Re. the 1st ANGLIAN bugle cords, as often as not, it seems often to turn out that a certain distinction will be explained by an old line facing colour rather than a dramatic moment in unit history cited in common parlance.
I've been scouring my files unsuccessfully for notes I made re the Norfolks khaki beret. I recall that this had something to do with a Norfolk battalion's association serving as motorised infantry (perhaps with the Guards Armoured Division?) during the Second World War, which led to the officers at least adopting a khaki beret, a practice that was discontinued at the end of the war.
The notes I have found indicate the khaki beret was resumed ca. 1960 by officers of the 1st Battalion, The East Anglia Regiment (Norfolk and Suffolk) and then, after the formation of the Royal Anglians in 1966, by all battalions of the regiment ca. 1970-71 with the black backing patch supposedly recalling the death of Sir John Moore at La Coruña in 1809.
What was the explanation of the khaki beret brought by the contingent from the Leicesters, I wonder?
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