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James Miller
British Army Seaforth Highlanders
from:Wick, Caithness, Scotland.
My grandfather, James Miller, served in the Seaforth Highlanders but we have no details for him and it appears no service record survives either. All we have is this photograph of him sent from France (he is on the right and as far as we know the other chap is a friend of his from their home town of Wick, Caithness.
I was puzzled about the outfit they are wearing as I was expecting them to be wearing a kilt but it has been suggested that during the war sometimes they were short of uniforms and they were kitted out in fleece and knitted goods from civilians. There is nothing in the photograph to suggest a regiment. Unfortunately, like many, he suffered terribly from shell shock and this eventually contributed to his death in 1934 at the age of 44. I have also been told that he was in rehabilitation in a hospital in Edinburgh.
Editors Note:
Unfortunately there were at least 12 members of the regiment bearing this name so it is not possible to distinguish which one was him without further details. The jackets they are wearing were issued to soldiers in cold weather, the rest of the uniform is standard army issue. The Seaforth Highlanders were a kilted regiment, but later in the war they wore trousers as kilts offer little protection against mustard gas. Presumably trousers may have been worn during the winter months for practical reasons.
