Hats, was Re: KNOCKING THE ARMY

----- Original Message -----
From: Derek Fulton <derekfulton@bigpond.com>
To: <gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu>
Sent: Monday, April 01, 2002 1:52 AM
Subject: Re: KNOCKING THE ARMY

> At 08:37  1/04/02 +1000, you wrote:
>
SNIP> > > Red for MP's isn't it?
> >
> >Hmm... IIRC, their nickname is red-_caps_.  (which may be a parallal
to a
> >nasty mythical boogie)  I don't _think_ they wear berets, but I could
very
> >easily be wrong.
>
> I could be wrong TOO but I think berets have become standard uniform
of
the
> day in the British army, obviously there are exceptions. The Buzby (if
> that's how you spell it, big furry hat) the Guard units wear for
ceremonial
> duties.
>
> Perhaps a Brit can enlighten us :)
>
> Cheers
>
> Derek

The Guards wear Bearskins- busbies are the shorter "hussar style" fur
caps
with the cloth bag on the side- now worn e.g. by the Royal Horse
Artillery.
Scottish regiments have Tam O'Shanters (round soft cap with a tourie) or
glengarries (black side cap with diced band, tourie and tapes). A
tourie,
incidentally, is the small red ball on top.  An old expression for a
sycophant is a "Sook ma tourie"!

All sorts of things turn up in ceremonial dress and on bandsmen- Lancers
still have czapkas, for example, but in non-Scottish regiments it's
pretty
much berets all round.

Bring back the Tarleton, I say!

Rob Paul