[badjez]

The wearing, or introduction, of unauthorised Dress, clothing, equipment and badges was forbidden by both King and Queen’s Regulations. This does not appear to have stopped some regiments adopting unofficial embellishments as the wording of the regulations gave some scope for latitude. For example, in Dress Regulations 1900 Officers could wear a Field Service cap badge affixed to the front of their helmets; Dress Regulations 1911 [Published 26.11.11.] stated that ‘No badges, plumes, hackles or ornaments of any description are to be worn with the khaki helmet’. A year later King’s Regulations 1912 (Amended to 01.08.14.) stated that in No1 Full Dress Review Order, abroad, the ‘khaki helmet with chin strap, but without badge, or ornamentation, is to be worn’. For No2 Service Dress Marching Order abroad, the Regs only state ‘The Khaki helmet takes the place of the Service Dress Cap’. Ornamentation in this context meant that authorised for wear on the Home Service helmet, but Regulations are not so explicit as to preclude wearing other items in No2 Dress abroad. Whilst not saying so directly, a replacement of the SD Cap implied authority to wear any badge or embellishment authorised for wear with the cap. Numerous infantry regiments utilised the centres of their home helmet plate for this purpose without explicit permission.

Army Regulations India 1913 state that no plumes, chains, or metal badges were to be worn with the khaki Wolseley pattern helmet. On the white Wolseley helmet it was noted that:
‘Unless a special badge for the helmet is described, that for the Forage cap is worn on the pagri’

Whilst the authorised hackles, plumes etc have been officially documented, for obvious reason, no comprehensive list of ‘pagri flashes’ has survived.
The practice of wearing regimental devices upon Foreign Service Helmets established itself during the Boer War when British soldiers cut the shoulder straps from their scarlet tunics and used the embroidered regimental designations upon their helmets. The wearing of pagri flashes became widespread in the Army in India and multiplied during the course of the war from 1914 to 1919.


28.02.24. ACI 130: In an attempt to control what was worn on helmets abroad this Instruction stated:
‘The wearing of Hackles is forbidden, except for the Black Watch. Regimental patches may be worn on khaki Foreign Service Helmet. The wearing of non-Regulation titles, boots, caps, chevrons, plaited lines etc.is forbidden.’

1925. Indian AO 558: Mentions that a topee [pagri] flash (without numerals or letters) was worn on the left side of the helmet and would not have exceeded 3” x 2”.

01.11.25. Dress Regs India 1925 (Provisional) permitted flashes, hackles etc, to be worn on the Khaki Helmet by Officers of the British Service and Indian Army, provided that all officers of a regiment or corps were dressed alike. Whilst details of some Indian and Gurkha units are listed, no British unit flashes etc are listed in these Regulations. These instructions remained unchanged in the 1931 edition.

04.10.28. Dress Regulations (Provisional) 1928, authorised:
‘Patches of regimental pattern were permitted to be worn on the khaki Foreign Service Helmet’.

From that date onwards there appears to have been little, if any further official recognition of what was worn.

The IWM holds a very comprehensive survey of pagri flashes etc. put together by John Mollo covering 1914 onwards.