great looking hat badge
great looking collar
dogs, but did you
EVER WONDER
WHAT THEIR "M.G." STOOD FOR ?
YES, MACHINE
GUNS !
But first, the Cameron
Highlanders of Ottawa were to be banished to a far-off lonely place
called ICELAND.
The Regimental Tartan
of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa
The History of the 1st.
Battalion of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (M.G.), as published
in 1948
Lieutenant-Colonel
Richard Ross, OBE, ED, commanded the 1st Battalion from the end of
October 1944
in the
Netherlands to its disbandment in December
1945
in Ottawa. He left
the battalion for England in
July 1945
to carry out
research for its wartime history, published in
1948
as
The History of the
1st Battalion Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (M.G.).
(Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa)
"Capital
Soldiers", the revised version of the regimental history of the Cameron Highlanders of
Ottawa, published in 2011.
On Iceland, Pipe Major Sam Scott
learned to play the pipes on horseback
and the whole band
got plenty of time to
practice, there was no T.V. yet or any other entertainment
so they were glad to
finally go to another island: Britain,
Where P.M. Sam Scott
became a great admirer of
Willie Ross at Edinburgh Castle and
followed the Pipe Major course and other tuition there with his
fellow Canadian Pipers. This is why the standard of post-war
Canadian piping
did reach such a high level.
This
type of Sporran was worn by the Pipe Band of the Cameron Highlanders
of Ottawa
In England,
the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa were well-trained, preparing for
the actions in North west Europe.
Four men with new rifles. This photograph of four Cameron
Highlanders of Ottawa on a training exercise in England, taken on
28 May 1943, shows them posing
for the camera with their new Lee-Enfield No. 4 Mk I .303 calibre
rifles - only recently received by the regiment.
Also noticeable are the tartan patches on
their helmets and the current cloth shoulder title without
the "MG" during this phase of the Highlanders' wartime service.
(Source; LAC, Acc.1967-052, number 18316)
Ottawa's own regiment. Stanley Lewis, the Mayor of
Ottawa, journeyed to Great Britain during the war and took the
opportunity to visit with the city's own regiment. He is pictured
here taking the salute as the regiment marches past in
January 1943, while
the pipe band in battle dress and kilts
plays off to one side. Also visible on the sides of the steel
helmets are the initial painted patches of the Cameron of Erracht
tartan to represent the kilts British and Canadian soldiers no
longer wore into battle. (Source; Cameron
Highlanders of Ottawa)
This is a close-up photograph of a Helmet of the
Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa with the Cameron of Erracht Tartan
Decal on it.
After the invasion: Regimental
Sergeant-Major L.D. Burnet and Pipe Major Samuel Scott
of The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (M.G.), near Caen, France, 15
July 1944.
Personnel of
The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (M.G.) and unidentified British
soldiers preparing to board the first leave train en route to
England,
Oisterwijk, Netherlands, 31 December 1944.
3rd.
Canadian Infantry Division massed pipes & drums, on 17-03-1945
at Matterhorn, Germany. Only the H.L.I. of Canada is missing.
Walking in front are, left to right: P/M. A. MacMillan (CanScots),
P/M. Ross Stone (NorthNova's), P/M.
Robert Wishart (Glengarrians) and last but not
least: P/M. Sam Scott (Ottawa Cams).
Another photograph of the
3rd. Canadian Infantry Division massed pipes & drums (taken half-way during
countering).
Pipe Majors facing the photographer, left to right:
P/M Sam Scott (Ottawa
Cams) a piper wearing CanScots tartan kilt can be seen walking
behind him, P/M
Robert Wishart (Glengarrians) and
P/M. Ross Stone (NorthNova's)
