British Parachute Regiment Beret Dated 1967.
 

Picked up at East Lane Market, SE London around 1969/70-ish ( a magical place with Del Boy types lugging bulging suitcases of knocked off gear as they gave it legs to escape and evade the constabulary, cure all sarsparella sellers spieling like snake oil sellers, little old men in flat hats covertly selling feral kittens hidden under their flasher macs - and big cardboard boxes of mixed, uniform removed British army cloth formation signs going for 6d/2 1/2p each.

In one of the boxes was this Para beret, a very cheap buy for pennies.

The badge is a J R GAUNt B'HAM with full length slider but with the end of the slider kinked to wedge it very tightly in its sleeve.

A fine beret Leigh and worth more than just a few pennies these days

And enough change from half a crown to buy a pint of er, sarsparella.

OH the days the days....The Queens Hall at Leeds in the 1970`s and early1980`s a fantastic fair does any one remember a military shop In Ramsgate in the early 1970`s ?? boxes an boxes of W.W 2 webbing an loads of that weird Great war dated stuff that no body wanted ...... NICE BERET BY THE WAY !

A collectors beret...one that has never seen service with the regiment.

Based on what factors ???

Somebody took the time to pierce it in two different places on the slider sleeve area and to wear it by the look of, given it's slightly used condition.
A stiffener behind the would seem a good idea.

Badge set too high? I've had another look at the beret, the badge is slotted into the higher of two slits that have been made, so I may have wedged the badge into the wrong one. A backing plate would certainly be a good idea with this design of badge, Id've thought.

For educations sake I'd like to know how you can define that it has been unused within the regiment.
Very nice Leigh, want to swap it for a lovely old RA one?

And a RNF cap, and a bearskin, and, and,.........?

I'd have nothing left if you start with the and, and, and...

The first thing you did after being issued with your beret was to unpick and remove the sleeve, in fact you were ordered to remove it. So there would be no stitching from the sleeve visible behind the badge. A collector buying a new beret would not know that.

It's a 1969 - 70 purchased 1967 beret from a box of army surplus bits and pieces on a junky surplus stall in a market. It has been worn.
It was bought at a time where "nobody" had an interest in the things and such recently dated Para Regt berets carried no kudos.
I would think the only collector who's had this bit of army surplus is me, since 1969/70-ish.
Thanks for the info, it's something I'll consider, I don't think I'm in denial in veering towards the view that this is simply a bit of cheap old army surplus that was worn in service prior to being purchased by me when I was a kid.

You must also consider that the market trader you got it from had acquired it from a collector. In the Parachute Regiment your berets (working beret and best beret) were probably the most important thing you were issued. Believe me, nobody wore a beret where you could see any stitching at the front, or without a backing behind the badge or without a bow at the back. Any Paratrooper will tell you the same thing Leigh.

Interesting, my 1961 dated and name tagged beret has the cover also, I don't know about my old mans(2 Para Suez era) as its in my brothers hands, I'll have to get him to send me a pic.