Helm me identify this cap

[reneblacky]

I'd imagine that a South African made cap would have this type of button motif (ex my 1942 great coat)

[Watchdog]

I'd imagine that a South African made cap would have this type of button motif (ex my 1942 great coat)

I agree Rene but if this cap was used in N.Africa given the supply line difficulties in such a theatre (priority would go naturally to the actual "war fighting" gear) I do not fall out with the idea of GS buttons being used. Just about every item of Brit/Commonwealth uniform that required buttons with insignia probably had GS buttons at some point.
That said the buttons would have been fitted right at the start of the supply chain ie manfufacture / finishing process but I think the principle remains that the correct buttons supply would have likely been unreliable at some point and GS buttons would never be considered totally incorrect.

Just my thoughts.

Regards

Mark

[Dopplegarp]

A bit off topic from the subject of hats, but related to the subject of button motifs - a war story about how my great-grandfather was almost executed because of a button.

My great-grandfather fought in the Anglo-Boer war on the Boer side. Although Afrikaans, he spoke English fluently and could do so with an English accent (He was often asked to interrogate\debrief British prisoners, but that is another story). He was captured by native troops led by a New Zealand cavalry officer, and temporarily interred in a local PoW camp. Now at the time, many Boers would wear captured British jackets and such, as they were all Khaki and worked well as camo in the local environment (The boers also tended to wear khaki colours). Now I can only assume that the commander of the camp that my great-grandfather had been interred at was a bit of a bastard while still being a stickler for bureaucratic process. Unbeknownst to my great-grandfather, he had been slated for execution as a deserter. The reason? He spoke English and was still 'in uniform'. The cavalry officer who captured him (Who I assume felt some responsibility) was actually the one who ended up alerting him to the situation, and saving him with some simple advice. "Remove any labels and pull off all the buttons, and toss them in the latrine". Without the obviously marked buttons, the khaki jacket looked like any other one worn by both sides and thus "evidence" of desertion could no longer be used as an excuse. And that is, as the story goes, how my great-grandfather was almost killed by some buttons. He was later moved to the PoW camp on St Helena.

[BrodieBartfast]

A very interesting account. Thank you for sharing it with us.

B.B.