This illustration by Olaf Macleod was published in Regiment magazine in September 1999 with a caption saying that the officer is in No.3 Dress and the Private is in Fighting Order, in 1963. The officer has a white jacket, the hot climate version of the No.1 Dress jacket, and shows insignia of the amalgamated Camerons and Seaforths on his shoulder-belt plate and on the cantle of his goat-hair sporran. He also wears a MacKenzie sett kilt, the former Seaforth’s tartan, and hose of the Seaforths. But his belt clasp has the Cameron’s badge, and his glengarry and blue hackle are the Cameron Highlanders’ contribution to the new uniform.
It is surprising that this officer is correctly dressed for the recently formed Queen’s Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) as the 1st Battalion sailed to the Far East on 8 April 1961, only two months after amalgamation. They were stationed in Singapore as the British battalion in 99 Gurkha Infantry Brigade, in the 17th Gurkha Division. A year after amalgamation, on 6 Feb 1962 they trooped the Colours of the 1st Seaforth and 1st Camerons in Singapore. They operated in Singapore and went to North Borneo to help prevent piracy. They also deployed in Brunei, and in March 1964 returned to Scotland.
The private wears a hot climate uniform with pack, ammunition pouches, water-bottle and machete. He has divisional badges of crossed kukri knives for the 17th Gurkha Division. The rifle is the SLR 7.62 which had recently been issued to the British army to replace the Lee Enfield.
