Feather Bonnets

[Hawk]

Ref the original OP comments, For the sake of peaceful discourse, let us concentrate on the Highlander Attire and use of feathered hats, and leave Native American/Tribal/Indigenous references out right now.....thank you.

Hawk

[Pleater]

Sir Rex Hunt died today. He was the former governor of the Falkland Islands who wore his feathered hat, and the rest of his 'full fig' uniform to meet with the officer commanding the invasion. He declined to shake hands.

English border morris sides wear top hats adorned with pheasant feathers and flowers - though they are all revival sides, the tradition died out, and just what feathers were actually worn is uncertain - they are not described in the written accounts of the kit the old sides wore.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[plaid preacher]

@Chainsaw02 you are correct. The infantry regiments of the Household Division, and other Guards units throughout the Commonwealth, wear Bearskins. There are still old bearskins on parade with these units, but there are now synthetic versions, and as the old ones wear out, I do not believe the are being replace with real pelts.

[Chainsaw02]

Thank you Plaid Preacher. Understandable

[OC Richard]

I heard or read somewhere that the Queen's own or the palace guards' bonnets are made from bear skin rather than feathers.

The bearskin hats worn by members of the Foot Guards are completely different, and have a completely different history, than the Feather Bonnets of the Highlanders.

In the kilted Highland regiments, up until Full Dress was retired in 1914, all members of all the regiments from the riflemen up to the Colonel wore Feather Bonnets, the headgear under discussion here. (One of these kilted Highland regiments was called The Queens Own Cameron Highlanders, possibly the "Queen's own" you're talking about?)

The only members of the Highland regiments that didn't wear Feather Bonnets were the pipers (who wore Glengarries) except for The Black Watch.

In the other (non-Highland) Scottish regiments the pipers also wore Glengarries, and were the only kilted members.

A quite different issue is the Foot Guards regiments (Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish, and Welsh) all the members of which wear red tunics and bearskin hats. The pipers of the Scots Guards are kilted and wear Feather Bonnets.

Then there's the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, who ride tanks, and who have a pipe band which is kilted and wear Feather Bonnets.

The ironic thing is that, except for the Black Watch, in the Highland regiments the pipers were the only ones to NOT wear Feather Bonnets, while in the Scots Guards and Royal Scots Dragoon Guards the pipers are the only ones TO wear Feather Bonnets.

Clear as mud, yes?

Yes Feather Bonnets have a stiff circular part that goes around your head that's covered with a knit diced decorative cover, the dicing pattern varying by regiment (the Feather Bonnets of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards have a zigzag yellow motif rather than dicing). This portion is edged in black velvet.

The top is formed out of wire. The feathers are attached over this wire frame. It's why Feather Bonnets, though they look big and heavy, are actually quite lightweight, and moreover they 'breathe' so they're not hot on the head. There's a hole or gap in the wire on one side, the side that has the long 'tails', and when the bonnet is not being worn you shove the tails inside the bonnet. At times other things, such as a bottle of whisky, can be stuck inside there.

The Feather Bonnet is asymmetrical, with the tails on one side, the hackle and cockade and badge on the other.

Here is the pipe band of The Scots Guards, clearly showing the different uniform of the regiment as a whole (seen worn by the Drum Major) and the uniform worn by the pipers, and the different nature of the bearskin cap and the Feather Bonnet



Here's what the rest of the Scots Guards look like



Here's the pipe band of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. Like the Scots Guards, the pipers are the only guys in Highland Dress, the only with Feather Bonnets (note the zigzag band)



Here's what they all look like. There's that white bearskin!



Here's The Queens Own Highlanders. Note that everybody is in Highland Dress, and that the pipers are the only guys NOT wearing Feather Bonnets (the Drum Major, the drummers in the pipes & drums, and the military band are all doing so)

[bwat]

Then there's the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, who ride tanks, and who have a pipe band which is kilted and wear Feather Bonnets.

An interesting aside - their bearskin is from a polar bear skin given to them by Ronald Reagan whilst president. See the video given in the first post here:

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f105/heres-one-military-history-buffs-who-might-visiting-edinburgh-future-86260/

[Chainsaw02]

Thank you OC Richard for the explanation. It is amazing the amount of knowledge contained in this forum! I didn't mean to deviate from the original posters question so back to the OP please.

Larry Dirr

[Mike_Oettle]

The original white bearskin was a gift from the Tsar (back in the days before the Soviet Union).
And I do believe I have seen pictures of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards on horseback, wearing bearskins.
Although they now operate armoured vehicles, they were traditionally a cavalry unit, and when in full dress they still ride horses.
The bearskins of the Foot Guards go back to the Battle of Waterloo, where Wellington’s men fought against a French regiment that had bearskins. I believe the bearskin-wearing French did not actually come into contact with the British Guardsmen, but the British Foot Guards adopted the bearskin in imitation. The Royal Scots Greys (predecessors of the RSDG) were also part of the action at Waterloo.
Regards,
Mike

[Mike S]

The Royals Scots Dragoon Guards did indeed wear fur bonnets with full dress, from the Napoleonic wars straight up until they went from being a mounted regiment to an armored one.



i.e.



Now it is only with parade dress.

[Mike S]

The bearskins of the Foot Guards go back to the Battle of Waterloo, where Wellington’s men fought against a French regiment that had bearskins. I believe the bearskin-wearing French did not actually come into contact with the British Guardsmen, but the British Foot Guards adopted the bearskin in imitation. The Royal Scots Greys (predecessors of the RSDG) were also part of the action at Waterloo.
Regards,
Mike

It was the Grenadiers of Napoleon's Imperial Old Guard from whom the British Foot Guards derived their version of the fur bonnet post-Waterloo.