Coloured field service caps

**Scout** · 03-29-2012, 11:56 AM

I thought about going there, but 'chickened out' (sorry)

You are more brave than I

Actually Battery Command Post seems very prosaic about it; he will wring its neck if the 'bill' (sorry again, just cant help it!) exceeds 300$
PS
I hope its a bird bird and not a bird in the British sense of the word. If the latter you might get in trouble with the law, if you wring her neck

**Adrian Stevenson** · 03-30-2012, 11:31 AM

I have never gone down the road of collecting these. Yet they can still be found at reasonable prices if you are lucky. I only have Brian's listings. In fact, I think the complexities of id'ing these keeps the prices down? Few know what they are looking at without going to a book.

Hi Rob, I have not heard Margret's name mentioned for a few years now. She once did a talk on British headgear at our military vehicle club monthly meeting as she was from Leicester. I have a horrible feeling she passed away a few years ago? Her collection was certainly sold as Lez bid on some of her items (Unsucessfully). First knew of her back in the 80's via Joe Lyndhurst's book on militaria (great general book).

Cheers, Ade.

**Battery Command Post** · 03-30-2012, 05:09 PM

by Adrian Stevenson

Hi Rob, I have not heard Margret's name mentioned for a few years now. She once did a talk on British headgear at our military vehicle club monthly meeting as she was from Leicester. I have a horrible feeling she passed away a few years ago? Her collection was certainly sold as Lez bid on some of her items (Unsucessfully). First knew of her back in the 80's via Joe Lyndhurst's book on militaria (great general book).

Yes, she was one of the 'old school' collectors. I met her in my days in book publishing, actually through Ian Durrant, as she was interested in publishing the hat material. I remember chatting to her on the phone and her being blown away that I had heard of her

I have to admit I don't know what became of her..

The Joe Lyndhurst book was the first reference book I had, and I bought it new .. 1983 maybe(?), so I would have been 14. That book got me hooked...

Rob

**helldunkle** · 03-30-2012, 08:34 PM

Ade, for me the attraction is the vast range of caps available, I have almost 60 different caps now, many duplicates and quite a few that look unissued. Some are very common and easy to aquire like the royal artillery officers caps, there seem to be more of these than anything else and good ones now sell for £40-£50 each. As you know F/S caps date way back and I have some Victorian / Edwardian examples bought for a few pounds as the sellers didn't know what they were. So yes its true, the complexities of the caps keep the prices down to an extent (which is good for me!) but you can easily pay £50 - £60 for a minty hussars cap. Part of the fun is trying to find out which regt or batalion the caps belonged to. I use a few references for this. A rifle volunteers book which describes many uniform colours, a volunteers artillery book and the military historical society infantry f/s cap book, although a good book and easily available this book is vague in places and incomplete. I fell in love with these caps a few years ago when I bought my first artillery one for £5. At the time I had a grand plan to collect an example of every British coloured f/s cap from ww2. Probably impossible. Its good fun though.

**helldunkle** · 03-31-2012, 09:08 PM

Rob, I have just id'd the third cap down, the green and maroon one. Its a Lancashire Fusiliers cap.

**Battery Command Post** · 03-31-2012, 10:04 PM

by helldunkle

Rob, I have just id'd the third cap down, the green and maroon one. Its a Lancashire Fusiliers cap.

Great

As I said, i have had the exact same cap in my collection for probably 15-20 years, and have never definitely identified it.

I also should add, the cap I identified as Duke of Wellington's Regt might also be Royal Army Ordnance Corps (c1940-1945). It seems both wore a cap of exactly the same colours. I missed it the first time I looked through my refs.

Rob

**helldunkle** · 04-01-2012, 09:49 AM

Heres a link to a video of an identical cap to the green and maroon one Pre WW2 British Lancashire Fusilier Dress Cap - Egypt - YouTube its the best evidence I have its Lancs Fusiliers. I thought the ordnance corps didn't have piping on the peak. I have a badged and buttoned ww2 example with no peal piping. Maybe some had piping and others didn't. Apparently the officer training corps wore a blue cap with flap, crown and peak piping as well. Some of the blue caps with red piping have pipng on the front seam and some don't. I know this is significant. Heres a photo of two examples, one with front seam piping and one without. The cap without had George 5th buttons. confusing, I know.

**Battery Command Post** · 04-01-2012, 05:31 PM

by helldunkle

I thought the ordnance corps didn't have piping on the peak. I have a badged and buttoned ww2 example with no peal piping. Maybe some had piping and others didn't.

That's exactly what my info says. It lists three types, ORs with and without peak piping, and officers with red crown piping, no peak piping and gold curtain piping.

Although the common idea is that these hats were worn in the late Victorian/Edwardian period and then again from 1937, I know these hats were worn from their introduction in 1894 right through until today. So there are lots of variations, and anything with George V buttons falls into the 'completely unrecorded' era

I have a Royal Engineers GVR cap, all dark blue except it has a red peak, and no piping at all.

Rob

Rob

**oradour** · 04-01-2012, 06:21 PM

I believe the seventh one down to be "Royal Corps of Signals"...I have my father-in-laws WW2 1943 issue cap, dark blue body, light blue piping and top....with badge and complete with a "sweetheart badge" affixed to the left rear side ! albeit a rather tatty/salty item, it means the world to my wife, we found it after he had passed away in 2001, it was in an outside garage, where it had lain since the around 1983.... see here..
Prost ! Steve.

**helldunkle** · 04-03-2012, 08:52 PM

Thats a nice cap. I like the salty examples and its good that its treasured. I thought the same as you about the light blue crown but I have signals caps and they are lighter blue than what I think are accountants corps ones. They are much less salty than your example and the light blue is much lighter. Heres a signals cap in mint condition.