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80-616: The Terai hat is a type of slouch hat associated with the Gurkhas and named after the Terai region in Nepal . It is created by fusing two hats into one to make the hat more rigid and is worn at an angle, tilted to the right. The double Terai is a version with a double thickness crown and brim, designed to give extra sun protection. This hat was almost de rigueur in East and Central Africa from

160-471: A foil lining in the 1930s, aimed to be used by laborers who worked in the hot sun, from farms to road construction to other manual labor. The U.S. Marine Corps pith helmet (officially "Helmet, sun, rigid, fiber") has been used as a form of identification by rifle range cadres; similarly, rifle range instructors and drill instructors wear the campaign hat . The U.S. Navy also authorized a plastic khaki sun helmet for wear by officers in tropical regions during

240-469: A hat KFF, or hat khaki fur felt) is worn as the standard ceremonial headress for all members of the Army, except those belonging to units or corps that have an official headress such as a beret, and is treated with the utmost care and respect. It is also worn in some units as general duty dress. When worn for ceremonial purposes, the "Grade 1" Slouch hat is worn with a seven-band puggaree , six of which represent

320-534: A more limited extent by U.S. and Japanese forces in the Pacific Theater . In the British Army , a khaki version was frequently worn, ornamented with a regimental cap badge or flash . The full-dress white helmet varied from regiment to regiment: several regiments had distinctive puggarees or hackles . On ceremonial occasions, the helmet was topped with a spike (for infantry and cavalry regiments, for

400-490: A pith helmet with the tropical khaki uniform. Most often, the pith helmet was worn by the U.S. Navy 's Civil Engineer Corps . Through the first half of the 20th century, the Wolseley pattern helmet was routinely worn with civil uniform by British colonial, diplomatic, and consular officials serving in 'hot climates'. It was worn with a gilt badge of the royal arms at the front. When worn by governors and governors-general,

480-571: A regulated hat of the uniform for provincial administrators and commissioners, who acted as representatives of the central government overseeing local management. Originally, in Kenya and other African regions, the pith helmet was perceived as a product of reporters' exaggerations and misunderstood by readers. Travel books and magazines advised Europeans not to engage in outdoor activities without head coverings, claiming that exposure to direct tropical sunlight could cause their brains to deteriorate. While

560-618: A similar shape were also part of the uniform of the Australian Victoria Police during the late 19th century. The US Army also wore blue cloth helmets of the same pattern as the British model from 1881 to 1901 as part of their full-dress uniform. The version worn by cavalry and mounted artillery included plumes and cords in their respective service branches' colours (yellow or red). Before the First World War ,

640-590: A slouch hat. The name "slouch hat" refers to the fact that one side droops down as opposed to the other which is pinned against the side of the crown. This style of hat has been worn for many hundreds of years, especially during the English Civil War during the 17th century when it became associated with the forces of King Charles I , the Cavaliers , but it was also fashionable for the aristocracy throughout Europe during that time until it developed into

720-824: A special ceremonial unit that wears the 1885 uniform and sun helmet in support of the Governor at official state and other ceremonial functions. The Royal Guard's historical uniform and helmet are used to represent the Hawaii National Guard at the National Guard Heritage Room at Joint Base Fort Myer-Henderson Hall in Virginia. After the Second World War , the communist Viet Minh in French Indochina , and later

800-530: A style between a French type bush hat of the First Indochina War and an Australian type bush hat with a snap on the brim to pin one side up that was widely bought and unofficially worn by American troops in Vietnam. The local tailors usually used green fatigue cloth or leopard skin pattern military camouflage from old parachutes. The hat often had a cloth arc emblazoned with the word VIET-NAM on

880-670: A variant of the bush hat in navy blue, normally in rural areas. Considered obsolete as main dress, it is now rarely worn instead of the standard peaked cap or recently (2021) introduced baseball cap . During the North-West Rebellion of 1885 both non-uniformed and uniformed regiments in the Alberta Field Force, plus occasionally the North-West Mounted Police , wore slouch hats. Slouch hats were commonly worn by Canadian mounted regiments in

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960-629: Is a lightweight cloth-covered helmet made of sholapith . The pith helmet originates from the Spanish military adaptation of the native salakot headgear of the Philippines . It was often worn by European travellers and explorers in the varying climates found in Southeast Asia , Africa , and the tropics , but it was also used in many other contexts. It was routinely issued to colonial military personnel serving in warmer climates from

1040-470: Is considered to be a national symbol. The distinctive Australian slouch hat, sometimes called an "Australian bush hat" or "digger hat", has one side of the brim turned up or pinned to the side of the hat with a Rising Sun Badge in order to allow a rifle to be slung over the shoulder. The New Zealand Mounted Rifles wore a similar headdress but with the New Zealand military badge attached to the front of

1120-519: Is held in place by an inner headband and a chin strap. These were originally made from various lightweight materials like woven bamboo , rattan , and calabash ; sometimes inlaid with precious metals, coated with water-proof resin, or covered in cloth. Salacots were used by native Filipino auxiliaries in the Spanish colonial military as protection against the sun and rain during campaigns. They were adopted fully by both native and Spanish troops in

1200-628: Is now on display in Collins Barracks A few state police forces in India use slouch hats, or did so in the past. The Armed Reserve wing of the Kerala Police wore slouch hats up to the 1980s, but today the slouch hat is only worn by Recruit Trainee Police Constables (RTPC) during their training. The Armed Reserve policemen of Kerala Police now wear a blue peaked cap. The Karnataka Police continues to use slouch hats for its members in

1280-778: The Australian Air Force Cadets and Australian Army Cadets both wear a slouch hat, referred to as it is by their parent branch: the AAFC calling it the HFFK, and the AAC calling it the KFF. The NZ version of the slouch hat currently worn by the various corps and regiments of the New Zealand Army is known as the "Mounted Rifles Hat". The puggaree is always khaki-green-khaki, the original Mounted Rifles puggaree, with only

1360-630: The British Empire , all European colonial powers used versions of it during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The French tropical helmet was first authorised for colonial troops in 1878. The Dutch wore the helmet during the entire Aceh War (1873–1904), and the United States Army adopted it during the 1880s for use by soldiers serving in the intensely sunny climate of the Southwestern United States . It

1440-757: The First and Second Anglo-Sikh wars of the 1840s. Adopted more widely during the Indian Rebellion of 1857–59, they were generally worn by British troops serving in the Anglo-Ashanti War of 1873, the Anglo-Zulu War of 1878–79, and subsequent campaigns in India, Burma, Egypt, and South Africa. This distinctively shaped early headwear became known as the Colonial pattern helmet. The British Colonial pattern pith helmet, in turn, influenced

1520-664: The People's Army of Vietnam of the North , based their helmet design, called mũ cối , on the French pith helmet. Today it is still widely worn by civilians in Vietnam (mainly in the North, but its use declined sharply in 2007 when the motorbike helmet became mandatory for motorbike riders). In design, the Vietnamese model was similar to the pre-Second World War civilian type but covered in jungle green cloth or other colors depending on

1600-799: The Royal Australian Air Force wears the HKFF with a dark blue or "Air Force Blue" Puggaree, as a Non Ceremonial head dress for the RAAF; the Royal Australian Navy is also known to wear the hat when wearing camouflage and other uniforms, and has the same features as the RAAF's HKFF. Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR) wear a jungle green coloured puggaree with no colour patch, which dates back to traditions when serving in Malaya. Staff Cadets at

1680-615: The Royal Marines Band Service and in number 1 dress ("blues") on certain ceremonial occasions. At the same time, a similar helmet (of dark-blue cloth over the cork and incorporating a bronze spike) had been proposed for use in non-tropical areas. The British Army formally adopted this headgear, which they called the Home Service helmet , in 1878 (leading to the retirement of the shako ). Most British line infantry (except fusilier and Scottish regiments) wore

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1760-576: The Royal Military College, Duntroon also wear a darker pugaree, however it contains eight pleats. The eighth pleat signifies the graduation of the first international cadet through the Royal Military College who hailed from New Zealand. They also wear the chin strap of the hat the opposite way around from that of the rest of the Army, as the first commander of the 1st Australian Imperial Force, William Throsby Bridges ,

1840-712: The Royal Navy and other navies had sometimes provided pith helmets for landing parties in tropical regions. Pith helmets were widely worn during the First World War by British, Belgian, French, Austrian-Hungarian, and German troops fighting in the Middle East and Africa. A white tropical helmet was issued to personnel of the French Navy serving in the Red Sea, Far Eastern waters, and the Pacific between 1922 and

1920-884: The Second Boer War and occasionally by the Royal Canadian Regiment. Throughout the late Victorian era and early 1900s slouch hats were widely worn by the Canadian military, from the Yukon to South Africa. Naval and air force personnel of the Canadian Forces serving overseas during the Gulf War were issued with white cotton duck hats. The Slouch hat was used extensively during the 1916 Rising and Irish War of Independence most famously Padraig Pearse who wore one during The Easter Rising, which

2000-710: The Second World War , the U.S. Marine Corps , U.S. Navy , and the U. S. Army developed a cheaper, similar-looking alternative to the pith helmet, called the American fiber helmet , which was made from pressed fiber. Some of the helmets were printed with a camouflage pattern. The two main producers of the US military fiber pressed pith helmet were the International Hat Company and Hawley Products Company . Both companies had originally designed and manufactured several civilian models made from pressed fiber with

2080-443: The "Colonial pattern" pith helmet and later designs like the Wolseley pattern. Originally made of pith with small peaks or "bills" at the front and back, the British version of the helmet was covered by white cloth, often with a cloth band (or puggaree ) around it, and small holes for ventilation. Military versions often had metal insignia on the front and could be decorated with a brass spike or ball-shaped finial . Depending on

2160-505: The "essentially superstitious" use of pith helmets, wrote, "When I was in Burma I was assured that the Indian sun, even at its coolest [even in the early morning, and the sunless rainy season], had a peculiar deadliness which could only be warded off by wearing a helmet of cork or pith. 'Natives', their skulls being thicker, had no need of these helmets, but for a European, even a double felt hat

2240-472: The 1900 Dress Regulations as "the Wolseley pattern cork helmet". It is named after Field Marshal The 1st Viscount Wolseley . With its swept-back brim, it provided greater protection from the sun than the old Colonial pattern helmet. Its use was soon widespread among British personnel serving overseas and some Canadian units. It continues to be used by the Royal Marines , both in full dress as worn by

2320-470: The 1930s to 1950s. In European use during the British Raj in India, the sola topi might be replaced with the felt Terai hat in the hills or during the cool season. This clothing -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Slouch hat Today it is worn by military personnel from a number of countries, although it is primarily associated with Australia, where it

2400-539: The 1940s. During the 1930s, the locally recruited forces maintained in the Philippines (consisting of the army and a gendarmerie ) used sun helmets mostly made out of compressed coconut fiber called "Guinit". The Axis Second Philippine Republic 's military, known as the Bureau of Constabulary, and guerrilla groups in the Philippines also wore this headdress. Before the Second World War , Royal Navy officers wore

2480-700: The 1960s included a slouch hat, popularly known as "Banga Banga", although the term "banga-banga" also refers to the lower rank's fez. Some units of the British Army sent to South Africa during the Boer War adopted the slouch hat, particularly members of the Imperial Yeomanry, and retained its use on their return to the UK after the war. Though the Service Cap became standard after the formation of

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2560-549: The 1970s until the beginning of the 21st century, when these units were replaced by the creation of the Autoridad Metropolitana de Transporte (AMET) corps, which were issued dark green stetson hats instead. In Greece, the Hellenic Navy band uses the pith helmet during its appearances (ex., at parades, when inspected by officials outside of churches, both events held during national feasts, etc.), with

2640-605: The Army Ordnance Corps and the Royal Engineers) or a ball (for the Royal Artillery and other corps); and general officers staff officers and certain departmental officers, when in full dress, wore plumes on their helmets, similar to those worn on their full-dress cocked hats . George Orwell , commenting on the unproblematical use of slouch hats by Second World War British troops rather than

2720-650: The Band of the South Australia Police . A white Wolseley helmet forms a part of the Canadian Army 's universal full-dress uniform, although specific units wear different headgear owing to authorized regimental differences. In addition, the pith helmet is also worn by cadets at the Royal Military College of Canada for certain parades and special occasion. In the Bahamas , pith helmets are worn by

2800-574: The Corsican hat in the periods 1803–06 and 1811–36. A shortage of cork helmets led to the widespread use of the slouch hat amongst British Empire forces during the Second Boer War , where it was used by units including the City Imperial Volunteers (CIV), Imperial Yeomanry , and King Edward's Horse . An 1884 painting displayed in the regimental museum of the pipe band of 1st Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders shows

2880-603: The Double Terai has a double thick crown and brim for additional sun protection and durability. The slouch hat has been known in the US military at least since the American Civil War, being fairly common among officers. The standard headgear for US soldiers in the Vietnam War in the 1960s was a fatigue baseball or field cap that offered little protection from the sun. Local tailors made a slouch hat in

2960-575: The Foreign Service helmet (either colonial pattern or Wolseley pattern according to regimental specification) when full dress uniform is worn "in hot weather overseas stations such as Cyprus ". Within the British Overseas Territories , a white Wolseley helmet with red and white swan-feather plume is occasionally worn by colonial governors when in white tropical uniform. Since 2001, such dress has been provided only at

3040-514: The Philippines by the early 18th century. The military versions were commonly cloth-covered and gradually took on the shape of the Spanish cabasset or morion . The salacot design was later adopted by the French colonial troops in Mainland Southeast Asia in the 19th century (who called it the salacco or salacot, a term also later applied to the native Vietnamese cone-shaped or disk-like nón lá ) due to its effectiveness in protecting from damp and humid weather. French marines also introduced

3120-401: The Royal Bahamas Police Force Band. A khaki or white pith helmet is part of the standard summer uniform of traffic officers in specific police departments in India. The pith helmet is also used by the Sri Lankan Police as part of their dress uniform . In the Dominican Republic, pith helmets with black pugarees were the standard duty headgear used by transit officers of the national police in

3200-412: The Territorial Force in 1908, the Royal East Kent Mounted Rifles used them for ceremonial purposes until around 1910. During World War II, British soldiers serving in the jungles of Burma often wore the slouch hat. Post war, the Gurkhas are the only unit which retained the use of a version of the slouch hat. The primary version is the Terai hat , after the Terai region in Nepal. A version called

3280-515: The Wolseley helmet when in white (tropical) uniform; the helmet was plain white, with a narrow navy-blue edging to the top of the puggaree. Pith-styled helmets were used as late as the Second World War by Japanese , European and American military personnel in hot climates. Included in this category are the sun helmets worn in Ethiopia and North Africa by Italian troops, the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army , Union Defence Force , and Nazi Germany 's Afrika Korps , as well as similar helmets used to

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3360-490: The Wolseley type one being used worn with full dress. It was possibly introduced at the beginning of the 20th century when the Hellenic Armed Forces were organized according to the French Army (the Hellenic Army) and the British Royal Navy (the Hellenic Navy). Modern Italian municipal police wear a helmet modeled on the Model 1928 tropical helmet of the Royal Italian Army for foot patrols in summer. These are made from white plastic with cork or pith interior lining and resemble

3440-413: The army's branches (for example, blue for the Air Force ), usually with a metal insignia at the front. It is considered a symbol of the Vietnamese Army. After the struggles for independence, including the Mau Mau Uprising, Kenya gained its independence from Britain in December 1963, riding the 'winds of change'. In the following year, after President Jomo Kenyatta's election in 1964, the pith helmet became

3520-466: The articles may have been somewhat exaggerated, the pith helmet indeed protected against intense direct sunlight on the savanna, and its sturdy shell and liner shielded the head from collisions with branches in the jungle rainforest. The brim, resembling an eave, also served to prevent raindrops from entering the eyes or forming on glasses. Now, in addition to that, it has been left as a symbol of authority for free Africans. Several military units still use

3600-416: The badge denoting the wearer's Regimental affiliation. Dating from the early 1900s, it was reintroduced for wear by Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles in the mid-1990s, but in 2000 its issue was broadened to all Corps for wear with working dress (influenced by such use by QAMR) as well as with service dress. As an alternative to the typical NZ army "lemon squeezer" , the NZ Mounted Rifles Hat is worn on all but

3680-399: The brim. The US 1st Air Commando Group members officially adopted the green slouch hat on 22 May 1964 as their distinctive and practical headgear. In 1972 the US Army authorized female drill sergeants to wear a bush hat based on the Australian design as their distinctive headgear. This was originally beige, but has been green since 1983. Prior to 1972, when the new ' greens ' uniform

3760-463: The cloth band (puggaree) wound around the base of the hat's crown. In the United States it was also called the Kossuth hat, after Lajos Kossuth . During the American Civil War (1861–65) the headgear was common among both Confederate and Union troops in the Western Theater , although not always with its brim turned up at the side. During the Spanish–American War , as commander of the Rough Riders , Colonel Theodore Roosevelt became known for wearing

3840-517: The cocked hat with two ( bicorn ) or three ( tricorn ) points. It was introduced into Australia around 1885, although it traces its military use back to Austrian skirmishers. The modern slouch hat is derived from the black "Corsican hat" (Korsehut) – historically used in the Austrian army during the Napoleonic Wars. The headwear saw primary use by 15 battalions of Austrian Jägers (skirmishers) and it featured an upturned brim, leather chinstrap and feather plume. The regular infantry also saw limited use of

3920-400: The colonial armed force of Imperial Germany, as an alternative to the pith helmet , especially in South West Africa. Different coloured puggarees were worn by the Germans in South West Africa , German East Africa , German West Africa ( Togo and Cameroon ), German New Guinea and China. The hat had its brim pinned up on the right side with a cockade in the national colors and was worn with

4000-407: The designs of other European pith helmets, including the Spanish and Filipino designs, by the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th century. The Wolseley pattern helmet is a distinctive British design developed and popularised in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was the official designation for the universal sun helmet worn by the British Army from 1899 to 1948 and described in

4080-419: The early version of the salacot to the French West Indies , where it became the salako , a cloth-covered headgear still mostly identical to the Filipino salakot in shape. British and Dutch troops, and other colonial powers in nearby regions followed suit and the salacot became a common headgear for colonial forces in the mid-19th century. While this form of headgear was particularly associated with

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4160-405: The end of British rule in Hong Kong in 1997 featured the Royal Hong Kong Police (RHKP) aide-de-camp to the Governor in a white Wolseley pith helmet with black and white feathers. It was the last occasion on which this style of headdress appeared as a symbol of the Empire. Due to its popularity, the pith helmet became common civilian headgear for Westerners in the tropics and sub-tropics from

4240-426: The expense of the territory concerned and is no longer paid for by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office . The Royal Gibraltar Regiment routinely wear the white pith helmet with a white tunic (in summer) and scarlet tunic (in winter). The pith helmet is used by Australian military bands, such as the Army Band and the Band of the Royal Military College, Duntroon , as well as the New South Wales Mounted Police , and

4320-437: The first Gurkha regiment to adopt the slouch hat when they were issued with the Australian variant in 1901. The Gurkha terai hat is created by fusing two hats into one to make the hat more rigid and is worn at an angle, tilted to the right. The Chindits and other units of Field Marshal William Slim 's British Fourteenth Army , who fought against the Japanese in the Far East during World War II, also became associated with

4400-406: The hat as part of their uniform after their commanding officer, Thomas Price , had seen them worn by police in Burma. On 22 December 1890, the military commanders of the then separate Australian Colonies prior to the Federation of Australia met to discuss the introduction of the khaki uniform throughout Australia. They agreed that all Australian Forces with the exception of the Artillery would wear

4480-438: The helmet became purely a full dress item, being worn as such until 1914. It returned to use by regimental bands and officers attending levees in the inter-war period and is worn by regimental bands of British Army line infantry regiments to the present day. The design of the Home Service helmet closely resembles the traditional custodian helmet worn since 1869 by several police forces in England and Wales . Black helmets of

4560-440: The helmet until 1902, when the khaki Service Dress was introduced. It was also worn by engineers , artillery (with a ball rather than a spike), and various administrative and other corps (again with a ball rather than a spike). The cloth of the helmet was generally dark blue, but a green version was worn by light infantry regiments and grey by several volunteer units . With the general adoption of khaki for field dress in 1903,

4640-409: The helmet was topped by a 10-inch red and white swan-feather plume. British diplomats in tropical postings, governors-general , governors and colonial officials continued to wear the traditional white helmets as part of their ceremonial white uniforms until Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials ceased to wear such dress in the late 20th century as an economy measure. The ceremonies marking

4720-495: The home uniform as well. German colonial police units in South West Africa wore a khaki slouch hat with a small national cockade on the front and the right side pinned up by a metal Imperial crown device. It became associated with the Australian military around the end of the 19th century, and since World War I it has been manufactured in Australia for the Australian Army by companies such as Akubra , Mountcastle & Sons and Bardsley Hats. The Australian military still wear

4800-479: The lower ranks of the police ( Constables and Head Constables ), with the colours of the police unit embroidered on the turned-up brim. The number of the individual officer is also fixed onto the side of the brim. The Rajasthan Provincial Constabulary : the armed branch of the Rajasthan Police, also uses the slouch hat pinned up to the side, as the standard service and ceremonial headgear for all its Constables and Head Constables. The uniform of Nigerian soldiers in

4880-430: The mid-1950s. For example, they had become relatively uncommon in Francophone African colonies by 1955, despite their former conspicuous popularity among European visitors and expatriates there during the previous decade. A dark blue pith helmet, similar to the British Home Service helmet, is worn with the ceremonial uniforms of the Garderegiment Fuseliers Prinses Irene and the Netherlands Marine Corps . Throughout

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4960-407: The mid-19th century. The civilian pith helmet usually had the same dimensions and outline as its contemporary military counterpart but without decorative extras such as badges. It was worn by men and women, old and young, on formal and casual occasions, until the 1940s. Both white and khaki versions were used. It was often worn together with civilian versions of khaki drill and bush jackets . At

5040-468: The mid-20th century. It was decorated with a full-size officer's hat crest on the front. White or light blue helmets of plastic material but traditional design are official optional uniform items worn today by letter carriers of the U.S. Postal Service to protect against sun and rain. In 19th century Hawaii, King Kalākaua 's Royal Guard adopted the sun helmet as part of their uniform in 1885. The Hawaii Air National Guard honors their legacy today with

5120-566: The mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. The headdress remains in use in several military services in the 21st century. Typically, a pith helmet derives from either the sola or "pith" plant, Aeschynomene aspera , an Indian swamp plant, or from Aeschynomene paludosa . In the narrowest definition, a pith helmet is a type of sun hat made from the wood of the pith plant. However, pith helmet may more broadly refer to this style of helmet when made from any number of lightweight sun-shading materials, such as cork wood , rattan or fiber. It

5200-471: The most important occasions, where the lemon squeezer takes precedence. The slouch hat predates the introduction of the lemon squeezer hat (which did not appear until after the Boer War) and is worn brim down. Historic photographs indicate the brim to have been worn up in the Australian style on occasion. The term 'bush hat' is also associated with New Zealand culture such as the Bushman, Southern man and man alone stereotypes. The New Zealand Police wear

5280-487: The occasion, the chinstrap would be either leather or brass chain. The base material later became the more durable cork, although still covered with cloth and frequently referred to as a "pith" helmet. During the Anglo-Zulu War , British troops dyed their white pith helmets with tea, mud, or other makeshift means of camouflage . Subsequently, khaki-coloured pith helmets became standard issue for active tropical service. Sun helmets made of pith first appeared in India during

5360-409: The pith helmet throughout the Commonwealth . In the United Kingdom, the Royal Marines wear white Wolseley pattern helmets of the same general design as the old pith helmet as part of their number 1 or dress uniform . These date from 1912 in their present form and are made of natural cork covered in white cloth on the outside and shade green on the inside. Decoration includes a brass ball ornament at

5440-438: The slouch hat (also known as the bush hat in the British Army). The slouch hat was also used by colonial units of the British Empire , including the Royal West African Frontier Force , the Canadian Yukon Field Force , Canadian Pacific Railway Militia, the Kenya Regiment and troops from Rhodesia . The slouch hat was first worn by military forces in Australia in 1885 when the newly created Victorian Mounted Rifles adopted

5520-421: The slouch hat with a Unit Colour Patch to identify their unit, and it has become a national symbol in Australia. The slouch hat or Terai hat is also associated with the Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger ( Dutch East Indies Army ). It is worn by Gurkha regiments of the British Army and Indian Army (formerly the British Indian Army ), but no longer worn on active service. The 2nd Gurkha Rifles became

5600-403: The slouch hat. It was to be looped up on one side—Victoria and Tasmania on the right and the other colonies (later states) on the left. This was done so that rifles could be held at the slope without damaging the brim. After Federation, the slouch hat became standard Australian Army headgear in 1903 and since then it has developed into an important national symbol. The slouch hat (also known as

5680-401: The states of Australia while the seventh represents the territories of Australia. A Unit Colour Patch is worn on the right of puggaree, while a Corps or Regiment Hat badge is placed to its front and the General Service Badge (The Rising Sun) worn on the left brim which is folded up and clipped into place. The slouch hat worn by the Army is one of its trademarks, but it is not theirs alone:

5760-672: The top (a detail inherited from the Royal Marine Artillery ), helmet plate, and chin chain. The Home Service helmet is still worn by line infantry regiments in the United Kingdom today as part of full dress uniform. Although these units' wearing of full dress uniform largely ceased after the First World War, it continues to be worn by regimental bands, Corps of Drums , and guards of honour on ceremonial occasions. Such personnel are likewise directed to wear

5840-528: The turn of the 20th century, there was a widespread assumption that wearing this form of head-dress was necessary for people of European origin to avoid sunstroke in the tropics. By contrast, indigenous peoples were assumed to have acquired relative immunity. Modern medical opinion holds that some form of wide-brimmed but light headwear (such as a Panama hat , etc.) is highly advisable in strong sunlight for people of all ethnicities to avoid skin cancers and overheating. Pith helmets began to decline in popularity in

5920-595: The unit in service dress, crossing the veldt in Zululand, wearing khaki slouch hats. After the war many armies rejected the once-popular headwear (as the British Army did in 1905), although it came back into fashion briefly during World War II during the Burma campaign and amongst troops serving in India and Southeast Asia at this time. The slouch hat in gray felt was worn by the Schutztruppe (protection force),

6000-550: The wide-brimmed slouch hat worn by US troops in the Philippines and by British Empire forces in the later stages of the Boer War . The salacot was most widely adopted by the British Empire in British India , who originally called them "planters' hats". They began experimenting with derivative designs for a lightweight hat for troops serving in tropical regions. This led to a succession of designs, ultimately resulting in

6080-599: Was also worn by the North-West Mounted Police in policing North-West Canada, 1873 through 1874 to the North-West Rebellion and even before the stetson in the Yukon Gold Rush of 1898. European officers commanding locally recruited indigenous troops, as well as civilian officials in African and Asian colonial territories, used the pith helmet. Troops serving in the tropics usually wore pith helmets. However, on active service, they sometimes used alternatives such as

6160-431: Was designed to shade the wearer's head and face from the sun. The origin of the pith helmet is the traditional Filipino headgear known as the salakot (Spanish salacot, a term still also used for pith helmets). They are usually dome-shaped or cone-shaped and can range in size from having very wide brims to being almost helmet-like. The tip of the crown commonly has a spiked or knobbed finial made of metal or wood. It

6240-579: Was found wearing his slouch hat back to front when he was fatally wounded at Gallipoli . Some units of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps such as cavalry and light horse regiments wear emu plumes behind the Rising Sun badge. This is a reference to a practice dating from World War 1, where Light Horsemen would chase down emus and steal their feathers to mount in their hat as a mark of their riding skill. Members of

6320-469: Was introduced, most corps and regiments of the Rhodesian Army wore slouch hats. The Rhodesian African Rifles and Grey's Scouts continued to wear the slouch after the introduction of the new uniform, although they were replaced with berets for working dress. Pith helmet The pith helmet , also known as the safari helmet , salacot , sola topee , sun helmet , topee , and topi

6400-475: Was not a reliable protection." The British Army formally abolished the tropical helmet (other than for ceremonial purposes) in 1948. The Ethiopian Imperial Guard retained pith helmets as a distinctive part of their uniform until the overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie I in 1974. Imperial Guard units serving in the Korean War often wore these helmets when not in combat. American naval officers could wear

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