Malaya Jungle Hat Bands
 

I am looking for any help in identifying the unit that this Jungle Hat might come from. It has a blue cloth band stiched around the crown. I believe coloured bands and other distintctive badges were worn on the hat during the Malayan Emergency.

regards

Mark

I believe coloured bands and other distintctive badges were worn on the hat during the Malayan Emergency.

regards

Mark[/QUOTE]

I can't help with that blue one, but I'll along with the above comment. I have a green pugaree I am told is worn by 3 Royal Australia Regt. The story as I got it was the regimental tailor ran out of the right material in Malaya so made hat bands out of the jungle green uniform as then worn, and 3 RAR retained the colour green as a mark of distinction.

Malaya jungle hat bands
 

I have always been under the impression that the Commonwealth forces in Malaya adopted white bands for all units on 'jungle hats'. The reasoning behind this was that this style of hat was worn by various forces and the white band distinguished 'friendly' forces whilst in the gloom of the jungle (It might just have well identified an enemy to the guerillas).

These bands were often elaborated on. Each Company of the Suffolk Regt adopted wore something different on the white band- writing, symbols etc. Their museum has two or three variations.

Regards, Stephen.

Referring again to the green pugaree for 3 RAR - I believe that was for their slouch hats, not their jungle hats

In the Osprey Men at Arms "British Infantry Equipment (2) 1908 - 2000" by Mike Chappell an illustration shows a Cpl of 1st Bn Royal Hampshire Regiment, 18th Bde Pahang, Malaya, 1954. He has a yellow band around his jungle hat with a small rectangular patch at the back. The caption states that yellow devices on his hat indicate B Company.

I was REME attached RASC/RCT at Terendak Camp during 1965/6 and we still had a white band sewn on the inside of the hat. This was replaced at some point by a yellow one. (This may be the other way around, can't remember . . . . long time ago)! I also seem to remember that the Gurkhas (don't know the unit) did not have a band but a white circle instead.

Jungle Hats
 

In 99 Gurkha Bde, Sarawak in 1965/66 most British infantry wore a length of yellow parachute material sewn around the hat (or more usually just wrapped through the loops on the external hat band. An exception was that one or more of the Gurkha battalions wore a circular white "Doughnut" about 3 inch diameter, dead centre of the front of the hat - a rather provocative aiming mark we thought. Black adhesive tape was also used as a hat band - how visible this might have been on a wet OG hat is not known. But then in Sarawak as elsewhere black tape was used for every conceivable purpose.
As far as I know this was never formalised, so any obsessive hat band collectors might have a frustrating time.

Thanks one and all. It appears that hat bands were worn but with no overidding regulations that might give a more definitive list of who wore what colours. Thanks again Mark