Some more information about why we have a schools section
and what we are trying to achieve, etc. Also a little note
about what we have in this section...
Baseball Cap: The baseball cap you see pictured is
the same as what you would see the sworn WA Police Officer
wear on duty. The band will often wear this when not performing
ceremonial duties and in weather conditions that extra protection
is required.
Glengarry: "Blue bonnets over the border"
a well known Scottish song written by Sir Walter Scott, says
in the last verse - Trumpets are sounding, war steeds are bounding,
Stand to your arms, and march in good order;
England shall many a day tell of the bloody fray,
When the blue bonnets came over the border.
This often spoken of apparel was in all probability the Highlander's
bonnet that came to be known as the Tam o' Shanter. Either
knitted or made of cloth it was nearly always blue in colour
although it could sometimes be grey or brown. Worn tight around
the brow and loose on top, in its centre was a pompom (toorie)
for decoration. Over time it became smaller and was known
as a Balmoral. As time went by the style of the balmoral changed
in the way that it was worn. This led to the new style of
cap called a Glengarry (Pictured above)
Shirt: Keeping with WA Police regulations.
Pipe Band Waist Belt: Usually made of cowhide the Highlander's
belt was about 80 - 100mms in width with a brass or silver
buckle.
Sporran: Because the kilt did not have pockets the
sporran was born of neccessity to provide a receptacle for
the various bits and pieces, including lead shot for muskets.
The earliest sporran was a simple draw-string cloth or thin
leather bag that was hung around the waist.
Kilt: With Napier tartan. WA Police Pipe Band wear
the Napier as the commissioner of police at the time the band
was formed was called Richard Napier. Coincidentally, the
Napier tartan matches the colours that represent the police,
blue and white.
The kilt, now seen as the national dress of
Scotland, started life confined entirely to the Scottish Highlands. Lowlanders
would have nothing to do with such a barbarous form of apparel
and conferred upon the Highlanders the term "Redshanks",
because of the lack of covering on their legs and because
they were said to be blue with cold.
The Highland Scots are said to have emigrated from Ireland,
displaced the native Picts and made the Highlands their own. They
brought with them their Irish dress and as late as the mid
16th century the most common dress for men was the leine -
a voluminous saffron shirt comprising more than 20 metres
of material. Irish and Scottish dress at that time was nearly
indistinguishable.
Evolving somewhere around that time the kilt in its original
form was a very basic garment measuring some 1.35 metres in
width and 5.5 metres in length. It was known as
the Feileadh Mor - the big kilt and was usually referred to
as the belted plaid.
To wear it the wearer would lay a broad leather belt on the
ground and lay the plaid (From the Gaelic Plaide
meaning blanket) lengthways on top of it. He would
then pleat the lower end of the plaid in the middle and lay
down so that the edge reached to the middle of his knees. He
would then pull the unpleated sides of the plaid around his
waist and fasten it with the belt. The spare material
was then gathered and wrapped around the waist and then fastened
to the left shoulder with a large brooch or pin.
The Feileadh Beg or little kilt is what is worn today and
it is not thought to have existed before 1725. the
indignity of this may lay in the fact that the originator
of the modern kilt was an Englishman by the name of Rawlinson,
the manager of an iron smelting works in Lochaber, whom it
is said adapted it to allow more freedom of movement for his
workers.
Socks: With Napier tartan. WA Police Pipe Band wear
the Napier as the commissioner of police at the time the band
was formed was called Richard Napier. Coincidentally, the
Napier tartan matches the colours that represent the police,
blue and white.
Gillie Brogues: Low healed shoes made of heavy leather,
originating in Scotland & Irelandas a coarse, usually
untanned leather shoe. Brogues proper are traditional men's
country shoes. As outdoor shoes, they were normally made in
brown and were not traditionally worn in town.
Ghillie Brogues are now primarily worn for social events,
but originated as a shoe that would drain water quickly due
to the lack of tongue, and not get stuck in the mud because
the laces are tied above the ankle.
The word brogue is derived from the Gaelic word brog
meaning shoe. The word ghillie comes from gillie meaning
a "lad" or "servant"
