WW1 British cloth cap?

[thorne83]

Hi all, it's been a while since I posted but I'm just sorting through a few of my things and looking up some items that I've had for many years stored away.

I bought this helmet around 25 years ago and always assumed it to be a First World War cloth cap but doing a 'google' image search it doesn't quite appear the same as most caps that come up? Can the good members tell me exactly what this cap is?!

Many thanks

[HARRY THE MOLE]

Looks like you have a nice example of the 'Pattern 05' service cap.

Cheers,
Steve

[thorne83]

Thanks Steve, that's really handy. When did the next pattern come out after the 1905 then? I don't have the cap to hand but zooming in on my photos it appears to say:
"Beeston" (presumably the manufacturer) in a circle near the top of the photo and then at the bottom I can make out a "W" and below it what looks like "15" - could this be "WD" and 15 for 1915?

Cheers

[HARRY THE MOLE]

I'm not an expert on these caps, but the next significant change was the introduction of the 'trench cap' circa 1915... this having the soft peak. The 1905 pattern had slight changes around 1921 (I think), and was very much the same cap as the Red Caps and the RHA used to wear when I was a squaddie in the late 60's - early 70's.

Cheers,
Steve

[William1]

This is a genuine British Army cap but it is post WW1, probably 1930s. It is is similar to the cap worn in WW1 but the peak is larger and spade-shaped. The WW1 version has a smaller peak in the shape of a crescent. The pattern seems to have changed some time in the 1920s, I don't know the date. This cap also has the later wide chinstrap. The 15 is probably an inspector's code, it certainly isn't the date.