Quote Originally Posted by claidheamdanns View Post
It has been repeatedly said in this thread that Baden-Powell did not wear a kilt, or "show us the evidence," etc. I would like to point out firstly, to the best of my knowledge, he was not Scottish, so why would we even expect him to have worn a kilt. But his close friend and comrade in starting Scouting (MacLaren), and who became the first secretary of the movement, was, and undoubtedly wore a kilt. For more information on this, see the Clan MacLaren website.

That having been said, there IS a print of Baden-Powell in a kilt, so let's quash that line of arguement.

Here it is:

This is NOT Baden-Powell. Just look at his face, did he suddenly get younger and grow hair thirty years later? As far as I can see his medals are wrong. The time-line just doesn't make sense; the picture is attributed to the 19th century but B-P did not become a Lieutenant-General till 1907 (he was still a Lieutenant-Colonel in 1901).

B-P himself said that he had never worn a kilt because "he didn't have the legs for it". (His words - His quote.)

B-P came from an age when men where taught to dress in the right clothes for the right occasion, according to their station in life. He was also a high ranking army officer, so he knew about dress regulations and the importance of wearing the right clothes. In his army career, he never served with any Scottish or Highland regiment - so why would he wear the uniform of a different regiment?

When B-P was alive, the only people who wore the kilt were Scotsmen (from the highlands), servicemen or actors.

B-P was not a Scotsman, he did not serve in a Scottish regiment and he wasn't an actor.

IF B-P had worn a kilt, it would have been seen as an insult to the Scots. Men did not then (nor do they today) wear a uniform of a different regiment as a token of honour or respect.

That uniform, at that time, would have cost many hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds sterling (the gold you see, was real gold wire). B-P was not a 'rich' man. That uniform would have cost the best part of a years salary. Besides his army uniforms that he would have to buy himself, he was also a Knight Commander of the Victorian Order. Another whole set of uniforms and robes. I do not think that it is reasonable that B-P would have bought a Levee Dress uniform and only wear it once for a photograph. There is no record of him wearing it for any other occasion.

The truth of the matter is that the photograph is mis-attributed. B-P never wore a kilt and no amount of wishing and hoping will make it so. This is like the Fountain of Youth or Eldorado or the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Rational thought says that they don't exist, but that doesn't stop thousands searching.

Regards

Chas