Berkshire Regiment Dress Uniform Items ??
 

Hi, ive been trying to get some information on the items in the pictures but without much luck, any help would be appreciated, thanks guys :)

Tarabelle,

These are officers service dress cap badges known as boss badges and worn just like a metal cap badge.

P.B.

Peter, thank you very much for solving that one so quickly. Can i pick your brains a bit more, one of the cords is red and the other gold, does this distinguish rank or unit ? Thanks :)

Tarabelle,

To be honest I don't know, maybe the differences are for full dress and service dress caps.

The attached is from a series of articles on cord bosses in the Crown Imperial magazine in the 1980`s by Irvin Mortensen.

Peter

Peter, youre a star :) thank you again

Sometimes also seen on Coloured field service caps, or at least they are worn by other regiments and might explain the difference in colour of the cord backing.

Here is one for the POW Vol's.

Hi Tarabelle,

As Peter mentioned above, these are Officer's boss Badges to the Royal Berkshire Regiment.

I believe, (but stand to be corrected), that the Gilt on Scarlet boss badge was worn on the Forage cap whereas the the other one with a scarlet cloth backing to the badge on a 'gold' coloured boss was for Service Dress Cap.

It looks as if both your badges have a 'Queens Crown' - so that would date the badges to circa 1953 to 1970, when the the Royal Berkshire Regiment was merged with the Wiltshire Regiment, to form the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment, which had a completely different set of badges.

The lengths of wire protruding from the backs of cord bosses is used to attached the badge inside whichever head-dress they are worn on. If you do bend them, be very careful as they can snap off.

You can also find these boss badges with a Victorian Crown (pre 1902) and a Kings Crown (circa 1902 - 1953). The badges themselves can be Silver, Gilt or Bronze and the colours of the cord bosses can vary considerably from : scarlet, Pink, Gold, Khaki and Green.

There are several variants of the badge, which I assume are just manufacturers variations. Some have "P. Charlotte" whilst others have "Ps. Charlotte". Some have the "R.Berks" under the dragon whilst others don't.

Regards

Ian

Ian thank you so much, ill be able to pass this on to my friends Dad who owns these badges. His hobby is buying and selling (but mostly keeping) badges and other military items. Thanks to all you guys :)

Here is an image of the badge in wear. On khaki SD cap the boss was originally khaki with a bronzed (OSD) badge. Later on (post WW2) the khaki cord, but scarlet felt fronted boss, was also worn on khaki SD caps, as the FSC had fallen out of use.

Berkshire Regt
 

I've resurrected this old thread to keep information together.

My question is two-fold
a) Did the Berkshire TA Officers also wear this style of boss badge
b) A similar badge exists with the cloth of the boss replaced with a coiled rope. Was this also an officer's headdress badge, and if so, when was it worn.

Stephen.

I believe the scarlet boss badge should date from 1934 or after when the Royal Berkshire Regiment were given permission to assume the 'Brandywine Distinction' commemorating the role of the light company of the former 49th (2nd R. Berks) in Major-general Grey''s night attack on Wayne's Pennsylvanians at Paoli Tavern in 1777.

This was announced in the Regimental Journal- 'The China Dragon' thus"

'The Army Council have given their approval for The Royal Berkshire Regiment to commemorate the part played by the Light Company of the 49th Regiment in the action of Brandywine Creek in 1777 in the following manner:-

(a) Officers will wear a red cloth background to the metal portion of the cap
badge Cap badgeworn with service dress.
(b) Other ranks will wear a patch of cloth under the cap badge worn with
Service Dress.
(c) All Ranks will wear, on the pagri, on the right side of the foreign service
helmet, a strip of red cloth 1 ¼” in width.'



In The History of the Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales’s) 1929-1947 By Brigadier Gordon Blight, London 1953 (p.112)
the author recounted:

‘Dress changes became imminent. [1932-34] The khaki tie was broadened at its ends; cap and collar badges accepted a bar instead of the indecipherable scroll of ‘Princess Charlotte of Wales’ and the title itself underwent a change thereon from ‘R. Berkshire’ to ‘Royal Berks’- and if it lost some dignity, it gained in warmness, balance and euphony. Most important of all, the Brandywine distinction became incorporated in the dress- a red coil of lace [ie cord boss?] for officers, and a crimson backing for other ranks, both worn behind the hat badge. A red strip decorated the left side of the tropical service topee.’

There is a variant without the R Berks under the dragon aswell.

Here is the earlier version circa ww1, bronze on khaki cord, which are becoming somewhat scarce. Built up around a wood boss.

CB

And some more views.

The image of the SD Cap - an interesting fitting showing below the boss - is it similar to this one which is on a cap with provenance to a general (a RHA / RA officer, later of City of London Royal Fusiliers badged Home Guard) - I was thinking that the brass fitting may be to hold a badge in place through a detachable red band?