Ghillie suit when viewed using these methods. The ghillie suit was developed by Scottish gamekeepers as a portable hunting blind. Lovat Scouts, a Scottish Highland regiment formed by the British Army during the Second Boer War, is the first known military unit to use ghillie suits. In 1916, Lovat Scouts went on to become the British Army's first sniper unit. The term "ghillie" is derived from "gille" (), the Scottish Gaelic for "servant" or a "lad". In English, this term was especially used to refer to those assisting in deer hunting, deer stalking or fly fishing expeditions in the Scottish Highlands. The
John Lilley and Gillie Ltd close links with Observator in Rotterdam, who manufactured one of the first fully reliable transmitting magnetic compass systems. The Observator shareholders, Holland America Line, bought the share capital of John Lilley and Gillie Limited., but retained all the personnel and the directors. In 1975 Mr. C.H. Turnbull joined the company as M.D. and during 1976 the company bought the shares in the London chart agent, Brown and Perring Limited, and re-acquired Lilley and Reynolds. Since then, the company has consolidated its position as a Class A Admiralty Chart Agent and nautical instrument manufacturer, and has gradually entered the field of