soldiers or posers?

[O'Callaghan]

IMHO, it was quite common to be photographed in the uniform after it was issued and before you had so much as met the RSM who would complain if anything were out of place. The pictures that seem suspect may be of men who were newly called up, and they may even be wearing parts of different versions of the uniform that aren't even supposed to go together. They may not have even been inducted long enough to be told what they were doing wrong.

[OC Richard]

I think both of them are posers notreal Scottish soldiers.

first one - Cameron kilt is wearing carelessly, sporran missed sporran badge, not plain glengarry (probably A&SH without cap badge at all), white drill jacket is OK, but stand-up collar should be fastened, the belt should be whitened and sit low, strange type of gaiters - Camerons should wear red/green check (I see sometning different on photo), and civvy spats... so after that I suppose this guy is real poser.

Second guy - real clown. Argyll's kilt with officers or NCOs panel wrongly worn on incorrect side of kilt (if photo does'nt reversed) , Argylls private's sporran, fly plaid in different tartan (for my opinion it looks very similar to Leslie tartan - KOSB?) and KOSB glengarry...

regards,
Mikhail

Very good eye there! Yes all that stuff exactly! Note the first guy is wearing at least one of his hosetops backwards, with the seam in front.

The second guy, well you've probably never seen a "drummers plaid" worn with the belt around the neck like that! Hilarious. Also note he's wearing the KD spats with the Full Dress doublet.

Yes its 2) the mix of kit from various regiments and 2) kit being incorrectly worn that gives away the posers in photos like these.

[OC Richard]

The pictures that seem suspect may be of men who were newly called up, and they may even be wearing parts of different versions of the uniform that aren't even supposed to go together. They may not have even been inducted long enough to be told what they were doing wrong.

This sort of thing can be seen in some old photos of actual soldiers, but it's always very specific things such as Highland soldiers being issued the ordinary English khaki serge Service Dress tunic.

One would never see a Glengarry and badge of one regiment, a kilt of a 2nd, and a sporran of a 3rd being worn together, hosetops on backwards, etc from actual soldiers.

It's nearly always a clear-cut either-or thing: either every item of kit is regiment-consistent and also properly worn, or there's a wild mixture and also improperly worn.

There have been a very few photos which (to me) are borderline cases... something I can't put my finger on seems not quite right, or something obviously out of place in what looks like an authentic photo.

I posted this in the OP, very puzzling, as this sporran and this Glengarry would never go together, yet overall the man appears to be soldierly:

[blackwatch70]

Hi , it's interesting, I saw at least one more photo of Argylls with plain glengarry...
Probably sometimes it has been worn ...

Private James Smith, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders (WW1)

[OC Richard]

cool, nice to know my photo isn't a totally isolated example. The hose are different however. What battalion is your man there?

There were so many wartime, Territorial, and Volunteer battalions which usually followed the parent battalion but sometimes did not, that nothing would surprise me.

One such oddity were the Haig Check kilts and bag-covers of the 4th battalion KOSB, the subject of another thread.

[blackwatch70]

What battalion is your man there?

There were so many wartime, Territorial, and Volunteer battalions which usually followed the parent battalion but sometimes did not, that nothing would surprise me.

One such oddity were the Haig Check kilts and bag-covers of the 4th battalion KOSB, the subject of another thread.

Unfortunately can't say what battalion of A&SH is, sorry.

btw I found this photo here in other thread

[OC Richard]

Another possibility when one sees a plain Glen being worn with a uniform that it doesn't go with it is that it's a piper who happens to be wearing the ordinary Other Ranks sporran of the regiment rather than the piper's sporran.

I wouldn't expect to see that, however one example is a photo I have in a book captioned

Recruiting party, 1st Battalion (Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders) Scotland 1894

in which you can see a soldier playing pipes wearing the Swinging Six sporran. He's in the background and I can't tell anything else about his uniform, his Glengarry.

[OC Richard]

Here's another guy. What do you see?

[blackwatch70]

Here's another guy. What do you see?

something unimaginable

[blackwatch70]

I like this guy