by Colin Langeveld
(Liverpool, England)
When I joined the Liverpool Scottish regiment in 1961 part of my kit included a regimental kilt in the Forbes tartan. My grandmother was a Hamilton, a fact of which I have always been very proud. Now I had a kilt, not of my grandmother’s clan, but that belonging to a regiment of which to be proud.
Unfortunately, five years later, due to a back injury, I had to leave the regiment and return my beloved kilt. In those days one could purchase it for £10, but as I was earning £7.00 a week, recently married and with a mortgage, this was out of the question.
During the years that followed, due to moving etc, I lost touch with the ‘Jocks’ as they are called. Sadly they were disbanded in the late 1990s. Then, in 2007 a dinner dance was held to fund a statue to commemorate VC and Bar holder Lt. Noel Chavssse. I attended and my contact with the regiment was renewed after a gap of 42 years.
I began attending meetings, regimental reunions and various ceremonies. The only thing I lacked was a kilt. Purchasing the ‘Charley’ and Argyle outfit was easy, but finding the correct Forbes tartan was a nightmare. To date there are about five versions of it, the nearest being Forbes Modern, but still not the old regimental version.
I was
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