Vintage WW1 Black Watch Officers Plaid Brooch - Lieutenant Philip Arnold Chapman

This classic Black Watch officers plaid brooch features St. Andrew mounted on a thistle wreath, on a disc with an engraved edge. Upon conducting some research, an interesting history of this Black Watch regimental plaid brooch has come to light. Philip Arthur Chapman enlisted in the London Regiment 1/16 (County of London Battalion Queens Westminster Rifles T.F at the young age of 16-17 in 1914, with service number 2329.

He saw active duty in France beginning on 1-11-1914, serving as a rifleman. After witnessing the final days of the Battle of Messines (1914) near Armentieres, Flanders, he was sent to various military hospitals, and on 3-1-1915, was recorded at the 4th Northern General Hospital suffering from Myalgia, a general term used to cover many conditions at that time.

In time, he returned to duty and made his next appearance in the public record when he was commissioned on 19th March 1915 into the 3rd Black Watch Royal Highlanders Regiment as a 2nd Lt. This can be verified in Record WO374/13255. He was further promoted to Lieutenant on 1 June 1916 in the 6th (Perthshire) Battalion (Territorial). On 10th August 1916, he was issued with the entitlement of a ‘wound stripe‘ for an action on 6th July 1916. By 1918, he is listed as living at 7 Patten Rd S.W 18 in the London Directory as an absent voter and as a Lieutenant in the 6th Black Watch. Continuing to be listed as an absent voter at 7 Patten Rd S.W 18 in the London Directory in 1919, there was a change in his status to Lieutenant in the 3rd Black Watch.

Lieutenant Chapman is recorded as a recipient of the British War Medal and Victory Medal, as indicated on the medal list. Interestingly, it was revealed on the back of his card that he had applied for the Mons 1914 Star. The records show that he was eventually awarded the medal with the 1914 clasp in 1920, and was residing in London at the time. The last documented information on Lieutenant Chapman dates to 1939, when he was mentioned in the London Gazette as Lieutenant Philip Arnold Chapman, formerly of the Black Watch regiment. It is quite possible that further research into this officer's service history could yield additional insights.