulettes. I think they have a nice look.

I guess you can also see them in my avatar, but I can't quite imagine that image as a good example, and I have my reading glasses on!