Tales of a Jacket

By Susan Higgins

The newly organised uniform stores in the museum of The King’s Own Scottish Borderers contain rail upon rail of Regimental uniform from through the ages, beautifully separated into groups of size, colour and period, labelled, numbered, and recorded. On a rail of green WW1 tunics, hangs a jacket which differs from the others. It is the jacket of Robert Bruce. Not THAT Robert Bruce, but Private Robert Bruce of 2nd Battalion KOSB, and veteran of WW1. Although it is the standard uniform of the time, it features details which give us an insight into the experiences and character of the man who wore it.

Above the left breast pocket is a line of medal ribbons, with the central one only showing some remnants of threads where it has been ripped off at some point in its history. The ribbon which stands out is that of the 1914-15 Star, awarded to soldiers who were part of WW1 from its first year. What makes it particularly special is the small metal rosette in its centre, as this was only worn by those who had joined up at the very beginning – August 1914. Scathing of the British Expeditionary Force, Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany is said to have wanted to exterminate the ‘contemptible little army’ and, though there is no evidence that he ever actually said this, those fighting from the start of WW1 began to refer to themselves as ‘The Old Contemptibles’. A name of defiance and determination, they were obviously a force not to be reckoned with. Bruce was an Old Contemptible.

Towards the lower part of Robert Bruce’s right hand sleeve are four chevrons – three blue and one red – one for every year he was in the war. The red one, once again, signifies that he had been part of the war since its very beginning.

How come there are only four chevrons and the war lasted for five years? Fear not, he did not die before the final year, he survived the war and served with the Home Guard during WW2. But the next interesting point on his jacket might give us a clue as to what he was doing to take him out of action for an entire year.

On the lower part of his left sleeve are three metal wound stripes, one applied for each time he was wounded seriously enough to take him out of action. Robert Bruce certainly seems to have been both lucky and resilient. The interesting thing is that soldiers weren’t required to use either the wound stripes or the chevrons – it was purely personal choice. So why did they use them? Perhaps it was a way bragging, a form of competitiveness to show who was the toughest? Or perhaps for some it was a more personal reminder of what they had been through, endured and survived? A reminder of their own mortality and that any moment could bring serious injury or death.

There is one other detail on the jacket which is the most personal and poignant of all. Amongst the uniform brass buttons there is one black button, although age and wear have made it fade to brown. This was a mourning button and it was worn to show that, at a time when he was surrounded by death and destruction on a daily basis, Robert Bruce was grieving a personal loss, the death of someone very close to him.

In our archive collection, we hold photographs, letters and postcards which belonged to Robert Bruce. We even have a small diary with minute writing scrawled in pencil. Despite these other items, it is his jacket which stands out as being both deeply personal and revealing about his wartime experience. They say that clothes maketh the man but, in the case of Robert Bruce, it was his own sense of endurance and identity that made his jacket so unique to him.

‘Private Bert Bruce has seen the whole thing from start to finish – from Mons to Mons so to speak. One of the Old Contemptibles of whom we are so proud today, we extend to him all the best of good wishes for the future.’ – an extract from a local newspaper at the end of the war.