White Hackles

[Toby Purcell]

Originally Posted by leigh kitchen

I have a RF white hackle worn by an uncle in the 1950's - it's around somewhere tucked away in an old condensed milk tin my grandmother put it in with a mothball 50 - 60 years ago. It's only about 3" - 4" tall. It has small (presumably chicken) feathers rather than the ugly cut down goose or turkey or whatever feathers of some later white hackles.

Part of the difficulty re. attributing hackles to particular units & time periods is that the construction & appearance of the hackle varied within a unit because of changes of specification or supplier or because some would be PRI items. It could even be the norm for a unit to wear PRI items, issue items being handed out for certain parades & the like & then immediately withdrawn back to stores & replaced in the headgear by the PRI purchased ones

Add to that the hackles of defunct regiments commissioned for Old Comrades use & the plethora of modern day offerings of various shapes, sizes & fowel for private purchase military use, re-enactors & civilian bands etc.......

Another thread concerning hackles: http://www.britishbadgeforum.com/for...ad.php?t=13627

The RWF PRI provided hackles were the Pakistan sourced ones with thread and brown glue that you have illustrated. The chicken feathers looked a lot smarter. The issue goose or turkey fathers did not 'present' very well at all in a beret, but looked fine in a ToS.

[badjez]

List of Change 5866 published 31.03.54. (File dated 10.02.54.)

Pompom. K.O.Y.L.I. (Cat No CB3349).
Plumes. Bristle. 8 Hussars (Cat No CB 3350).
Plumes, Feather.
The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (Red and white) (Cat No CB 3351).
The Lancashire Fusiliers (Primrose) (Cat No CB 3352).
The Royal Scots Fusiliers (White) (Cat No CB 3353).
The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (Grey) (Cat No CB 3354).
The Royal Welch Fusiliers (White) (Cat No CB 3355).
The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Green) (Cat No CB 3356).
The Royal Fusiliers (White) (Cat No CB 3357).
H.L.I. (Red & White) (Cat No CB 3358).
Cameronians (Black) (Cat No CB 3359).
R.U.R (Black) (Cat No CB 3360).
The London Irish Fusiliers (Green) (Cat No CB 3361).
The Royal Scots and K.O.S.B. (White & Blackcock Feathers) (Cat No CB 3362).
The Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders (Blue) (Cat No CB 3363).

Introduction.The above-mentioned items (Pattern No 15199, 15176, 15123, 15124, 15125, 15126, 15127, 15128, 15129, 15130, 15131, 15132, 15150 and 15455) have been sealed to govern future manufacture and are hereby introduced.
The Pompom K.O.Y.L.I. is similar to a Tourie, i.e. made from wool yarn cut in small lengths which are drawn together from the centre to form a ball.
Plumes, Bristle, manufactured from bristles, dyed red and white respectively on the lower and top halves, are secured to a metal stem and bound with thread.Plumes, Feather, manufactured from feathers varying in lengths from 2 ½” to 3 ½” are secured around a central metal stem the bottom of which forms an oblong loop and securely finished at the bottom of the feathers by binding on the outside with strong waxed thread.
Plumes, Feather, Royal Scots and K.O.S.B. (pattern No 7429) (Cat No CB 3362) was previously accounted for under NIV Cat No CQ 6012.

Stephen.

[badjez]

List of Changes C6199 published 30.09.54. (File dated 31.07.54.)

Plumes, Feather.Royal Scots and K.O.S.B.. (White and Blackcock feathers) (Cat No CB 3364).
1. A pattern (No 16206) of the above-mentioned item has been sealed to govern future manufacture.It differs from the old (No 7429) (Cat No CB 3362) (See C5866) in that the feathers are bound together by a metal clip.

Plumes, Feather.Q.V.S. (White and Blackcock feathers) (Cat No CB 3362).
2. Extension of Use.Restriction of use.Change of designation.The above-mentioned item is hereby extended in use for wear by Pipers of the Queen Victoria School, and, consequent upon ‘1’ is restricted in use to Q.V.S. The designation is amended to read as now shown.Bonnets. Blue- Not transcribed.

Stephen.

[badjez]

List of Changes C6771 published 30.09.55. (File dated 10.08.55.)

Plumes, Feather.The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (Light grey) (Cat No CB 3365).
1. New Pattern.A pattern (No 15126A) of the above-mentioned item has been sealed to govern future manufacture.The new pattern differs from the old (No 15126) (Cat No CB 3354) in that the colour is of a lighter shade of grey.
Plumes, Feather.The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (Grey) (Cat No CB 3354).
2. Obsolete.Consequent upon ‘1’ the above item is hereby declared obsolete.

Stephen.

[badjez]

List of Changes 8318 published 31.10.57. (File dated 09.09.57.)

Plumes, Feather.Liverpool Irish Rifles (Red and blue: 470 LAA Regt, R.A.) (Cat No CB 3366).
Introduction.A pattern (No 17438) of the above-mentioned item has been sealed to govern future manufacture and is hereby introduced.The plumes are manufactured from feathers secured around a central metal stem, bound at the base with adhesive rubber. The top part is of light blue and the lower part of red feathers.
[30.04.58. C8636. Amendment. Substitute ‘470 (Liverpool Irish) LAA Regt, R.A.’.]

Stephen.

[badjez]

List of Changes C8382 published 30.11.57. (File also dated 09.09.57.)

Plumes. Feather.H.L.I. (Red and white) (Cat No CB 7931).
1. New Pattern. A pattern (No 17322) of the above-mentioned item has been sealed to govern future manufacture. The new pattern differs from the old (No 15130) (Cat No CB 3358) (See C5866) in that the shape is flat and the overall length of the feathered part is shorter.Plumes.

Feather.H.L.I. OP (Red and white) (Cat No CB 3358).
2. Change of Designation.Obsolescent. Consequent upon ‘1’, the above-mentioned item is hereby amended in designation and detail to read as now shown, and declared obsolescent.

Stephen.

[badjez]

List of Changes C9213 published 31.03.59. (File dated 20.03.59.)

Plumes. Feather.
L.F. (Primrose) (Cat No CB 8187).
R.F. (White) (Cat No CB 8178).
R.N.F. (Red and white) (Cat No CB 8186).
1. New Patterns.Patterns (No 17924, 17923 and 17922, respectively) of the above-mentioned items have been sealed to govern future manufacture and are hereby introduced. The new patterns differ from the old in that the loops of the wire stem is broadened to form a shoulder at base of binding and the respective thread bindings are the same colour as base feathers.

Plumes. Feather.
L.F. Obsolete Pattern (Primrose) (Cat No CB 3352).
R.F. Obsolete Patern (White) (Cat No CB 3357).
R.N.F. Obsolete Pattern (Red and white) (Cat No CB 3351).
2. Change of Designation.Obsolescent. Consequent upon ‘1’, the above-mentioned items (See C5586 and C5549) are hereby changed in designation by the addition of ‘OP’ and declared obsolescent.

Stephen.

[badjez]

List of Change C9325 published 31.07.59. declared the following item obsolete.

Plumes. Bristle. 8 Hussars (Cat No CB 3350).

I should add that the 'dates published' may actually refer to the file date relating to the decisions made, and not necessarily the actual date the List of Change was published. Apologies for misleading.

I think that exhausts my knowledge on the subject. Stephen.

AMENDMENT- All previous publication dates now amended and believed to be correct.

[Toby Purcell]

Fascinating stuff, badjez, and interesting for me to see the changes that were officially prescribed. As in all these things there were 'dues out' in supply and in the 1970s my battalion's (RWF) clothing store held only 'Hackles RHF' for issue to the troops, in particular for the investiture of the PofW and presentation of new colours. These took place, respectively, in 1969 and 1977. I wonder if there were any later changes vide 'plumes feather' that affected the supply, or was it merely a poorly prepared QM, or more likely, supply chain that led to the cross usage of the smaller white hackles. More importantly, what was the difference in 'specification' between plumes feather for RSF/RHF and RWF?

[leigh kitchen]

Two hackles purchase as RWF hackles and accompanied by the ball of a broken anod al RWF badge adapted to a sweetheart by application of glue and a safety pin.

The wire stems measure about 11 cm, overall the hackles are about 14 cm long, brown ceiling wax covered thread binding

Are they recognisable as one of the forms of hackle as worn in the past by RWF?

[leigh kitchen]

Just a bump to see if a RWF hackler can offer an opinion on the two hackles in the above post.

[Toby Purcell]

Originally Posted by leigh kitchen

Just a bump to see if a RWF hackler can offer an opinion on the two hackles in the above post.

Yes Leigh, I recognise those as the official hackles issued by the QM in the early 1970s, and marked (paper label with stock number, etc.) on the polythene tubes in which they were issued: Hackles RHF. They were dreadful and their poor appearance and reaction to wet weather led to the purchase of taller cut feather hackles from Pakistan to be sold via the PRI shop.

[leigh kitchen]

Thanks for the info, I thought they may be RHF as used by RWF from what you've posted about RWF hackles in the past.