Wardmilitaria - Top
Display your banner here
Results 1 to 9 of 9

Modern day airborne berets?

Article about: Hello, Was wondering why there are very few example of fairly modern day Paratrooper berets for sale? For example Falklands, Northern Ireland etc, etc. My only idea is that original wearers

  1. #1
    RTH
    RTH is offline
    ?

    Default Modern day airborne berets?

    Hello,
    Was wondering why there are very few example of fairly modern day Paratrooper berets for sale? For example Falklands, Northern Ireland etc, etc. My only idea is that original wearers are still alive so thus haven't been sold on by their family. If anyone would point me in the right direction it would be appreciated.

    Many thanks

  2. #2

    Default

    they do come up on ebay but good used examples are not common. Bear in mind that Flklands items are getting more expensive all the time and much the same for N Ireland items. I also think as you mentioned they are probably mostly still with the wearers
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture Modern day airborne berets?  
    Regards,

    Jerry

    Whatever its just an opinion.

  3. #3

    Default

    It's all Jerry's fault in reality! Really!!

  4. #4
    RTH
    RTH is offline
    ?

    Default

    That's your collection? Damn.

  5. #5

    Default

    Also most get worn to death and then exchanged in the stores for a new one but guys hold on to them for as long as they are still wearable and no one likes wearing a brand new beret

  6. #6
    RTH
    RTH is offline
    ?

    Default

    Coincidence but after posting on this thread I looked on eBay and found a 1980s one. I'll post it on a different authentication thread to keep everything organised.

  7. #7

    Default

    Quote by kradman View Post
    Also most get worn to death and then exchanged in the stores for a new one but guys hold on to them for as long as they are still wearable and no one likes wearing a brand new beret
    That is true for the current issue berets and the same principle applied to the older ones.
    The main difference is that from the early '70s until the MoD began (thankfully) to issue a beret that the men were actually happy to wear, virtually nobody ever wore the issued beret after they completed training. So 99% of those worn in places like NI, The Falklands etc were not issued items.
    As I have mentioned before in other threads, as soon as possible after training it was "de Rigeur" to get away to "Victors of Aldershot" and buy yourself a "proper one" after Victors it was Henry Du Bora just a couple of hundred yards away. In truth most people bought a Victor just before the end of training to shape it correctly so that it could be worn straight away and you would look not quite so much a sprog. This was acceptable as long as you didn't get caught parading about and wearing it before you were entitled

    The issued berets typically disappeared into the bottom of a box or kitbag never to re-appear if they weren't just tossed in the bin.

    Of those that were returned to stores (mostly virtually unworn) many were used by regimental tailors to make the DZ flashes for the para smocks of 1st Battalion ie 1PARA which nowadays are factory made items with merrowed edges just like the rest of the Army TRFs.

    When your Victor beret was worn out to the extent suggested by Kradman, you just bought a new one and a nice polishable cap badge rather than the nasty anodised aluminium issue type

    As Jerry says, they do appear but don't expect to find one on every fair!

    Regards

    Mark
    "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

  8. #8
    RTH
    RTH is offline
    ?

    Default

    Thanks very much everyone - appreciate it. If you do have the time however, please check out the latest thread I have posted. Would appreciate any opinions.

  9. #9

    Default

    Quote by RTH View Post
    Thanks very much everyone - appreciate it. If you do have the time however, please check out the latest thread I have posted. Would appreciate any opinions.
    If you mean the late issue beret then I have replied there.

    Regards

    Mark
    "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

Similar Threads

  1. 12-20-2023, 08:44 AM
  2. Berets

    In Polish Armed Forces in the West (Polskie Siły Zbrojne na Zachodzie) 1939-1947
    12-25-2020, 07:00 AM
  3. SAS Berets

    In Airborne and special forces
    07-21-2020, 11:28 AM
  4. Canadian Airborne Regiment Berets

    In Airborne and special forces
    04-04-2019, 06:47 AM
  5. Two ww2 SAS berets and 42 dated airborne beret

    In Airborne and special forces
    12-25-2014, 11:29 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Steyer Militaria - Down
Display your banner here