[Toby Purcell]

Just as a point of interest the Caubeen as a military headdress came very late to the wardrobe of the Irish Regiments of the British Army, in most cases hundreds of years after they’d been raised. Badges had to be found for them and as so often in the British Army it seems a strong likelihood to me that existing insignia naturally became the inspiration. In the case of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers I strongly believe that the Caubeen badge is based upon the bandsman’s music case (aka pouch) badge, which had existed since the reign of Queen Victoria. There were a variety of patterns over the years and in several regiments the badge used by the 1st Battalion was different to that used by its 2nd Battalion, especially if they did not share the same lineage. The music case badges themselves were often based on the old regimental shoulder belt plates that were also in use a long time, but abolished following the issue of new equipment after the Crimean War. The size of all these badges was similar.