Regimental Pipes and Drums of The Calgary Highlanders - Uniform

Uniform

The Pipes and Drums erroneously adopted the Royal Stewart tartan in 1923. The drummers switched to Government tartan in 1929 to reflect the regiment's alliance with The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. In 1939, the regiment mobilized a battalion for overseas service in the Second World War; eventually two battalions of Calgary Highlanders came into existence, one in Europe and one in Canada, each with its own Pipe Band. The 1st Battalion band in the United Kingdom was told it was not permitted to wear the Royal Stewart tartan; the 2nd Battalion continued to wear the tartan in Calgary. After 1945, the overseas battalion was disbanded, and the one-battalion regiment reverted to having just one band, clad in Government tartan.

Dress regulations have generally followed that of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of the British Army in most respects; in 1992, tartan ribbons were added to the bagpipes to pay homage to both the appointment of Queen Elizabeth II as Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment (by wearing a Royal Stewart tartan on the front) and the contributions of the Calgary Scottish Pipe Band in the formative years of the band (by adopting Gordon tartan ribbons on the back).

In the 1990s, piper and kilt-maker David Hongisto provided the band with its first white doublets for use as summer full dress; patterned after similar jackets worn by the British Army, this style of uniform had not been employed previously in the band's history.

Less formal orders of dress have generally been a mix of standard military service dress (either battle dress, DEU or shirtsleeves) and Highland dress as appropriate.