Royal Ulster Rifles caubeen bonnet
Not being a headdress collector per se I continue to add from time to time the more unusual or interesting items of the 20th century as I find them;
The Royal Irish Rifles were formed in 1881 when under the Cardwell Reforms of that year the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regt of Foot and the 86th (Royal County Down) Regt were amalgamated. They took as their cap badge the Angel Harp surmounted by the Queen's Victorian crown and a scroll bearing the motto "Quis Separabit" (who shall separate us) in black metal.
In 1913 a white metal version with the Kings crown came into use.
In 1920 (due to partition) the title changed to The Royal Ulster Rifles.
A Queen's crown version of the badge appeared in 1953 and in 1958 the regiment adopted the North Irish Brigade cap badge until 1968 when, with the demise of the Infantry Brigade system the regiment amalgamated with the Royal Irish Fusiliers and the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers to form The Royal Irish Rangers. The cap badge now was the Angel Harp in silver with a gold Queen's crown and a gold scroll "Royal Irish Rangers" shortly the modern style of caubeen came into use.
In 1992 the regiment again amalgamated with the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) to become the Royal Irish Regiment. The cap badge now is as per the UDR, the Angel Harp with crown but in silver finish rather than gold.
The cap shown here is an Irish Caubeen which is the equivalent of the beret or the Scottish Balmoral, Tam O' Shanter, Kilmarnock or Glengarry caps. It will be noted that it is of different construction than the caubeen worn by other Irish units in that the crown and brim are separate pieces sewn together. It is dated 1951 so it falls between the 1920 title change and the 1953 introduction of the Queen's crown cap badge and the 1958 formation of the North Irish Brigade.
All comments as usual are welcome.
Regards
Mark
PS The black hackle (plume) was also worn by The Cameronians (In the Tam O' Shanter) and No9 Commando (In the green beret)
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