my humble beret grouping

[James C]

Just thought I'd share my small collection of beret's, its a mixed bag really with no real rhyme or reason but during my time collecting militaria ive picked them up along the way ,from left to right we have two iraqi issue beret's firstly a post 1991 wassit beret made after the embargo and an earlier pre 1991 republican guard beret ,next are two early west german tanker beret's firstly the soft beret worn when dismounted from tanks and the second the panzer schutzmuttze which is a part hard cap /beret which is a direct descendant of the Wehrmacht panzer beret both are from the 1960's next is my recent acquisition a Serbian ground troops beret circa 1994 unis-sued as its still has the label attached and finally the earliest item in my collection so early in fact I've owned it since a small boy and probably my first military item a Royal Artillery regiment beret unfortunately the insignia was lost in the mists of time but i did pick up an equivalent although slightly oversized ,i did try and squeeze it on my fat head but with disastrous consequences so i had to ask my beautiful assistant to stand in yet again and this time she was quite keen ,I've thrown in a period pic of me wearing it circa early 1980's Attachment 697178

[Woolgar]

An interesting selection there James and well modelled

Nick

[James C]

why thank you nick

[SteveR]

A nice collection friend.

[timothy]

Nice varied collection of berets represented James. Just out of curiosity wasn't the British the first to use them I know the red devils made that beret famous in WW2 (Bridge too far movie had them in it) timothy

[AZPhil]

The "two iraqi issue beret's firstly a post 1991 wassit beret made after the embargo and an earlier pre 1991 republican guard beret" Will demand a premium price in the future. I have found myself in the same predicament. BIG Grape, Little hats and helmets in my collection. I would start paying your models as your Charlie Chaplin/Party Hat look just doesn't cut it with these James!
Great Beret's
Semper Fi
Phil

[James C]

many thanks, steve ,timothy and phil ill have to do research on its first issued use timothy and cheers phil i really did look a twit but it gave my daughter a giggle

[Opex]

Hi James very nice collection and the Iraqi berets are fantastic.

Love the period pics, you haven't changed a bit buddy

[James C]

many thanks opex ,and for the compliment i reckon the beret must of shrunk over the years in storage,as for the iraqi berets i think the most sought after types to find are from the Ba'athist period of the republic era ,i really should pick up some french varieties some day too ,thanks again james

[James C]

Been a while ..four years or there abouts but have a few more Berets to add to the thread ,Firstly this Belgian para commando beret and because of the smaller size a French beret was utilised and not an uncommon occurrence amongst the belgian military i believe