 |
|
|||
|
|
||||
| Headwear of Colonial Units & British Units in Australia & NZ |
 |
|
Over the years military headwear has taken some strange forms. |
|
|
After each war the
British Army has made a habit of adopting some headdress belonging
to its allies or the enemy.
The bearskin (photo left) 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. |
 |
| 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 (above right) | ||
|
|
 |
| 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. |
 |
 |
| Bavarian Model 1895 Jager Tschako (Shako) made from leather (chin strap not shown) | |
| 1855 Model British Shako |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
| This Shako & Tudor Rose helmet plate badge is not from an Australian Unit but is similar to headwear worn in Australia & New Zealand, both by British & Australian or NZ units. | |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
1902 pattern Parade Helmet (Infantry) |
|
 |
 |
|
This helmet is from the North Staffordshire Regt but is similar to ones worn in Australia & NZ. |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
British Foreign Service Sun Helmet (worn by Aussies & Kiwis) |
 |
The 2nd pattern sun helmet
was worn in the Zulu Wars and in the Boer War. It had a more regimented
puggaree, less like the original loosely tied scarf and more like the
puggaree we consider today to be normal.
There were more folds they were more uniform and there was more sun protection from front and rear peaks. It is this design that is associated with the "Soldiers of the Queen" concept that many people have of that era. Note that the helmet plate has been removed. Note that the normal issue was khaki and that bandsmen and a few others wore white. |
|
|
|
Peakless Forage Caps as worn by Artillery Units circa 1900 |
|
5 Corporal (Cpl) Howard Francis Brown, No 3 Company Western Artillery, Victorian Military Forces. Cpl Brown served in the Victorian Military Forces for seven years and two months prior to his discharge in 1903 from the No. 5 Company Western Artillery. The crossed flags badge containing the letter 'S' surmounted by a crown indicates he is a 'Certified Army Signaller', a higher qualification than a flag signaller, both qualifications which he received in 1896 and 1898 respectively. He is also wearing a crossed bugles badge on his right sleeve above his corporal's chevrons. He is wearing the exploding grenade badge on his collar and peakless forage cap. The highly polished
artillery buttons on his tunic show a field gun. An artillery corporal
was not known as a bombardier at this time. |
 |
