Scots soldiers are keeping alive a festive tradition dating back to the Second World War – an annual battalion blanket-decorating competition.
Those in 4th Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland (4Scots) have been decorating their blankets with drawings, cartoons and anecdotes before hanging them up for fellow soldiers to admire and compare.
It dates back to wartime when soldiers deployed in harsh conditions sought to bring some Christmas cheer to bleak positions.
A regiment-wide blanket decorating competition evolved during the war, with the owner of the best-looking blanket crowned the winner.
This year’s winner among 4 Scots, based at Catterick in North Yorkshire, used a single Sharpie pen to draw a tribute to the regiment’s history.
Corporal Lewis Devlin-May’s design is titled “Here’s To The Rest Of The Game”.
The competition has been honoured every year since the war as part of “silly week” before the Christmas break.
This also includes the “Jocks’ Christmas lunch”, where officers serve soldiers their food as a thank-you for their commitment throughout the year.
While our WW2 veterans' circumstances were far bleaker than ours, it's a nice way to celebrate and acknowledge the dedication of our troops past and present
Captain Andy McLellan, unit welfare officer at 4 Scots, has been overseeing the tradition for the past 22 years.
He said: “It’s important that as a regiment we keep Army traditions alive. While our WW2 veterans’ circumstances were far bleaker than ours, it’s a nice way to celebrate and acknowledge the dedication of our troops past and present.
“Every year in the Army is a challenging year, however. We put our soldiers through their paces, push their limits, and demand strong physical and mental resilience.
“So as the year winds down, it’s nice to have a period where we don’t take ourselves too seriously, and can look back on the year and get creative ahead of our Christmas break.”
