Scottish School Uniform: Cyril--Inter-War and World War II Era



Figure 1.--This photo postcard is undated, but HBC belieces it was probably sent around 1920. At first because of the hat we did not think the boy was wearing a school uniform, but because of the tie, snake belt, and l socks we think he may be wearing a prepschool uniform. The hat is presumably not part of the regulation uniform. The boy's name was Cyril and he was photographed in Edinburgh. The card was sent to dear Uncle Harold, but there is no message.

We have little information about this boy except that his name was Cyril. The portrait was taken at an Edinburgh photographic studio. It was undated, but looks to have been taken about 1920, perhaps a little later. Except for the hat which might have been worn on a sunny day to watch a cricket match, Cyril is wearing what looks to be a preparatory school uniform, although there is no school badge on his suit coat. The image raises some intriguing questions. Interestingly, he does not look like a Scottish boy. HBC does not know how common it was for non-British boys to attend schools in Scotland or elsewhere in the United Kingdom during the 1920s.

The Boy

We have little information about this boy except that his name was Cyril. We know he had an Uncle Harold. We even have Uncle Harold's address, ????. Presumably the boy lived in Edinburgh as his portrait was taken there, but of course he could have been visiting.

A HBC reader comments, "Looks like this young Scotsman is of mixed descent, a Eurasian boys if you ask me. I am very interested. I've always felt that British Eurasians are low key compared to their Dutch counterparts. In Holland they are highly visible and have played a prominent role in society for a long time. There are lots of photographs of pre-war Eurasian children and students. However this is the first British photograph I've come accross."

The Studio

The portrait was taken at an Edinburgh photographic studio.

Chronology

The portrait was undated, but looks to have been taken about 1920, perhaps a little later. We think that a portrait taken in the 1910s would have more liked shown boys wearing Eton collars. The style of the photograph which was a postcard suggests that it was not made later than 1925.

Clothing

At first because of the hat we did not think the boy was wearing a school uniform, but because of the tie, snake belt, and l socks we think he may be wearing a prepschool uniform. In the early 1900s, Eton collars were till common and were worn at some schools into the 1930s. After World War I (1914-18) soft collars and blazers became more common. Many prep schools continied wearing suits without school badges like this boy appears to be wearing. The hat is presumably not part of the regulation uniform. Cyril's hat is surely not the ordinary school headgear. It would, however, be suitable for watching a cricket match on a sunny day.

Foreign Students

HBC does not know how common it was for non-British boys or British boys of mixed mairrages to attend schools in Scotland or elsewhere in the United Kingdom during the 1920s. Given the racial attitudes of the day, one would think that such boys may have experienced difficulties. Even British boys from working-class families or boys with regional British accents might have problems in some schools






Christopher Wagner





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Created: December 9, 2001
Last updated: December 9, 2001