What is it called?

**DougC** · 1st March 10, 07:25 PM

Right--forgot them. Also, so Army bands. I googled bear skin hats and British military bands came up.

**DenRugger01** · 1st March 10, 08:29 PM

Thank you all! I was honestly expecting something a bit more grandious! Oh, well! Simple is better sometimes!

**HarborSpringsPiper** · 1st March 10, 08:56 PM

Matt has an article about the feather bonnet's predecessor, the Kilmarnock or Hummel bonnet. http://www.albanach.org/hummel.htm It doesn't take too much imagination to see the progression from the broad bonnet to the Hummel to amassing feathers atop it.

**Jock Scot** · 2nd March 10, 01:37 AM

The bonnet in the picture is made out of ostrich feathers. The Bearskins(sometimes and mistakenly known as a "busby") of the five Guards infantry regiments are made from the fur of the black bear.Officer's Bearskins are made from the brown bear and then darkened.

**Woodsheal** · 2nd March 10, 04:12 AM

The bear skin hats descend from the "mitre caps" worn by grenadiers in the early 18th C.

The grenadiers of the Highland regiments were, I believe, the first to attach bearskins to their mitre caps:

**DougC** · 2nd March 10, 06:08 AM

Fascinating thread--I've collected military hats since I was young; nice to learn about the progression of the bear skin hat.

**Ozark Ridge Rider** · 2nd March 10, 06:13 AM

Originally Posted by Jock Scot

Some would say that there are those this side of the Atlantic and from this land who are rather good at understatement.

Aye, Jock. That's one of the charming things about your land.

Regards,
Dan

**Jock Scot** · 2nd March 10, 06:14 AM

Originally Posted by DougC

Fascinating thread--I've collected military hats since I was young; nice to learn about the progression of the bear skin hat.

Just so you know,the bear skin is NOT a hat! It is a Bearskin, nothing else!

**macwilkin** · 2nd March 10, 06:41 AM

Jock mentioned a busby, which is traditionally worn by the Royal Horse Artillery (A Hussar Busby) -- there is also another form of busby, which resembles a glengarry, which was worn by Rifle Regiments.

It should also be mentioned that the traditional headdress of fusiliers is known as a raccoon skin busby.

T.

**Jock Scot** · 2nd March 10, 06:41 AM

Originally Posted by Ozark Ridge Rider

Aye, Jock. That's one of the charming things about your land.

Regards,
Dan

It does cause a bit of a misunderstanding once in a while though! Like in the Korean War at the Battle of the Imjin River where the Colonel of the six hundred or so soldiers of the Gloucestershire Regiment who were holding off some sixty thousand irate Chinese troops told his American Commander over the radio that "things were getting a bit tricky" it was no ones fault that the American did not quite understand the "Glosters" position! A common language separated by----------------------.