Helmet flash ID
 

Hi All
Can anyone ID this helmet flash please? Orange-brown-black.
Thanks, cheers,
Alex

Hi Alex,
Assuming it is South African, I can suggest it belongs to one of the ACF units.

Helmet flashes to ACF units were made up of the top half in the colour of the Province (Red for Cape, Green for Transvaal, Blue for Natal) and bottom half black for Infantry and grey For Mounted troops. These units were then allowed to add a central colour/colours between the upper and lower half of the flash but the central portion could not be more than 1/3rd of the design.

So this could be a Cape based ACF Infantry unit. Cannot pinpoint which unit the brown represents though. You can see similar flashes for Kimberley Regt. having a white central portion and PAG having central portion made of alternating red and black stripes.

Maybe looking at other Cape ACF Infantry unit colours in the SADF era may indicate which unit this flash belongs to.

Regards
Steven

Hi Steven
Thanks, that sounds very probable. I wouldn't know where to start to look for ACF colours though :confused:
It was pinned to a Kimberley Regiment badge I just got, so maybe a unit based in that area?
Cheers,
Alex

If it's South African, and is orange rather than red, it would indicate an OFS regiment. There weren't many : only Regiments De Wet, Louw Wepener and President Steyn, and this doesn't match their flashes. RDW was orange over black, RLW was black over orange, and RPS was orange / white with a black triangle / black.

The proportions don't look right for a SA flash, though. The correct size was 2" x 3".

It could, of course, be a home-made and inaccurate Kim R flash, using orange fabric instead of red, and brown instead of buff.

Hi Arthur
The proportions for this are not quite 2" x 3", it's a few mm's short on each side, though that might just be shrinkage.
Cheers,
Alex

Could it maybe be a Kafferarian Rifles or First City flash that has faded in the sun?

No idea, helmet flashes are a mystery to me, what do they look like?
Thanks, cheers,
Alex

They were both red and black which made me wonder if it may just have discoulered to orange and brown over time

Hi Alex,
I may have found the ID for your flash

I was going through some stored picture and found an item that was sold a few years ago. A DEOR High School Cadets set of badges and the DEOR cap badge is attached to the same flash that you show, except that the flash appears to be upside down.

The question to ask is, was this used exclusively by the School Cadet unit or did DEOR also use this flash at some point before adopting there regular flash.

Regards
Steven

Hi Steven
Amazing sleuthing, definitely the same flash, thanks! What is the 'A' for in the title and what would the dates be that they were in use?
Cheers,
Alex

Hi Alex,
Not sure about the 'A' but would be a word that can be used both in English and Afrikaans, so possibly...

Attached / Aangeheg
Active / Aktief


I did find in the History of the Dukes by Neil Orpen, mention of an attached cadet company, but that was c.1907 and part of the volunteer movement, so predates the use of flashes and the DEOR badge in the pictures. Maybe the cadets affiliation continued after WWI into the ACF(Active Citizen Force) period, so the flash would be interwar period.

Thanks Steven!