Standing on the right of a group photo of NCOs of the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders is this figure who holds bagpipes and has four gold stripes on his right sleeve. This identifies him as the Sergeant-Piper. Prior to 1881 he would have been titled Pipe-Major but in that year there were changes made which meant that the Drum-Major and Pipe-Major were down-graded to Sergeant-Drummer and Sergeant-Piper. The Regimental History relates that in the attack on the Egyptian trenches at the battle of Tel-el-Kebir, Sergeant-Piper Grant played ‘The March of the Cameron Men’ to inspire the Highlanders. Sadly he died of cholera the next year. This happened while the regiment was stationed in unhealthy conditions in the Citadel in Cairo, 10 men died in July 1883 including Sergeant-Piper J McGregor Grant.
While the other men in the photo are wearing scarlet undress frocks, Grant wears a green frock, the undress version of the dress doublet. The collar, cuffs and shoulder straps are edged with gold lace and braid. The white metal buttons are square, or diamond shaped and there are false pocket flaps decorated with buttons and gold loops, in a similar manner to the Inverness flaps on the dress doublet. He has a black leather waist-belt with a rectangular silver metal clasp. This supports a dirk on his right side. He has a haversack which is slung on his right shoulder with a white canvas strap. A slim strap on his left shoulder supports a water-bottle.
The kilt is in the tartan of Cameron of Erracht and he has a dress sporran similar to the pattern worn by officers. The cantle is gilt with elaborate decoration, and the goat hair is grey, not black like the sporrans worn by the other ranks. For service in Egypt the regiment wore white helmets with white pagris.
