Objects Database

Lovat Scout’s badge, sporran and clasp knife

Accession Number

1575.2020.1

Object Name

Lovat Scout’s badge, sporran and clasp knife

Created

03/11/2020

Creator

Hermione Cooper

Accession Date

03/11/2020

Brief Description

Brown leather sporran, horn clasp knife and Lovat Scout badges belonging to Angus Cameron.

Materials

Leather, metal, horn

Dimensions

Sporran 24(L) x24.5(W) cms

Number Of Objects

4

Inscription Description

Inside sporran indistinct letters and numbers with the Military arrow..
On badge”JE SUIS PRESTE” and a stag.

Colour

Brown, silver

Provenance

The Lovar Scouts were formed in 1900 by Simon Fraser, 14th Lord Lovat. The British were struggling to contain the Boers in South Africa in the Boer War and the idea was to take deer stalkers, ghillies and Highlanders into one unit and play the Boers at their own game of guerilla warfare, hit and run tactics and fieldcraft. They were well up to the task and their commanding officer, Lord Roberts, was happy to describe them as ‘half wolf and half jack rabbit’. The Scouts were instrumental in bringing the war to a conclusion in 1902 when the Boers surrendered.
Among many other things, the Scouts were sent to Canada during Worlld War Two to train as mountain troops. Several men from our local area here in Lochaber on the West of Scotland were among them including Angus Cameron.
Angus joined the local TA and then when war broke out he became a Lovat Scout. After training they were sent to garrison the Faroes, then in 1943 they started intensive training in the Cairngorms before heading off to Wales for rock climbing instruction at the Commando School of Mountain Warfare. In early 1944 he went to Canada to train on the Columbian Icefields.
Here he survived an avalanche. His fellow Scout, Lance Corporal Sandy Collie, from Aviemore, wasn’t so lucky. While part of a training party tackling Nigel Peak on January 20th Collie was caught in an avalanche along with Angus. One of Angus's gloves was seen sticking out of the snow after the avalanche had passed and he was quickly dug out. Angus located Collie’s body about five feet under the snow an hour later. All attempts to revive Collie failed and he was buried in the little cemetery outside the town of Jasper four days later.
Later in 1944 his unit sailed to Italy. They then moved up through Italy fighting the retreating Germans, into Austria, and then down into Greece where he was demobbed in 1947.
The sporran, badge and homemade knife all belonged to Angus and his niece, Hermione Cooper, kindly passed them on to us when Angie died in 2017.
We have one or two other items of Lovat Scout information which we will put along with these in a wee archive.

Acquisition Method

Donated by Hermione Cooper

Acquisition Date

03/11/2020

Condition Check Date

03/11/2020

Rules

Spectrum : UK Museum documentation standard, V.3.1 2007

Modified

03/11/2020

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