"71st Highlanders kilt at Waterloo? " Topic

Reading napun. It says only 42nd, 79th and 92nd had kilts at Waterloo. But thr 71st where at Waterloo.
Had they forgone the kilt as they where light infantry?

The 71st did not wear the kilt as they were light infantry. As a mark of being Scots, in the Peninsula they wore a blue diced bonnet stretched over their shako. I believe they were still doing so at Waterloo. They had pipers, but it seems that even they wore trousers.

There was many a Scottish unit at Waterloo, but only the three mentioned in Kilts. 71st often mentioned here as such a distinctive rig

Try this and follow the embedded links

TMP link

No. Some of them may have had them in 1808 at the latest.

Mind you, question I have asked before. In 1815 did they have a piper in the field, in overalls of course? Shown in Funckens' and even a Patrice Courcelle picture, but any primary evidence for such?

There's an old picture of them at vimero with a highland piper. But I can't say if it's contemporary or not.

This from Osprey Men-at Arms #253: Wellingtons Highlanders. By Stuart Reid and Bryan Fosten.

Remarking on illustration No2: in plate 'F' 'Piper, 71st (Glasgow) Highlanders 1806'.

"The pipe banner illustrated was captured at Buenos Ares in 1806; A second one , also lost there, was similar but had a crimson background. In 1808 the 71st switched to tartan panteloons instead of kilts and had to adopt the light infantry uniform in the following year, although were permitted to retain the Highland dress. This concession apparently only extended two the two pipers authorised for the Grenadier Company, since although Atkinson shows Piper Clark wearing a kilt at Vimerio, Capt. Jones depicts a piper, presumably belonging to a battalion company, wearing ordinary Light Infantry uniform at Waterloo"

And here is the Pipers banner that was captured in 1806.

Paul :)

Exactly what I have been looking for, for ages. Many thanks indeed

I wish the best of luck to anybody trying to make sense of what the HLI may have worn at any time in its distinguished history. It used to be a standing joke in the British Army that they were ALWAYS the exception, for Highland Regiments, for Light Infantry Regiments, or simply for Regiments…
there used to be a saying … "The Army, except the HLI…"

Not that it makes much difference at table top scale but the HLI did not wear a shako with a bonnet over it. They wore a bonnet knitted and milled as other Highland bonnets but blocked to ressemble a standard infantry cap. This remained the case till the 1850s. As with standard feathered bonnets of the Napoleonic period, a detachable peak was added.

The following exceprts are taken from a discussion here: link

1810.01.31 Letter from Horse Guards to CO of 71st, Lt Col Pack, asking why his regiment is still wearing tartan trews and Highland bonnets. Pack replies that, with the blessing of the Duke of York and the Commander-in-Chief, the 71st had permission to retain "such characteristics of the Old Corps as were in no way objectionable and out of which in point of esprit much good and no possible harm could arise; it was under this impression that the Bonnet cocked as a regulation Cap* was submitted to the Horse Guards for approbation."

*This was the Highland military bonnet with diced band and tourie on top, stripped of feathers and blocked to resemble the infantry shako.

1810.04.12 Lieutenant Colonel Pack receives confirmation from Horse Guards that "there is no objection to the 71st being denominated Highland Light Infantry Regiment, or to the retaining of their pipes, and the Highland garb for the pipers; and that they will, of course, be permitted to wear caps according to the pattern which was lately approved and sealed by authority."

Now we must accept that 42 Flanker (despite his name) is also an expert on 71st.

They must have a…. toorie?… a green puff ball….on the top of this framed soft cap, not the tuft, as on the front of a shako.

TMP link

There's something very circular about these threads. Doesn't anybody do a SEARCH before posting?

As for 'expert,' thanks deadhead, but hardly. Reasonably thorough when interested, at best.

And I still haven't found out whether toories trump tufts for the 71st…

Which explains why David Niven on graduating from Sandhurst asked to be posted to any Highland regiment except the Highland Light Infantry.

Which explains why David Niven on graduating from Sandhurst asked to be posted to any Highland regiment except the Highland Light Infantry.

…and to which he was promptly posted, of course.

"1st choice: The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
2nd choice: The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders)
3rd choice: -anything but the Highland Light Infantry"

-allegedly.

and there was many 71st Highlanders kilt at Waterloo, as per the title, without the apostrophe.

Occupational hazard……..?

Glad this thread got restarted though. There is something about their rig that still appeals, much easier than tartan!

Well at last, by chance I have found someone who does a piper of Light Infantry at Waterloo……but in 18mm not TOTS alas (sob)

link

Increasingly drawn to this scale I have to say………

You could make one out of 28mm plastic using parts from Victoria kits.
The 29th …… and I think the 5th….. I'm certain on the former but less so on the latter also had unofficial pipers. No Scottish links either… their COs liked the sound that's all.

A very good idea. I have the Victorix highlanders unmade, with the arms and the pipes. I had thought to use the officer, but his sash is a problem. Would need line flank company trunk/legs and a head/shako from something like Perrys rifleman in plastic

Deadhead, if you only need one line infantry body and a head in stovepipe, I'd be happy to oblige, if it saved you buying a boxful.

I've done this conversion myself.

You have done it !!!!!!!?

You must show a photo (no matter what the quality of the picture). I would love to see this………love to!

Really appreciate the offer, but frankly tempted to buy a box of flank company anyway, to make a lot more 71st…..I have the skirmishers in a wheat field. Would love now to do a line of them! (I am "coached out" right now…….)

30 years ago I did 71st in Hinchliffe……never quite finished them.

I'll try, but said figure is now in the second rank of a permanently based unit.

Plus I don't have the means to post photos here.

But if you mail me on simon DOT hunt15 AT btinternet.com, I'll take a couple as well as I can and send them to you.

OK, I've just got back into my old Photobucket account, so let's see if this works:

link

Oh it works alright. These are superb. I was looking forward to seeing the piper, but had no idea I would see the unit looking this good.

Love it!

Inspiring……..I must go ahead with this next!

You're very kind.

I look forward to seeing your rendition of the 71st in due course.

Oh I cheated. For my few skirmishers I used the well known transfers for the hatband and back pack. I could not get the canteen ones to work, but I was (for once) using Front Rank figures.

I did use a Victrix plastic highland officer, as I wanted the sash over the shoulder, but I left him bare headed, as I did not have a shako at the time!

From your messages I did expect a grainy, dark and ill focussed photo, but would have been grateful for that. These pics are just superb.

Any more of the unit? Happy to post here. You cannot have too many of the 71st as their look was simply unique……

Sorry, that's all, just 12. I use 28mm figures for Sam Mustafa's Blucher rules, and a dozen on a 90mm base is all I need to represent an entire brigade. (Oh, yes, I do have a few more based singly for skirmish.)

But it does mean I get to paint up small quantities of lots of fancy uniforms, and still get them (on rare occasions) onto an actual battlefield.

However, now suitably motivated, and back into Photobucket, I think I may start posting more of my figures on the Gallery page.