[gerrysia]

The Honourable Artillery Company of London (Founded 1537) is said to be the oldest regiment of the British Army, albeit this is disputed by the Royal Monmouthshire Militia. In 1830 King William IV decreed that the HAC would wear the same uniform as that of the Grenadier Guards with gold lace and gold buttons replaced by lace and buttons in silver. This applied to the Infantry Battalion, the Artillery Division and the Jagers at the time. After WW2 the Army Dress Committee reiterated these regulations for the Infantry Bn. Hence all rank badges, trade and qualification badges were in silver instead of gold. Thus RAF wings would be in silver wire for No 1 Dress (Blues) and Mess Dress. During my service in the 1960s I had a colleague who had been an RAF Sqn Ldr and he wore silver wire wings on No. Dress. Many members of the HAC transferred to the RFC during WW1 and many would have returned to the HAC afterwards. They would thus have been eligible to wear RFC wings in silver wire on No.1 and Mess Dress. It is thus possible that the full-size and miniature-size RFC silver metal wings might also have been worn although they had been replaced by wire versions by that time. However, I have as yet found no photographic evidence of such RFC wings in wear. Today I work in the HAC Museum and Archives.