Beret WWII or Postwar
 

A question for the forum please.

I have assumed that an internal flap covering the badge lugs/slider was a post-war addition to the beret design, am I right or did some wartime berets have the flap?

Thank you for looking, Keith

RM blue berets had the half moon card behind the badge. Don’t know about others.

I suspect the half-moon badge backing was unique to Royal Marines berets and the beret, subject of this thread, is post-war.

Just out of interest apart from the one comment on the forum do you have any solid reasons for your suspicion ?

I'd be interested to hear.

Cheers

Arnhem

I have seen many berets but not previously noted an internal flap on a wartime example, but I have seen the flap on post-war berets.

My post was to find evidence of other wartime berets with the flap and Irv pointed out that the Royal Marines beret had an internal flap covering the badge lugs.

I hope my post will promote discussion amongst collectors about the flap and obtain a definitive answer.

I should add that while I remain sceptical and suspect that, with the exception of the marine beret, the flap was a post-war design feature I have no evidence to subtaintiate my theory so welcome the opinions of collectors who have more experience in this field than me.

I’ve not see any army berets with the half moon stiffer. The WW2 green beret that the RM used had none but the post war issue did. That’s because they went with the same pattern of their blue berets. During WW2 RM were using an army contract to get their green berets. After the war when the army commando units disbanded the RM had to make their own order and just went with the same design as the blue beret but in a different colour.

officer private purchase WW2 berets can be found with this type of " protector "

Thank you all for the information.

Silverwash - I am not familiar with the private purchase berets and have a few questions. Which colour berets have you seen please, beige, black, blue, maroon, green, khaki? Were there any maker's markings or dates? Leather edged or fabric? Do they all have the "protector" flap?

Thank you

will dig out a couple and take pics.

Thank you, I look forward to the images...

Mine is dated 1945, but with a much bigger stiffener than the one shown.

attributed to WW2 serving officers.

Thank you.

Is the attribution and possibly the outfitter details the only way of knowing WWII vintage?

Keith

unfortunately for me in this case, yes. none of them have a date which I would not expect to see with a " private purchase " example. a bit like officers SD, the only clue to date something being the outfitters / tailors label. the only caveat is that the issue of these things did not stop at the end of the war so no silver bullet. I do have an officers SD cap with the original receipt of purchase but is of no help in this case. on a tangent I contacted Gieves & Co. years ago for information about their wartime trading but was advised that their archives had been destroyed. why are things in life not simple !

Thank you.

To summarise, with the exception of the Royal Marines beret, wartime berets with the internal badge flap protection are private purchase and not issue items. Furthermore there are no specific pattern features or materials used so the only way to determine a wartime private purchase beret (with or without the internal badge flap) is provenance and/or knowledge of the outfitter's trading dates. Without either of these determining factors the dating of the beret would be pure speculation or guess work.