Aussie hats other than the slouch hat. Page 3

Field Marshal Lord Birdwood of Anzac and Totnes.

Helmet worn in his position of 'Gold Stick, Colonel of the Blues, Household Cavalry. "German" silver full dress helmet with silver, gilt and enamel plate, gilt Tudor rose bosses and decoration down back, gilt star and ball on top surmounted by a hollow "German" silver spike to take plume.

Lower edge of helmet is bound in gilt. Gilt chin scales are backed with black leather. Brown leather liner to body of helmet.

Helmet has a large gilt, silver and enamel badge of the British Royal Horse Guards. Central eight-pointed silver star has central red enameled cross, edged with silver.

Motto 'HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE' is in gilt letters on a blue enamel garter surrounding the cross. The silver star is wreathed with gilt Tudor roses and bows, and an outer wreath of oak leaves and acorns, and laurel leaves.

At the base of the leaves is a gilt St George and the Dragon. The top of the star is surmounted by a gilt King's Crown.

This is not strictly speaking an Aussie hat but as it was part of the story of a famous leader of Aussies, I could not resist adding it to this section.

	The Special Air Service originally wore a red beret to indicate their parachute role. Later they obtained permission to wear the sand coloured one shown here.	1st year Cadet RMC 1931 >>>
		Australians in SVN sometimes wore the US pattern steel helmet >>>

Tropical sun helmet with puggaree. The helmet is covered in cotton with a white finish.

A buckled leather chin strap is fastened across the front of the brim.

The inside of the helmet is lined with green cotton and has a leather sweatband.

The inside of the crown is lined with a manufacturer's label printed on paper and covered with clear plastic.

This label reads 'Charles Birks & Co Ltd Adelaide /Real Pith Hat/ Made in India'.

Worn by SFX15101 Private Nancy Stewart Eglinton. Eglinton was born in Adelaide, South Australia in January 1918 and enlisted in the Voluntary Aid Detachment on 10 November 1941. In 1942 Eglinton, with the majority of VADs, was transferred to the newly formed Australian Army Medical Women's Service. During the war she served in Northern Queensland, and possibly in New Guinea towards the end of the war. She served with 128 Australian General Hospital (AGH), 2/6 AGH and when discharged on 26 April 1946 she was serving with 101 AGH, based in Northfield, Adelaide. At the end of war she met and later married S3509 Colin Malcolm McEachern, a telegraphist from the Royal Australian Navy who served as a coast watcher during the war. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal during his service in HMAS Parkes.

The khaki tropical pattern field helmet of Boer War vintage.

This type was issued to some Colonial troops as a replacement for their fur felt "slouch" hats.

They were hugely unpopular with Aussies who wanted, and got, their slouch hats returned to them.

They have since gained the nickname "Soldiers of the Queen" helmets.

South Vietnam. October 1970. Warrant Officer Class 1 (WO1) Eric Burns, 47, of Salisbury East, Qld, an Australian Army advisor with the Vietnamese 7th Cavalry Squadron, in northern South Vietnam.

WO1 Burns, a member of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV), wears the black beret of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps, with the Corps' badge, and the badge of the Vietnamese Armoured Corps.



WW2 era cotton jungle beret.

The black beret of the Victorian Mounted Rifles (CH Collection)

	Above "Red" beret of 3RAR Para (CH Collection)
US "baseball cap" sold in American PX


The US issue steel helmet used by the Australian Army during the Viet Nam period also had a plastic helmet liner. Many troops used the liner as a headwear in it's own right. The one pictured was used in Viet Nam. On the front can be seen the remains of Australian Military Forces Rising Sun badge decal that is well worn (picture right).

Pale khaki cotton drill baseball-style cap with a machine embroidered cloth patch sewn on the crown.

The cap can be adjusted for size by a fabric strip at the back of the crown, secured in place by a brass clip with the raised letters 'ACC' upon it. Inside the crown is the name 'TATE', written in black ink.

The circular woven cloth patch is in khaki cotton fabric with brown, black, blue, gold and white embroidery.

It features an image of a flying falcon (actually taken from the logo of Gulf Air, the airline of Bahrain) with a boomerang in its talons, and the stars of the Southern Cross, superimposed on a map of the Persian Gulf. Around the edge is a gold rope border, surrounding the words 'RAN LOGISTIC SUPPORT ELEMENT - MIDDLE EAST' in English and Arabic. The words 'ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING, ANYWHERE' appear in a ribbon below.

Light blue baseball style cap with circular United Nations badge sewn on the front above the brim.

The inside of the cap has been marked in black felt marker with 'FLS 9300178' and 'AUS F1808246 ROGERS'.

Worn by F1808246 Lieutenant (Lt) Erica Rogers. Lt Rogers was born in April 1978 in Townsville, Queensland and joined the Australian Defence Force Academy in January 1996.

She graduated from ADFA in December 1998 and from the Royal Military College in December 1999 with the rank of Lieutenant. On 14 June 2001 Rogers was deployed to East Timor as the Operations Lieutenant with Rotation 3 of the Force Logistics Squadron (FLS3). The squadron provided logistics support to the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor Peace Keeping Force (UNTAET PKF).

As Operations Lieutenant Rogers assisted the Operations Officer and performed cell administration, compiled reports and managed the three logistic detachments in Bacau, Oecussi and Suai. In October 2001 Rogers took command of the FLS Support Troop which included the catering and Information Systems section, the Class 8 clerks, petroleum operators, Q Store, orderly team, pay representation, inspector foodstuffs, environmental health and the unit Regimental Aid Post. Rogers returned to Australia with FLS3 on 13 December 2001.


Australian Militia sidecap, out of a very old Australian collection, and is thought to be a pre WW1 Engineers! However It may well be 1930's Militia! It has Blue top Khaki body and Red piping, with two early celluloid front buttons.	This forage cap was worn by Charles Arblaster from Footscray, Melbourne, who attended RMC Duntroon and was appointed Lieutenant on 1 June 1914. Joined the Machine Gun Section of 8 Light Horse Regiment, AIF, on 3 November 1914.

Embarked for overseas service at Melbourne on 25 February 1915, aboard HMAT A16 'Star of Victoria'. Served at Gallipoli and was wounded at Sari Bair on 26 September 1915. Evacuated to England but rejoined his unit in Egypt on 26 February 1916(?). Promoted Captain on 12 March 1916 and transferred to 53 Battalion AIF. He was severely wounded in action at Fromelles on 20 July 1916 and taken prisoner of war by the Germans. He died of wounds, aged 21 years, on 24 July 1916 and is buried at Douai Communal Cemetery in the Nord Region of Northern France. He probably purchased this cap in late 1914 or early 1915 and left it behind when he departed for overseas service. AWM image & text