Glengarry

This article is about the cap. For other uses, see Glengarry (disambiguation).

File:Ts17army.jpg

Soldiers of the Scottish Division in Number 2. Pattern ceremonial dress

The glengarry bonnet is a traditional boat-shaped hat without a peak made of thick-milled woollen material with a toorie on top, a rosette cockade on the left, and (usually) ribbons hanging down behind. It is normally worn as part of Scottish military or civilian Highland dress, formal or informal, as an alternative to the Balmoral bonnet (or its less formal variant, the tam o' shanter). Among Scottish regiments, the glengarry is by far the more popular uniform headdress.

History

Alasdair Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry in 1812.

The bonnet was made part of the uniform of the Glengarry Fencibles when they were formed in 1794 by Alasdair Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry, of Clan MacDonnell of Glengarry, who has been described as having invented the cap, though it may have originated earlier when balmoral bonnets were bent and creased. In his Dictionary of Military Uniform, W. Y. Carman notes that that first recorded military use of the glengarry may have been that of a piper of the 74th Foot. It is not clear whether earlier pictures of civilians or fencible infantry show a true glengarry or simply a folded highland bonnet.

Capable of being folded flat, the glengarry became a characteristic part of the uniform of the Scottish regiments of the British Army. By 1860 the glengarry, without a diced border and usually with a feather hackle, was adopted by pipers in all regiments except the 42nd (Black Watch), who retained the feather bonnet. By 1914 all Scottish regiments were wearing dark blue glengarries in non-ceremonial orders of dress, except for the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) who wore it in rifle green, and the Scots Guards and Royal Scots Dragoon Guards who wear peaked forage caps or bearskins instead, albeit with a diced band on the former in the case of the Scots Guards. The diced bands were usually in red, white and blue but the toories on top could be red, royal blue or black, according to regiment. The diced bands along with a black cockade date back to the Jacobite risings when they were used to symbolise allegiance to the House of Hanover, whereas the blue bonnet and white cockade symbolised Jacobitism. The diced band of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders was unique in omitting the black square in favour of three rows of red checks, in homage to the Battle of Balaclava and the stand of the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders later immortalized as The Thin Red Line.

For a period from 1868 to 1902, and also in more recent conflicts, the glengarry was adopted as an undress cap for ordinary duty, and walking-out dress for most British soldiers. A cap described in a 1937 amendment to the Dress Regulations for the Army as "similar in shape to the Glengarry" became the Universal Pattern Field Service Cap (garrison cap) of the British Army in World War II.

Modern wear

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2 IC 5th/6th Battalion, Royal Victoria Regiment on the 2008 Anzac Day parade

The glengarry continued to be worn in dark blue or rifle green by all line infantry regiments of the Scottish Division up to the amalgamation of all Scottish line infantry units into the Royal Regiment of Scotland, as an alternative to the tam o' shanter, particularly in parade dress (when it is always worn, except by the Black Watch, who wore the balmoral bonnet) and by some regiments' musicians (who wear feather bonnets or bearskins in full dress). The current type of blue glengarry worn by the Royal Regiment of Scotland is with a red toorie, red–black–white dicing, black silk cockade and the regimental cap badge surmounted by a cockfeather hackle, a tradition taken from the Royal Scots and King's Own Scottish Borderers. Other Commonwealth military forces that have Scottish and Highland regiments also make use of the glengarry.

Scottish companies and pipe bands of the Australian Army also wear the glengarry.

The glengarry is also commonly worn by civilians, notably civilian pipe bands, but can be considered an appropriate hat worn by any man with Highland casual dress or day wear. In this context, it most often has a red toorie. In pipe bands, women often also wear the glengarry.

Police use of diced band

In 1932 Percy Sillitoe, the Chief Constable of the City of Glasgow Police, abolished the traditional custodian helmet and added a new feature to the peaked caps worn by his police officers. This new feature was a black and white chequered cap band based on the dicings seen on the glengarry headresses of the Scottish regiments. The diced band, popularly known as the Sillitoe Tartan, later spread to police forces in Australia, New Zealand, and the rest of the United Kingdom, as well as to some other parts of the world, notably Chicago.

Method of wearing

The correct method of wearing the glengarry has changed since the end of the Second World War. Prior to 1945, glengarries were generally worn steeply angled, with the right side of the cap worn low, often touching the ear, and the side with the capbadge higher on the head. The trend since the end of the war has been to wear the glengarry level on the head.

References

• British Glengarries – British Army Uniforms and Equipment of World War Two. Brian L. Davis, Arms and Armour Press, London 1983 ISBN 0-85368-609-2
• Canadian Glengarries in the First World War – Khaki. Clive M. Law, Service Publications, Ottawa ISBN 0-9699845-4-5
• Canadian Glengarries in the Second World War – Dressed to Kill. Michael A. Dorosh, CD, Service Publications, Ottawa, 2001 ISBN 1-894581-07-5
• A Dictionary of Military Uniform. W.Y. Carman. ISBN 0-684-15130-8
• The Uniforms and History of the Scottish Regiments. R.M. Barnes.