One thing I did not consider in my original post were the TA and Reserve units. From my research, they continued to wear their Regimental cap badge after the Regular battalions began wearing the Lowland or Highland Brigade cap badge.
One thing I did not consider in my original post were the TA and Reserve units. From my research, they continued to wear their Regimental cap badge after the Regular battalions began wearing the Lowland or Highland Brigade cap badge.
Don’t suppose you have the link for it? Would like to see the listing
Found it!
Just picked up this one with a bunch of other stuff and it belongs here for comparison/reference;
This is the officers version. These are private purchase and a well to do officer usually of at least field rank would have one from a "known" regimental tailor which would have the appropriate "kudos" tailors label.
The less affluent and probably junior Capt or Subaltern might have one from a more "market place" military outfitter like this one.
As with all modern TOS the crown is much smaller than those from earlier periods and the TOS tends to shaped and worn much more like a beret.
The officers version of whatever level of quality is made of much finer and lighter weight wool fabric with a liner of accordingly varying quality that is usually a manmade fabric similar to rayon or in "high end" items silk.
On this one the toorie (pom-pom to the uninitiated) is attached in the traditional way of threading the cord that holds it together through the crown and knotting it on the inside.
The cap badge is the standard officer's pattern bullion embroidered type which also varies in quality according to cost.
Sometimes this item is the one that instantly identifies the status of the wearer as an officer or a Warrant Officer 1.
This is a clear comparison to the one posted by Reid above.
Regards
Mark
Last edited by Watchdog; 09-07-2023 at 09:09 PM. Reason: typo
"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."
This example of Scottish military headgear has been one of the most difficult for me to find as it was worn by a small unit within the Territorial Army. An example finally turned up in of all places...France.
The definitive history of the Squadron was almost as difficult to put together as it was to find the beret. There is a mention of the unit in Lieutenant Colonel Hodges' book, British Army Badges but not much detail. The best detail, and what forms a good part of my description, is a post by user Fatboy Ken on the British Badge Forum site. I do not know where he found his information (I spent hours trying) but I am glad he did.
As referenced by Reid in his post #12 above, the navy blue beret with MacDuff tartan patch formerly worn by 154 (Lowland) Transport Regt RCT remains in use post-amalgamation by the descendant unit of the Royal Logistic Corps (RLC). So, just putting a RCT cap badge on a later beret would be incorrect.
However, this one is of the earlier type with a fabric headband rather than the leather type currently used is dated long before the amalgamations of both units and corps by the contract number.
The MOD contracts in the series; CT2, CT3 and CT4 cover the period 1979 - 85 (there is no record of precise dates as the series cover large groups of diverse items) which puts CT3b roughly in the middle of the timeline.
For those who do not know the RCT became part of the RLC on it's formation in 1993. The RLC cap badge is similar at first sight to that of the RCT but comparison of the badge shown here and that in post #12 will clarify.
Regards
Mark
Last edited by Watchdog; 02-25-2024 at 01:56 PM. Reason: typo
"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."
As we all know, one of the things that makes this hobby fun is discovering new things.
I was doing research for another project and, while reading Badge Backings and Special Embellishments of the British Army, ran across an interesting fact about the Lorne Scots. In 1967 to celebrate the Canadian Centennial year, the Ancient Argyle tartan badge backing was temporarily replaced with the Canadian "Maple Leaf" tartan, which was designed in 1964 and became the official Canadian national tartan in 2011. The Ancient Argyle tartan was restored as the badge backing on the 1st of January, 1968.
So, Aldo's TOS is one of those worn when the badge backings were temporarily changed! The cap badge should still have the QC, not KC. However, as with the Maple Leaf tartan, maybe they temporarily brought back the KC badge for the Centennial.
Below is a picture of my Lorne Scots TOS with Ancient Argyle badge backing from around the same period. Unfortunately, while the backing is the correct tartan, it is a replacement until I can find a piece of period wool tartan in a flea market or junk store.
Great find Aldo! I now have another TOS to keep my eye out for!
Cheers,
Reid
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