Forage Cap Badge

[Stuart Bates]

[attachmentid=56119]

Can anyone tell me what regiment or unit this badge belongs to. It is from a forage cap circa 1890-1900. I couldn't locate it in Kipling & King.

Stuart

Edited October 6, 2006 by SJB

[Laurence Strong]

Looks to be Musician, however I can't find it yet....

[Graham Stewart]

Sorry lads, but I don't think it's military at all and possibly belongs to one of the many civilian military style bands then in existence at the beginning of the 20th Century. You often see photo's of them at postcard fairs and as you see them wearing obvious scarlet bandsmens tunics you home in on them, only to be disappointed. Luckily on some they'll have the name of the band on the card so you don't make that mistake.

Graham.

[Stuart Bates]

Thanks guys,

it is described as a late Victorian Army Band Masters cap. I didn't know that civilian bands had the same style of cap. How did you know that is was a musicians cap, what gives that away?

Stuart

Edited October 6, 2006 by SJB

[Graham Stewart]

Both Bandmaster and Sergeant Majors in British Regiments at the turn of the last century were clothed as officers and as such wear silver & gold wire bullion badges or silver and gilt badges of the regiments that they serve. I've seen this badge floating about at Militaria fairs and if my memory is correct the Royal British Legion Band wear something similar, with a Victorian Crown of all things.

Graham.

[Graham Stewart]

[attachmentid=56221]

You obviously mean this type of forage cap as worn by the A.B.Kettleby Brass Band c.1890. Due to space restriction I couldn't show the full photo, but behind the Bandmaster a lad is wearing a Royal Fusiliers badge in his forage cap.

Graham

[Stuart Bates]

Yes, Graham that is the style of Forage Cap. I was looking for info on the Royal British Legion Band but with 1,010,000 hits and 320,000 with adding uniforms to the search criterion I can't face it.

I think I'll leave it there as I only collect British Military headgear. But one last thing how did you guys pick it straight away as being a musicians cap rather than an army one.

Stuart

[peter monahan]

How did you know that is was a musicians cap, what gives that away?

Stuart

The classical "lyre" (fancy Greek for 'harp') is a pretty standard symbol of music and musicians across Europe and the various former empires it founded. And, as the others state, bands clad in miltary style uniforms were a feature of both Old World and New in the late 18th, early 19th centuries. (I suspect that WWI was what pushed them out of fashion.)

Peter

[peter monahan]

Oops! Forgot to add that most military musicians in the Empire would wear their regiments badge on headdress, with musical badges on the uniform itself. For a time (Napoleonic era) British Army musicians apparently wore a drum badge on the back of their shakos but more common was a drum, set of pipes, etc worn on the tunic sleeve.

Not sure but I suspect this was also how other armies handles it.

Peter

[Stuart Bates]

Thanks to all of you for the invaluable information. I must admit that I have always neglected bands in my reading and collecting of British headdress.

Stuart