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44-501: The Fovant Badges are a set of regimental badges cut into a chalk hill, Fovant Down, near Fovant , in south-west Wiltshire , England. They are between Salisbury and Shaftesbury on the A30 road in the Nadder valley , and are approximately 1 ⁄ 2 mile (800 m) south-east of Fovant village. They were created by soldiers garrisoned nearby, and waiting to go to France, during

88-522: A beret . For service caps , a gilt eagle device is worn. This is the Great Seal of the United States . In the late nineteenth century, this device on a blue circle was listed as the equivalent of the roundel that appeared on headgear of many European armies. For officers, a large eagle device is worn. For enlisted men, a small version of the officer's insignia centered on a disk is worn on

132-457: A brass crown and the bottom consisting of a silver flying body of Mercury (the winged messenger of the gods – 'Jimmy') above a brass world and the motto certa cito ('swift and sure'). A regiment or battalion may maintain variations of the same cap badge for different ranks. These variations are usually in the badges' material, size and stylization. Variations in cap badges are normally made for: There are exceptions such as

176-745: A combination cap badge featuring a gold disc in front of two silver crossed anchors, while junior enlisted sailors of both genders wear a sailor cap without any insignia. Midshipmen at the US Naval Academy and the US Merchant Marine Academy and in the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC), and wear a single, upright fouled anchor on combination and garrison caps, while cadets at the US Coast Guard Academy wear

220-424: A merchants' guild, and exercising the functions of the pontifex maximus . The people, because of the ongoing public discord, and in order to spite the senate and the consuls , instead awarded the honour of dedicating the temple to Marcus Laetorius, the senior military officer of one of the legions. The senate and the consuls, in particular the conservative Appius, were outraged at this decision, and it inflamed

264-557: A modern form of heraldry and their design generally incorporates highly symbolic devices. Some badges that contain images of lions or other cats are sometimes informally referred to as cat badges. The British Armed Forces utilise a variety of metal and cloth cap badges on their headdress, generally on caps and berets. They are also worn on Sikh turbans . In the British Army (as well as other Commonwealth armies) each regiment and corps has its own cap badge. The cap badge of

308-444: A number of epithets representing different aspects or roles, or representing syncretisms with non-Roman deities. The most common and significant of these epithets included the following: In Virgil 's Aeneid , Mercury reminds Aeneas of his mission to found the city of Rome. In Ovid's Fasti , Mercury is assigned to escort the nymph Larunda to the underworld. Mercury, however, falls in love with Larunda and makes love to her on

352-470: A number of cases they may be cast in different pieces. For instance, the badge of the now amalgamated, The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons) was cast in two separate pieces: the Queen's Crown and the thistle forming one piece, and the stag's head and scroll with regimental motto forming a second piece (see the first picture above). The Royal Corps of Signals also has a two-part badge. The top being

396-564: A silver fouled anchor within a gold circle, with St Edward's Crown above the ring as their cap badge. That of Chief Petty Officers is the same, but with a small laurel wreath around the gold ring. That of warrant officers (both Class I and Class II) has a larger wreath around the anchor, but omits the ring. The laurel wreath around that of commissioned officers is larger still. In the Royal Marines , cap badges are worn on peaked caps and berets. Those of commissioned officers below

440-554: A single fouled anchor surmounted by a silver five-pointed star, with one point facing down. United States marines wear the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor as their cap device: gilt and silver for officers and gold for enlisted on blue dress uniforms, and subdued for all ranks on service and utility uniforms. Marine-option midshipmen at the US Naval Academy wear the same cap device as other midshipmen, while NROTC midshipmen wear

484-573: A small white backing behind their badges. Members of arms such as the Adjutant General's Corps and Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers serving on attachment to other units often wear that regiment's beret or headdress but with their own Corps cap badge. For a period leading up to Remembrance Day artificial poppies are worn by many people in the United Kingdom and Canada to commemorate those killed in war. On forage caps

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528-562: Is unique in the British Army and was awarded to the 28th Regiment of Foot for their actions at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801. Additional items that reflect a regiment's historical accomplishments, such as backing cloth and hackles , may be worn behind the cap badge. In Scottish regiments, for instance, it is a tradition for soldiers to wear their cap badges on a small square piece of their regimental tartans . Officer cadets may wear

572-697: The Germanic god Wotan , by interpretatio romana ; 1st-century Roman writer Tacitus identifies him as the chief god of the Germanic peoples. This association of Mercury and Wotan is seen in the English language day-name Wednesday and the French Mercredi. Mercury is known to the Romans as Mercurius and occasionally in earlier writings as Merqurius, Mirqurios or Mircurios , had

616-788: The Queen's Royal Lancers is called a motto by those within the regiment, that of the Royal Horse Artillery is known as a cypher and that of the Coldstream Guards , Scots Guards and Irish Guards is known as a cap star. That of the Grenadier Guards is known as the grenade fired proper . The concept of regimental badges appears to have originated with the British Army. The Encyclopædia Britannica ' s 1911 Edition notes that although branch badges for infantry, cavalry and so on were common to other armies of

660-633: The Sea Cadet Corps and Air Training Corps wear a badge with a unique design. Mercury (mythology) Mercury ( / ˈ m ɜːr k j ʊr i / ; Latin : Mercurius [mɛrˈkʊrijʊs] ) is a major god in Roman religion and mythology , being one of the 12 Dii Consentes within the ancient Roman pantheon . He is the god of financial gain, commerce, eloquence, messages, communication (including divination ), travelers, boundaries, luck, trickery, and thieves; he also serves as

704-515: The Special Air Service wear an embroidered cap badge and all ranks of The Rifles and Royal Regiment of Fusiliers wear the same metal badge. Some regiments maintain a blackened or subdued version of their cap badges as shiny brass cap badges may attract the enemy's attention on the battlefield. However, since the practice of British soldiers operating in theatre with regimental headdress (i.e. peaked cap, beret) has all but died out,

748-627: The United States Coast Guard , which once followed this pattern, but changed after the American Civil War to their current designs. The Navy has crossed anchors behind the eagle and shield for commissioned officers, while the Coast Guard uses a single large anchor held in the eagle's claws on its commissioned officers' caps; officers in both branches wear a miniature version of the commissioned officer insignia on

792-485: The lyre from a tortoise shell. Like Hermes, he was also a god of messages, eloquence and of trade, particularly of the grain trade . He was the patron of travelers and the god of thievery as well. Mercury was also considered a god of abundance and commercial success, particularly in Gaul , where he was said to have been particularly revered. He was also, like Hermes, the Romans' psychopomp , leading newly deceased souls to

836-557: The "keeper of boundaries," referring to his role as bridge between the upper and lower worlds. Mercury did not appear among the numinous di indigetes of early Roman religion . Rather, he subsumed the earlier Dei Lucrii as Roman religion was syncretized with Greek religion during the time of the Roman Republic , starting around the 4th century BC. His cult was introduced also by influence of Etruscan religion in which Turms had similar characteristics. From

880-736: The First World War; the first in 1916. They are clearly visible from the A30 which runs through the village. Nine of the original twenty remain, and are scheduled ancient monuments and recognised by the Imperial War Museum as war memorials . Further badges have been added more recently. The Fovant Badge Society holds an annual Drumhead Service which is attended by the Australian High Commissioner , local mayors and members of parliament. These services fund

924-662: The Roman syncretism , Mercury was equated with the Celtic god Lugus , and in this aspect was commonly accompanied by the Celtic goddess Rosmerta . Although Lugus may originally have been a deity of light or the sun (though this is disputed), similar to the Roman Apollo, his importance as a god of trade made him more comparable to Mercury, and Apollo was instead equated with the Celtic deity Belenus . Romans associated Mercury with

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968-523: The Romans interpreted them as local manifestations or aspects of their own gods, a cultural trait called the interpretatio romana . Mercury, in particular, was reported as becoming extremely popular among the nations the Roman Empire conquered; Julius Caesar wrote of Mercury being the most popular god in Britain and Gaul, regarded as the inventor of all the arts. This is probably because, in

1012-527: The Welsh Guards, where all ranks wear a cloth cap badge. Officers wearing a more elaborate version compared to that of soldiers, made using gold thread and has a more three-dimensional design. The only exception to this is recruits in training who have to wear the brass (or more often "stay-brite") leek, often referred to as the " NAAFI fork", until they have passed out of training and reached their battalion will they receive their cloth leek . All ranks of

1056-531: The afterlife. Additionally, Ovid wrote that Mercury carried Morpheus 's dreams from the valley of Somnus to sleeping humans. Archeological evidence from Pompeii suggests that Mercury was among the most popular of Roman gods. The god of commerce was depicted on two early bronze coins of the Roman Republic, the sextans and the semuncia . When they described the gods of Celtic and Germanic tribes, rather than considering them separate deities,

1100-410: The beginning, Mercury had essentially the same aspects as Hermes , wearing winged shoes ( talaria ) and a winged hat ( petasos ), and carrying the caduceus , a herald's staff with two entwined snakes that was Apollo 's gift to Hermes. He was often accompanied by a rooster , herald of the new day, a ram or goat, symbolizing fertility , and a tortoise, referring to Mercury's legendary invention of

1144-471: The case of infantry and armoured soldiers, regimental affiliation. Some units further differentiate non-commissioned members from officers by cap badge material (for example, artillery officers wear gold-wire embroidered cloth instead of brass, Lord Strathcona's Horse officers wear silver rather than brass). In the United States Army , a distinctive unit insignia (DUI) is worn on the flash of

1188-420: The completion of its construction, a dispute emerged between the consuls Appius Claudius Sabinus Regillensis and Publius Servilius Priscus Structus as to which of them should have the honour of dedicating the temple. The Roman Senate referred the decision to the popular assembly, and also decreed that whichever was chosen should also exercise additional duties, including presiding over the markets, establish

1232-489: The enlisted-dress Eagle, Globe, and Anchor on all their uniforms instead of an anchor. Badges are worn on berets of international military and peacekeeping forces. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , as well as provincial and municipal police forces, utilize forage caps and metal cap badges. Where the majority of British police forces have silver-coloured cap badges, those of the City of London Police are brass . They are in

1276-491: The form of each force's crest and include the name of that force. Different badge designs are also worn on the headgear of police community support officers . Cap badges are worn by a variety of other organisations: In the United Kingdom, cadets of the Community Cadet Forces , Combined Cadet Force and Volunteer Cadet Corps generally wear cap badges of the armed forces they are affiliated to. Cadets of

1320-449: The front. Warrant officers used to wear a gold eagle device, known as "Eagle Rising," centered on the cap but now wear the same devices as regular officers. For garrison caps, generally the rank insignia is worn, but recent regulations call for the wear of the DUI. For U.S. Air Force service caps, a large, silver eagle device is worn on the service caps. For enlisted men, a smaller version of

1364-611: The guide of souls to the underworld and the "messenger of the gods". In Roman mythology, he was the son of Maia , one of the seven daughters of the Titan Atlas , and Jupiter . In his earliest forms, he appears to have been related to the Etruscan deity Turms ; both gods share characteristics with the Greek god Hermes . He is often depicted holding the caduceus in his left hand. Similar to his Greek equivalent Hermes, he

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1408-462: The leaves may be absent or replaced by a ring of golden cable. Cap badges in the Royal Navy differ between ranks but have some common features: junior rates ( Able Seaman to Leading Seaman ) do not wear cap badges, wearing the peakless sailor's cap in number one dress. When wearing a beret, junior ratings will wear a fouled anchor within a gold ring as a beret badge. Petty Officers wear

1452-489: The left side of the garrison cap, with rank insignia worn on the wearer's right. Chief petty officers and above in both the Navy and the Coast Guard have a larger version of their collar insignia as their cap badge for the combination cover and a miniature version worn on the garrison cap ; petty officer first class and below in both services wear a full-sized rank insignia on the garrison cap. Junior enlisted coastguards wear

1496-465: The officer's insignia is worn, but enclosed in a ring. The use of the same device is because the U.S. Air Force was once part of the U.S. Army. Cap badges used by navies (and merchant mariners) around the world tend to follow the pattern in use by the Royal Navy : an anchor , or occasionally a cockade , surrounded by golden leaf-shaped embroidery, and often topped by a crown or another symbol. They may be worn on peaked caps or berets. For petty officers

1540-516: The ongoing situation. The dedication occurred on 15 May, 495 BC. The temple was regarded as a fitting place to worship a swift god of trade and travel, since it was a major center of commerce as well as a racetrack. Since it stood between the plebeian stronghold on the Aventine and the patrician center on the Palatine, it also emphasized the role of Mercury as a mediator . Because Mercury

1584-592: The paper petals are fitted under the left hand chin strap button. Cap badges in the Royal Air Force differ in design between those of commissioned officers and other ranks . In addition to caps and berets, they are also worn on forage caps . The Canadian Armed Forces utilize a variety of metal and cloth cap badges on their headdress, and many follow British traditions for additions such as cloth behind and blackened metal badges for rifle regiments. Distinct cap badges identify members' personnel branch or, in

1628-448: The rank of colonel are split in two, the crown and lion atop, but separated from, the globe and laurels. They are brass and silver. Those of other ranks are of the same design but not split in two. They are plain brass. Blackened or subdued versions of both variants, those of officers and other ranks, are worn on berets, with combat uniforms . The lion and crown denote a royal regiment, conferred by King George III in 1802. The globe

1672-604: The time, only the British Army wore distinctive regimental devices. Plastic cap badges were introduced during the Second World War , when metals became strategic materials . Nowadays many cap badges in the British Army are made of a material called "stay-brite" ( anodised aluminium , anodising is an electro-plating process resulting in lightweight shiny badge), this is used because it is cheap, flexible and does not require as much maintenance as brass badges. Regimental cap badges are usually cast as one single piece but in

1716-609: The upkeep of the badges. After the outlines were cut into the grass-covered hillsides, they were refilled with chalk brought from a nearby slope, up to 50 tons per badge. The badges took an average fifty men six months to complete. Reading left to right (north-east to south-west), the badges at Fovant are: Several of the lost badges were short-lived, small and crudely constructed. [REDACTED] Media related to Fovant Badges at Wikimedia Commons 51°03′12″N 1°58′42″W  /  51.0534°N 1.9783°W  / 51.0534; -1.9783 Cap badge Cap badges are

1760-627: The way. Larunda thereby becomes mother to two children, referred to as the Lares , invisible household gods . Mercury's temple in Rome was situated in the Circus Maximus , between the Aventine and Palatine Hills, and was built in 495 BC. That year saw disturbances at Rome between the patrician senators and the plebeians , which led to a secession of the plebs in the following year. At

1804-630: The wearing of these has become much less common in recent years. The cap badge is positioned differently depending on the form of headdress: Soldiers of the Gloucestershire Regiment and subsequently the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment wore a cap badge on both the front and the rear of their headdress, a tradition maintained by soldiers in The Rifles when in service dress. The back badge

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1848-651: Was awarded a magic wand by Apollo , which later turned into the caduceus , the staff with intertwined snakes. The name "Mercury" is possibly related to the Latin words merx ("merchandise"; cf. merchant , commerce , etc.), mercari ( to trade ), and merces ( wages ); another possible connection is the Proto-Indo-European root merĝ- for "boundary, border" (cf. Old English " mearc ", Old Norse " mark " and Latin " margō ") and Greek οὖρος (by analogy of Arctūrus / Ἀρκτοῦρος ), as

1892-773: Was chosen by King George IV to reflect their successes around the world. The laurels honour their gallantry at the Capture of Belle Île in 1761. In the Royal Marines Band Service , the Portsmouth band and CTCRM band have different cap badges from the rest of the Corps. The SBS also has its own cap badge. The main exceptions to the Royal Navy pattern are the United States Navy and

1936-848: Was not one of the early deities surviving from the Roman Kingdom , he was not assigned a flamen (priest), but he did have his own major festival, on 15 May, the Mercuralia . During the Mercuralia, merchants sprinkled water from his sacred well near the Porta Capena on their heads . Mercury features in the first published comic book story of Jack Kirby , Mercury in the 20th Century , published in Red Raven Comics 1, 1940. The United States' so-called Mercury dime , issued from 1916 to 1945, actually features

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