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After each war the
British Army has made a habit of adopting some headdress belonging
to its allies or the enemy.
The bearskin
<<< of the Guards came from
Napoleon's Imperial Guard; The Lancer's Cap was adopted in 1815,
and came from the Poles. It had previously been adopted
by the French (in 1811) and also by some German Kingdoms at
various times between 1809 and 1813.
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| The top heavy shako adopted
for the Infantry after the Napoleonic Wars was then in vogue among
Britain's Continental Allies; the new style stovepipe shako adopted in 1855
was similar to that of our French allies in the Crimean War >>> |
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| The flat
type shako adopted in 1860 was similar to the one worn by the
soldiers in the American Civil War; the spiked helmet adopted in
the 1870's (persisted for the next two (2) generations) was copied
from the German victors of the 1870 War. |
The Beret was no exception.
Originally, Tank drivers and gunners
were supplied with a primitive brown leather helmet, which was soon
discarded. They were also issued with tin helmets with a chain
mail visor to protect their eyes
against splash - they were seldom worn.
In May 1918 General Elles and Colonel
Fuller, when dining together at Bermicourt, discussed the future of the
Tank Corps and its uniform. The 70th Chasseurs Alpines were
billeted in the area at this time and General Elles tried on one of
their Beret. Of the various proposals put forward he
strongly favoured the Black Beret. He was influenced by the
presence of the Chasseurs Alpines, many of whom were training at British
Tank Schools, and who had a particularly close liaison with the Tank
Corp Units.
Black was selected because it was
least likely to show oil stains. When bending over the
engines inside a Tank (and they needed a great deal of tending) it was
almost impossible to avoid getting oily. No change to the
uniform was possible during the war. Later when advocating
that the Black Beret should be accepted officially, General Elles, in
addition to explaining its advantages inside a Tank, added that, both in
war and on manoeuvres, it was very convenient to sleep in.
After a prolonged argument with the War Office, the Black Beret was
approved by HM the King on 5 March 1924.
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1942.
Armoured Regiment black beret : Corporal Lea-Smith, 2/7 Cavalry
Commando Regiment.
Black, lined, wool felt beret with black
oxidised copper Australian 'rising sun' badge. |
| Manufacturer's
label reads 'N 206 MADE IN AUSTRALIA'. Size 7 inch. Associated
with VX78043 Corporal Lea-Smith, 2/7 Cavalry Commando Regiment.
In 1942, Private Lea-Smith was a member of Honner Force. Honner
Force had an approximate strength of one Battalion (500 men)
under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Honner. It was made up
of one company from each of 36, 55, and 49 Australian Infantry
Battalions, plus a detachment from 6 Australian Independent
Company. It was sent out by New Guinea Force on 12 September
1942, via Laloki-Goldie River, to cut enemy lines of
communication between Menari and Nauro.
It was under the command of 7
Division. After making some advances the force divided into
smaller units. On 1 October, Lieutenants Fielding, Egan &
Ireland with 37 other ranks left camp to make a reconnaissance
of the area forward of Mount Tamala and Mount Silia to obtain
information on the country around Kagi, Efogi & Nauru in
preparation for a proposed attack. Lea-Smith was a member of
Lieutenant Fielding's patrol. The 2/6th Company never
participated in the attack as it was withdrawn to form the
advance guard to the force sent to attack Buna. Private
Lea-Smith was later promoted to Corporal, then Sergeant, and
fought in the Ramu River Valley region of New Guinea. |
The Black Beret remained the exclusive
distinctive headdress of the Royal Tank Corps until its practical value
was recognised by others and its use was extended to the whole of the
Royal Armoured Corps in 1940. After WW11, on the
introduction of the blue beret, the Royal Tank Regiment reclaimed their
right to the exclusive use of the Black Beret, which may not be worn by
any other regiment or corps with the exception of the Westminster
Dragoons.
| The
initial clothing issue to the Australian 1st Tank Section in 1930
was the usual khaki jacket, trousers and Digger (slouch) hat.
New tankers
uniform 1941 including khaki beret >>>
In July 1944 LTCOL T. E.
Williams then GSOI Armoured Corps at AHQ proposed that Armoured
Corps personnel be issued Black Berets instead of the khaki which
had been worn since the Corps was first formed in 1941.
This was approved by Chief of
General Staff Lt-General
J. Northcott on 3 August 1944. |
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Shortly afterwards,
the Commander 4 Australian Armoured Brigade, BRIG D. Macarthur
Onslow recommended that a chromium
plated Commonwealth (Rising
Sun) hat badge be worn by Armoured Corps personnel on the Black
Beret instead of the ordinary copper oxidised badge.
This, he said, would give the Corps a distinctive badge which
would also serve as a link with the other Armoured Corps in
British Commonwealth Forces which all wore a silver badge.
The proposal was approved in 1945. |
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