Description
Mr. Henley describes two major issues with kilts. The first was that lice thrived in a kilt's seams, and the second was that mud froze to a kilts tail, thus badly chafing its wearer's legs.
Roy Henley
Roy Henley was born in London, Ontario on September 29, 1898. After enlisting in Toronto in 1916 with the 166th Queens Own Rifles, he was discharged with suspected tuberculosis. Mr. Henley re-enlisted, sailed to England aboard the horse transport SS Welshman, and joined the Quebec Regiment. Mr. Henley's recollections are detailed, sometimes graphic and occasionally humorous. His experiences spanned many battles; the Somme, Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele, Cambrai and Arras.
Transcript
The kilt, it was a terrible piece of uniform for combat in this respect, lousy, a breeding place for millions of lice, all the seams. The only thing about it, it did keep your kidneys warm but in Passchendaele the mud on the back froze and every time you took a step that frozen mud it kept hitting you, the backs of your legs were raw. We come out of Passchendaele the end of November and then we got issued trousers again til spring.