Slouch Hat - History

History

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I, the Cavaliers, but it was also fashionable for the aristocracy throughout Europe during that time until it was superseded by the cocked hat which in modern times has been referred to as the tricorn or bicorn depending upon the depth of the forward peak.

Despite being primarily associated with Australia, the slouch hat style did not originate in Australia; it was created in Nepal. It was introduced into Australia around 1885, and was sometimes described as a "Tyrolean" import, derived from the black "Corsican hat" (Korsehut) with a feather and a leather chinstrap; this hat with an upturned brim was worn by the fifteen battalions of Austrian light troops formed in 1801 after the French Revolutionary Wars. A contemporary painting dated 1884 (in the regimental museum) of the pipe band of 1st Battalion Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders in service dress, crossing the veldt in Zululand, shows them wearing khaki slouch hats.

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 such as the City Imperial Volunteers (CIV), Imperial Yeomanry, and King Edward's Horse. After the war, however, 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), 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) and China. The hat had its brim pinned up on the right side with a cockade in the national colors and was worn with 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.

The slouch hat was frequently worn throughout Africa and in motion pictures about Africa such as Jungle Jim and safari films.

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 by the Akubra company for the Australian Army. This slouch hat is still worn by the Australian military today and it has become a national symbol in Australia. A Unit Colour Patch is also worn by members of the Australian Army on their Slouch Hat to indicate which unit they are from.

The slouch hat or Terai hat is also associated with the Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger(Dutch East Indies Army, and Gurkha regiments of the British Army and Indian Army (formerly the British Indian Army) and is still worn by the Gurkhas; the hat is no longer worn on active service. The 2nd Gurkha Rifles became 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 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.