Hello,
I recently saw a British para beret offered for sale that had a tartan badge backing. (See images) I have been looking for a 15th (Scottish Volunteer) Parachute Battalion beret for a long time and understandably got excited. However, the tartan backing is government, not the Hunting Stewart the battalion used. Also, the badge has a King's Crown, which should not be on a beret this age and also it might be fake. The beret is gone, but I might seen another in the future with this tartan and wanted to make sure it is legitimate.
The beret itself seems to be genuine, using the J. Compton, Sons, & Webb label with the correct National Item Identification Number for the UK (99).
I searched several sites for 15 (SV) BN berets, to include its association page. All seemed to have the Hunting Stewart backing, though one from the 70s did not appear to have the sett, which could mean it was government tartan. I also looked for examples for the current A Company (Scottish) of 4th BN, Para RGT, but did not see anything there either. (The beret is too old anyway).
I would really appreciate help from the forum experts on whether this beret is genuine. I lean toward this being a legitimate beret that someone added a tartan backing to and fake badge.
Cheers,
Reid
Bookmarks