Figure 1.--.
|
Figure 1.--. |
I too wore a kilt at a boarding school in Perthshire, Scotland. As I spent most of my childhood at preparatory and public schools and, as a result, I have worn a
variety of uniforms.
Both my parents were Scottish, but I lived many years in England. My father was an army officer and we moved about a lot. Thus while Scottish, I spent a lot of time in England and in English schools.
I was 5 years old when I and my trunk were first sent off to a school in Oxford. The school I went to had a "baby school", what is now called a pre-prep school. I turned 6 my first term and I have a report card at age 6 plus. Brief reports were issued evry 2 weeks which sounds incredible.
It was in the early years of the World War II (1939-45). Uniform in those days consisted of short grey pants, a belt with an "s" shaped snake fastener, grey shirt, school tie, gabardine raincoat, and grey socks. We also wore a dark blue school cap.
We normally wore black shoes. Galoshes were required when it rained. I especially hated to wear those galoshed. They were very ungainly and heavy. I also wore sandals in the summer. They were mostly Clark school sandals. They were summer wear and did rather like them.
In addition to the uniform the carrying of a gas mask in a brown cardboard box was mandatory. In those days we changed our shirts, socks and underwear clothes once a week whether they needed washing or not...... I don't ever recall having my pants or blazer cleaned during term time. Looking back now, they must have been filthy.
I went to the same school all the way through my prep-schhool years or age 13. I wore the same uniform as an older prep school boy that I wore as a junior--blazer, grey short pants, socks, shirt and tie. There was no difference between the junior and senior uniform
When I was 13 I returned to Scotland where I attended a boarding school. Uniform of the day was still short grey pants, shirt, and socks, and school tie. We also wore a school cap all the time. It was blue with school crest. We wore a blazer in the summer. It was a blue colour almost Royal with a school crest. A tweed jacket was worn in the winter.
We wore grey shirts all the time with Sunday (white) being the exception. Rugby style shirts were only worn when we played rugby. We called our rugby clothes "Strip". Shorts and shirt and socks.
We also had another uniform. This however was not the only uniform. We also wore kilts for any off ground activities, all day Sunday, half terms, parents day etc. In those days you were allowed to wear any tartan you liked which of course meant any tartan your parents liked. Many of us wore the clan tartans of our ancestors. The kilt required a whole different set of gear. Headgear was a Glengarry type hat with a red toorie (ball) and a clan emblem. Jackets and
waistcoats all had to be the same, a dull greenish colour. Shirts had to be heavily starched and we had to attach collars to them using collar studs. Black ties. green kilt socks, and regulation underwear which could be red, blue or green. The more expensive underwear were called "trews". These usually matched your kilt. The less fortunate wore anything and in my own case I wore either green or navy blue hand me down school knickers. Sporrans had to be leather and our shoes had to be brogues.
At age 15 we qualified for long grey pants at school,but the rest of the uniform remained the same. Regulations allowed us in the summer to remove our school ties and wear white shirts the collars of which were not allowed to be over our blazer collar unless we were 6th form or prefects. We could also wear a school scarf as a cravat. I should also point out that we still only had laundry once a week and dry cleaning was unheard off. We must have been a smelly lot.
Boys at Scottish grammar schools and all high schools wore a uniform much the same as us. The junior
schools may or may not have worn a uniform depending perhaps on the economics of the area.
Some kids at the school were I went did go to school in kilts once in a while but not always. The average kid probably never wore one.
State school uniforms were generally similar throghout Scotland. Generally speaking that meant grey pants, shirts, socks and usually dark blazers. Crests and ties would of course be individual.
Kilts would not normally have been worn for play but for occaisions. You would have probably have had to come from an advantaged family to have a kilt generally speaking. They were very expensive. If you were a member of the school army cadets in Scotland and played in a pipe band then one would have been supplied. I was also in the army cadets at school. This was a regular army uniform. Short pants were worn until I was
about 13/14 I think.
I should point out that clothing was still rationed in those days which meant second hand was better than nothing at all. When at home on school holidays I was also required to wear the kilt to any parties, church and any other special occasion. Like the girls we learned to sit with some decorum and did not join in all of the games.
Generally speaking I hated to wear the kilt to parties. At school it was uniform so I never gave it a thought. My Mother, however, insisted that I wear it.
The sporran was however a very handy place for concealing pieces of food such as cucumber which you did not like. Trick was remembering to clean the mouldy contents out once in a while.