Scottish Boy Scout Uniforms: Personal Experiences in the 1950s-60s


Figure 1.--

I joined the Cubs at the age of 8 and remained with them until transferring to the Scouts at about I I . My Cub uniform consisted of green peaked cap with yellow piping, navy blue crew-neck jumper, neckerchief secured with a leather "woggle", grey school shorts and knee-length socks with garter flashes. For special events and church parades I would swap the shorts for my kilt. The Scout uniform in Scotland was slightly different from that worn by our counterparts in England in that hardly any boys wore the traditional "lemon squeezer" hat. During my time an alternative hat was introduced--a balmoral-style beret in a khaki colour. One item of our gear which I suspect is not part of the modern Scout uniform was the sheath knife. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in both Cubs and Scouts and remained in the movement until I was about 14. The reason I left is, I think, interesting and illustrative. At about this age 1 made the transition into long trousers and, I suppose, began to think of myself as a young man and no longer a boy.

Cubs

I joined the Cubs at the age of 8 and remained with them until transferring to the Scouts at about I I . My Cub uniform consisted of green peaked cap with yellow piping, navy blue crew-neck jumper, neckerchief secured with a leather "woggle", grey school shorts and knee-length socks with garter flashes. For special events and church parades I would swap the shorts for my kilt. While I wasn't the only boy who wore a kilt in the Cubs, it was not quite as common as in the Scouts and, for once, I wasn't concerned about being in a minority - the bigger boys in the Scouts wore them so there was no question of juvenility. For travelling to and from meetings I would normally wear my school blazer and/or school raincoat over the uniform.

Scouts

The Scout uniform in Scotland was slightly different from that worn by our counterparts in England in that hardly any boys wore the traditional "lemon squeezer" hat. During my time an alternative hat was introduced--a balmoral-style beret in a khaki colour. The hat must have been optional because very few of the boys in my particular troop had one and the vast majority went bare-headed. Our Scout shirt was navy blue short-sleeved, as opposed to the khaki shirts more generally worn, and a white cord lanyard was worn with the neckerchief. A Scout whistle was often attached to the end of the lanyard and this was tucked into the breast pocket of the shirt. We wore school shorts or a kilt with a Scout belt and, again, knee-length socks with garter flashes.

Sheath Knife

One item of our gear which I suspect is not part of the modern Scout uniform was the sheath knife. Nearly every Scout carried a knife in a leather sheath attached to the Scout belt. Some of them were quite lethal looking weapons with blades of three or four inches and often with ornate bone handles. Also, suspended from a metal ring on the belt, we would have a multi-functional clasp knife, similar to a Swiss Army Knife, complete with a device for "removing stones from horses hooves"! In those days we took the Scout motto of "Be Prepared" quite literally! I may be wrong, but I suspect that today's Scout would be in danger of arrest if he appeared in public so heavily armed. A reflection of a more "innocent" era perhaps!

Leaving Scouts

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in both Cubs and Scouts and remained in the movement until I was about 14. The reason I left is, I think, interesting and illustrative. At about this age 1 made the transition into long trousers and, I suppose, began to think of myself as a young man and no longer a boy. The Scout uniform stipulated short trousers or the kilt and I began to feel uncomfortable in either garment even when amongst others similarly dressed. For a few weeks I continued to attend but would travel to and from meetings in long trousers and change into shorts when I got there. This practice was frowned upon, however, and eventually we were left in no doubt that if we did not have sufficient pride in the uniform to wear it away from meetings then perhaps we were in the wrong organisation. Interestingly, a few years later the uniform was re~designed and long trousers at last introduced.







Christopher Wagner






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Created: November 15, 1998
Last updated: December 19, 2001