Side Cap - United Kingdom

United Kingdom

In the British Army, the first cap to be adopted of this style was the "Glengarry", which was authorised for all British infantry regiments in 1868 (although Scots regiments had been wearing it since 1848). The Glengarry was replaced for officers of most non-Scottish units by a cap called the "Torin" (similar in shape to the USSR's pilotka), which was worn from circa 1884 until 1896, when it too was replaced by a style for all ranks known as the "Austrian Cap", which had a fold down arrangement, giving the appearance when unfolded of a balaclava, thus warming the ears and back of the neck. The Austrian Cap (officially known as the field cap) was then replaced by an entirely different style of head dress in 1902 and so went into abeyance from general usage, although officers continued to wear them as a private purchase item of undress uniform. An all khaki version was also selected in 1912 as a practical head dress by the fledgling Royal Flying Corps that went on to become the Royal Air Force (who continue to use the same type of cap to this day). Additionally, in 1937, a khaki field service cap, described in an amendment to the Dress Regulations for the Army that year as "similar in shape to the Glengarry" was introduced as the Universal Pattern Field Service Cap, and saw extensive service during World War II as a head dress to be worn with Battle Dress when steel helmets were not required. At around the same time coloured versions were introduced for officers of both regular and territorial regiments, although these were an optional item and in the midst of war not every officer chose to purchase one. Nevertheless, some did and they were produced in a wide range of colours for the different infantry, cavalry and yeomanry regiments. Since the universal introduction of the beret in 1947, the field service cap continued as an optional officer's accessory to be worn in barrack dress (as an alternative to the peaked, khaki Service Dress cap). They are still tailored in regimental colours and have become less common with the introduction of Combat Soldier '95 camouflaged uniform (which for the first time serves as both barrack and combat dress), although they are still worn by the Rifles, Royal Artillery and some cavalry and other infantry regiments. A more obscure type known as the "Tent Cap" is worn by officers of the Queen's Royal Hussars only and is unique in that it is not fitted with a badge, but identified instead by its regimental colouring. Its origins lie with one of their forebears, the 8th Kings Royal Irish Hussars, who adopted the cap in WW2 to reflect their long association with the Danish Royal family, whose Life Guards wear a similar design of cap with their undress uniform. This cap is in turn based on the French, 'bonnet-de-police', that was worn by Hussars in the Napoleonic wars and after. The Torin style of cap is still worn by the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment and the Royal Dragoon Guards.

Colloquially the Field Service cap is occasionally mistakenly called a forage cap but this is incorrect and it has never appeared in War Office or Ministry of Defence official publications under that name. It is, however, often referred to as the 'side hat/cap'.

In the Royal Air Force, a blue-grey field service cap (sometimes called the 'chip bag hat') of an identical style remains widely worn with both working dress and flying suits, where it can be easily fitted into a leg pocket of the latter.