Mystery Kalpak
 

Hi Guys
I've just acquired a mint condition Kalpak. Black curly lamp skin with a black top and flap/bag.
I know the Palestine police had black Kalpaks with a blue or grey bag and that the TJFF had a red bag, but this bag/top is definitely black. There's no badge or button either.
So who wore it?
Eddie

For others like me who had to Google this.
Calpack, Calpac, Kalpac, Kalpak, or Qalpaq (from Turkish: kalpak [kaɫˈpak];[1] Kazakh: қалпақ, Bulgarian and Serbian: калпак, Kyrgyz: калпак, both [qɑlpɑ́q]) is a high-crowned cap (usually made of felt or sheepskin) worn by men in Bulgaria, Serbia, Turkey, Iran, and throughout Central Asia and the Caucasus.
The word "kalpak" is also a component of the ethnonym of a Turkic group of uncertain relatedness: the "Karakalpak" (literally "black kalpak" in Karakalpak

Thanks Terry :D

Possibly slightly more explanatory and maybe even easier to understand... http://www.google.com/search?q=milit...w=1280&bih=699

Among the varied headdress worn by the Iraq Levies is the black Kalpak. In the book "Imperial Sunset" [James Lunt (Maj Gen) 1981] is a b&w photograph of "British and local officers" wearing this headdress in 1922, with the crossed Kurdish style knives to the fore. The colour of the top is hard to make out.

OK, here are the picture. Colour is deceptive. The cloth element is definitely black.

1. General view. No trace of a badge ever having been fitted. The bag is on the wearer's left.

2. Top view, black cloth with a sewn in cross.

3. Tip of the "bag" which is non functional and lined with stiff material, There is a hole for a button to be sewn in but no sign it has ever been fitted.

4. Inside markings, can't read the maker but 1947 date is clear.

Any comments??

PS - I've looked at the photo in Imperial Sunset, the cloth is paler than black or blue, it's probably red.

Nice to see some images at last Eddie and a nice looking item it is.

Given the lack of insignia and the seemingly universal use of this form of headdress over such a wide geographical area it remains a mystery but one I hope you will get to the bottom of eventually.

(I don't suppose that Graham Stewart has an ACI for this one)??;)

Regards

Ry

The British Kalpak wearing units I am aware of are:

Iraq Levies - black kalpak, red(?) bag, bag on the left.
Palestine Gendamerie - black/red/left.
Transjordan Frontier Force - black/red/right.
Arab Legion - black/?/left - only ever seen this worn by King Abdullah, and, yes, I know they're not British.
Palestine Police - black/blue/left and black/grey/left
Palestine Police Auxiliaries - Gaffirs - grey/grey/left

Any other suggestions?

Hi Eddie,
While I dont pretend to be an expert on this subject, I did consult Echo of the Bugle by Marcel Roubicek. He states Arab and Jewish Palestine Police wore a black sheepskin busby with a black bag and the cap badge. Also in the book reference is made to the Circassian Palace Guard who wore a black "busby". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwkYxLvlL38
Quicksilver

Thanks Cliff, I do have that book - somewhere! That's a pace forward at any rate.
Eddie

mystery kalpack
 

I'm sure this is Palestine Police, possibly an auxiliary, there is an Israeli site on the internet that deals with Palestine & Israel badges which shows a very similar kalpack

Hi Eddie

Not sure if this is the same as yours, but this link shows Colonel Shaw, Chief of Police in Cyrenaica, wearing something similar:

https://www.shutterstock.com/editori...libya-4780969a

All the best

Graham