The Regimental Sporran

Along with the feather bonnet, the single most clearly identifiable regimental accoutrement worn by any highland soldier must be the sporran.

You might think, therefore, that it would be easy to find out which regiment a sporran belonged to. Not so. There are no reference books on the subject (at least that I can find) even regimental records sometimes only make a cryptic reference to “.... Officer’s sporran, in the regimental pattern” Not very helpful to the researcher. So, it’s illustrations and photographs that we are left to rely on.

Many of the old illustrations are subject to ‘artistic’ interpretation and the early photographs are all in black and white or sepia, and so the tartan, the hackles and the colour of doublet facings etc. are of little help in identifying the regiment. Cap badges, shoulder belt plates and belt buckles are often too small or indistinct to be of any use.

The hair sporran however is large, and the contrasts clearly defined. Two, three, five, six and even eight tassels have all been used. Black hair over white, white over black and the shape of the cantle all contribute in helping to make identification easier.

In the early 1800s the two battalions of a regiment may not have differed greatly in their dress but by 1881 the Childers reforms of the British army meant that all regiments of the line were to be merged with another line regiment, each becoming the first and second battalion of the newly formed and renamed regiment. Precedence being given to the earliest and therefore lowest numbered of the two regiments. The long standing regimental numbering system was to be abandoned.

Incidentally the Cameron Highlanders escaped the fate of merger, apparently due to the affection Queen Victoria had for the regiment.

But for the rest, for instance the 75th Stirlingshire regiment (prominent in the early Mysore and Maratha wars and later in the Indian mutiny) would now become the 1st battalion of the Gordon Highlanders and the 92nd regiment (already known as the Gordon Highlanders) of Peninsula war, Waterloo and Afghanistan fame would become the 2nd battalion.

This ‘forced marriage’ was as unpopular then as the more recent mergers are to today’s soldier, and this fact is evidenced in numerous instances of subtle rebellion in regard of dress.

In the Gordon Highlanders for instance, the pipe bands of each battalion wore a different sporran cantle for many years after the merger.

Although regretful and disappointed at the merger, the opportunity for humour is never far away from the serving soldier, as this ‘epitaph’ penned by the armourer-sergeant of the 75th reveals:

“Here lies the poor old seventy-five,

But, under God’s protection,

They’ll rise again in kilt and hose,

A glorious resurrection!

For by the transformatory power

Of Parliamentary laws,

We go to bed the Seventy-Fifth

To rise the Ninety-twas!”

The men of the 92nd were no less satirical. Having buried a 92nd flag with full military honours (orations and 3 volleys included) they ‘exhumed’ the flag the following morning to find that some regimental humourist, with typical Northeast humour, had written over it:

“Ninety-Twa, No Died Yet”

Throughout all Highland regiments the officer’s sporran differed from the sergeants, the sergeants differed from the men and the men differed from the pipe band.

Not forgetting that there were also numerous changes in style and materials over the years. Dress regulations changed frequently. Mergers were common and even Royal patronage could influence what a uniform would look like. Volunteer battalions often had different sporrans to the Regular battalions (even within the same regiment) Militias and Territorial units just added to the mix.

Keeping track of these changes makes researching the subject something of a nightmare and the enormous variety means it’s impossible to describe them all. For that reason, I will concentrate mostly on the Gordon Highlanders, the locally recruited regiment for Aberdeenshire and the Northeast.

By the mid 1800s a certain amount of standardisation starts to appear, and the sporrans can be broken down into three main groups.

The Levee, or Full-Dress sporran.

The Undress sporran.

The Day sporran.

By 1933 the explicit ‘standing orders’ of the Gordon Highlanders refers to:

The ‘Full Dress’ sporran for Officers. This consisted of a metal cantle with regimental badge, with 5 gold bullion tassels over long white goat’s hair. It was to be worn on all state occasions (Royal weddings and funerals etc.) but was also required to be worn by both Officers and Warrant Officers as part of their mess dress.

The ‘Undress’ sporran for officers was made up of a metal cantle with regimental badge and two long black tassels over long white horsehair. (Review and Drill order)

For other ranks the ‘Undress’ sporran had a metal strip across the ‘top’ edge of the black leather cantle itself. This cantle was mounted with a shield shaped regimental badge (Stags Head and the motto Bydand) also over white horsehair with two long black tassels. (Review and Drill order)

The ‘Day’ sporran is a simpler, and a more recent addition to the sporran family. Introduced between the wars, it is basically a large leather pouch with the regimental badge at the centre of the sporran.

Not only did the ‘standing orders’ of the regiment dictate the appropriate sporran for the occasion, but they gave very detailed instructions to the soldier as to how the sporran was to be worn.

“The sporran will be so worn that the top is level with a line drawn from the rounded corner of one lapel of the doublet to the other one: with a man of average height this brings the top of the sporran level with then third horizontal yellow stripe from the bottom of the kilt.

The buckle of the sporran strap will lie against the centre of the back, the spare end of the strap pointing to the left and cut to a point; this end will not be more than three inches in length, measured from the buckle, and the runner will be attached one inch from the buckle.......”

And there’s more! The above quote is just a small extract from the full ‘standing orders’ regarding the wearing of the sporran in the Gordon Highlanders.

In the 1950s the ‘Undress’ sporran was standardised across all the kilted regiments and took the form of a small top opening leather pouch (‘Blanco’ white) a brass cantle with ring and dot patterning and the regimental badge in the centre of the pouch.

This sporran proved very unpopular as the ‘Blanco’ was prone to run when wet, causing damage to the very expensive kilt.

It was withdrawn from service in the 1960s. After which most of the regiments resumed their original, older style, long hair sporrans. Gratefully restoring their regimental individuality.

The evolution of the military sporran from the ‘humble highland purse’ of the 17thC illustrations to what we have today has had many influences but none much greater than the ‘Royal Romance’ with all things Scottish. Starting with King George IV in 1822 and continued with Queen Victoria, who’s patronage was leading the fashion of the day, in military circles as well as civilian life.

During this period, we see pictures of officers wearing enormous and by today’s standards, outrageously extravagant sporrans.

Some as much as 22” inches long and 10” wide and with elaborately embossed cantles, gold and silver bullion tassels, all laid over heavy goat hair fleeces hanging down to, and often below the knee. All no doubt fuelled by a desire to outdo their opposite numbers in their brother Highland regiments. Competition of this sort was fierce, especially amongst the pipe bands.

A large variety of sporrans could be found within just one Highland regiments at any one time.

For instance, a photo taken in Lullander (India) in 1870 shows the 2nd battalion of the 92nd Gordon Highlander’s wearing 5 different sporrans.

Pipers,

Levee dress,

Undress (officers)

Undress (other ranks)

and the ‘Pioneers’ of the battalion wearing a sporran of 5 white short tassels over long black horsehair It shows a large shield shaped regimental badge (embossed with the regimental number 92) mounted at the top of the sporran……on the hair itself and not the cantle.

The fact that even a few of the early examples of sporrans survive is remarkable. Whereas a metal cap badge or belt buckle can be expected to survive the rigours of service wear, the sporran is more prone to deteriorate. The gum often used to glue the strips of horsehair in the old sporrans tends to be adversely affected by damp and then prone to shed the hair.

The finer goat hair examples (where the whole pelt is used) could become infected by mites with similar results.

All that remains of some of these early sporrans are the cantles and tassel cones but with the help of the early photographers and illustrators we are able to see them as they really were.

Was the sporran worn on active service?

Early illustrations from the Napoleonic wars often show the Highland soldier in full review order (including sporrans) storming a fortress or engaged in a bayonet charge and routing his enemy. However, I’ve not found any ‘first hand’ accounts from the period which mention the sporran.

The kilt does however get referred to fairly frequently. If the sporran was being worn surely it would have been mentioned along with the kilt.

For example: when crossing a river, the Highland soldier could remain dry by raising his kilt above his waist (let’s not dwell on that image for too long!!) and importantly, no mention of the sporran.

His ‘trewsered’ English counterpart, however, would have to suffer wet breeches or pantaloons for the rest of the day.

By the time of the Crimea war and Indian mutiny in the mid 1850s, sporrans were certainly being worn into battle. During the relief of Lucknow one gruesome eyewitness account describes how Private Hope serving with the 93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) met his fate.

“.........Hope leapt on top of a mud wall. Right then, an enemy bullet struck him. Diverted by the buckle of his Sporran, the bullet tore into his belly, and his guts spilled.....”

Two fascinating and revealing anecdotes, this time concerning officers from the Gordon Highlanders, show that the sporran was being worn during the battle for Majuba Hill 1881.

The first involves a certain 2nd lieutenant Hector MacDonald, the legendary ‘Fighting Mac’ (later Major General Sir Hector MacDonald) He had defended his section of the hill against the Boer counterattack until:

“......dying one by one in a hail of fire, only MacDonald and his lance corporal remained.......”

Ultimately, out of ammo, and reduced to hurling rocks at the enemy, they were forced to surrender.

“...........Several of the Boers approached MacDonald with the view of taking him prisoner. One, more venturesome than the rest, sprang forward and clutched Macdonald’s Sporran. MacDonald could not stand this piece of undue familiarity, and consequently gave the Boer a good kick in the stomach.......just as the Boer was regaining his feet, another levelled his rifle at MacDonald’s head, but the would be robber of the Sporran put away his friend’s hand, saying, “No, no: don’t slay him – this man is too good to kill”, and then they took him prisoner......”

The second anecdote from the same battle refers to Lieutenant Ian Hamilton (later General Sir Ian Hamilton)

Having been badly wounded and captured by the Boers........whom he generously describes as:

“....not bad fellows” He goes on to say “....one of them rendered first aid......he used the top of a bully beef tin as a splint; laid my wrist on it; packed a little grass around it and tied it up with a handkerchief. Another wild looking creature came up with a friend to interpret, and said his wife would like my Sporran to hang up in her house. My position necessitated a polite reply, and I sent Mrs Boer the souvenir she wished. I hope she appreciates it...”

Clearly two officers with a wholly different degree of attachment to their respective sporrans.............................Would you be prepared to die for yours!!

The sporran was still being worn into battle during the Boer war of 1899 – 1902 but it was becoming clear that it was more of a liability than it was worth. At long range the Boer marksmen could pick out the white mass of the hair sporran, making the soldier a much easier target. Khaki was fast becoming the uniform of choice.

During WW1 the only time Highland soldiers wore the sporran was ‘on parade’, or ‘marching-out’. At some point towards the end of the war the wearing of the sporran was officially proscribed.

In practise it had long been abandoned by the troops in the trenches.

Khaki cloth aprons were worn over the kilt in an effort to keep the kilt clean. The aprons usually had a pocket sewn into the front, where the sporran would have been.

On a lighter note; a good deal of comedy has been generated by the wearing of ‘Highland Garb’. There are plenty of comic illustrations going as far back as the battle of Waterloo, and more recently the popular ‘saucy’ seaside postcard.

Most focus their ‘wit’ on the kilt and what the ‘True Scotsman’ wears beneath it (a closely guarded secret to this day!) but some use the sporran itself as the source of the joke.

Now, there is nothing worse than trying to describe, verbally, what is supposed to be a visual joke, so I’ll not even attempt it. It’s almost as impossible as describing a sporran.........You may well have reached that conclusion already! I certainly have!!

Fortunately, however, at the games today, there is a display tent showing a large range of regimental sporrans from all the Highland regiments, right up to the present day.

There will also be a selection of the ‘saucy’ seaside postcards to be seen........In the interest of research of course!