Rifle Brigade Busby

[paul w]

Hi Guys,can I have some opinions on this Rifle Brigade Busby on ebay please.It looks like an ORs cap rather then an officers but is it pre WW1?Cheers for your help,

Paul

[leigh kitchen]

It's an Other Ranks sealskin rather than officer's Persian lambskin, I don't know if the insignia is correct for pre WWI, but pre WWI busbies would still presumably be used in the 1970's - 80's if not later. Busbies were still being worn by the Royal Green Jackets & are, presumably by the newer amalgamation The Rifles?

The plume may be the Rifle Brgade green lacking the gilt ring worn part way up, it's hard to tell the colour. It could be an Irish Guards St Patrick's blue bearskin plume?

Looks like it's lacking its chinstrap?

[Graham Stewart]

The plume could be correct, as it appears to be horse hair(but sun bleached) for the O/R's, as is the cap itself, and as you say possibly lacking the ring, which keeps it compact. To be sure you'd need to see the stem of the plume which should be a long brass one tapered at the end. I used to have a few Rifles plumes years ago and found them to be nice items in their own right.

[leigh kitchen]

One for sale on a dealer's site at the moment has the green plume with metal ring, a 1914 dated paper label & the cord boss but with a blackened stringed bugle similar to the small metal bugles worn as a trade badge as opposed to the white metal with Guelphc Crown shown in the photo on this thread.

Photo 7 in this GMIC thread shows what appears to be a Rifle Brigade busby with a cord boss & below it a white metal badge similar to a Rifle Brigade cap badge:

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=43651&st=0

Edited May 6, 2010 by leigh kitchen

[coldstream]

Doesn't look like a busby on the link Leigh

Perhaps this link needs to be amended urgently. :shame:

[leigh kitchen]

Flipping heck, scary - I have'nt got a cam, honest. What the heck was that about? Virus check coming up, just hope that link was'nt sent out with any emails to mother.

Damned right it needed sorting.

[paul w]

Guys,the difference between the rifle caps worn by the Kings Royal Rifle Corps and the Rifle Brigade is baffling me a bit.The cap I started the thread on has a green boss with a bugle surmounted by a crown.I think,as has been mentioned,that the plume might be a replacement as the colour should be black.The rifle cap shown by Leigh has a black boss with bugle device on it (no crown) but with black Rifle brigade plume.The KRRC wore a rifle cap with black boss with (at least at one stage)a black Maltese cross badge on it and red/black plume.So,have the caps shown had little 'additions' put on to make them more attractive to a potential buyer or did the regiments have different devices and plumes on their caps during different periods?Does anyone out there have a definative answer as to what these regiments wore on their Rifle caps?Cheers for your help,

Paul