The Glengarry bonnet is a traditional Scots cap made of thick-milled

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

len material, decorated with a

toorie A pom-pom – also spelled pom-pon, pompom or pompon – is a decorative ball or tuft of fibrous material. The term may refer to large tufts used by cheerleaders, or a small, tighter ball attached to the top of a hat, also known as a ...

on top, frequently a rosette

cockade A cockade is a knot of ribbons, or other circular- or oval-shaped symbol of distinctive colours which is usually worn on a hat or cap. Eighteenth century In the 18th and 19th centuries, coloured cockades were used in Europe to show the allegia ...

on the left side, and ribbons hanging behind. It is normally worn as part of

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

military or civilian Highland dress, either formal or informal, as an alternative to the

Balmoral bonnet The Balmoral (more fully the Balmoral bonnet in Scottish English or Balmoral cap otherwise, and formerly called the Kilmarnock bonnet) is a traditional Scottish hat that can be worn as part of formal or informal Highland dress. Developed from t ...

or Tam o' Shanter.

History

Traditionally, the Glengarry bonnet is said to have first appeared as the head dress of the

Glengarry Fencibles The plan of raising a fencible corps in the Highlands was first proposed and carried into effect by William Pitt the Elder, (afterwards Earl of Chatham) in the year 1759. During the three preceding years both the fleets and armies of Great Britain ...

when they were formed in 1794 by

Alexander Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry Colonel Alexander Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry (15 September 1773 – 17 January 1828), sometimes called by the Gaelic version of his name, Alastair or Alasdair, was clan chief of Clan MacDonell of Glengarry. As was customary for a laird (l ...

, of Clan MacDonell of Glengarry. MacDonell, therefore, is sometimes said to have invented the Glengarry – but it is not clear whether early pictures of civilians or

Fencible The Fencibles (from the word ''defencible'') were British regiments raised in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and in the colonies for defence against the threat of invasion during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the Frenc ...

infantry show a true glengarry, capable of being folded flat, or the standard military bonnet of the period merely cocked into a more "fore-and-aft" shape. The first use of the classic, military glengarry may not have been until 1841, when it is said to have been introduced for the pipers of the 79th Foot by the commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Lauderdale Maule. It was only in the 1850s that the Glengarry became characteristic undress headgear of the Scottish regiments of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. By 1860, the Glengarry without a diced border and usually with a feather had been adopted by pipers in all regiments except the 42nd ( Black Watch), whose pipers wore the full dress

feather bonnet The feather bonnet is a type of military headdress used mainly by the Scottish Highland infantry regiments of the British Army from about 1763 until the outbreak of World War I. It is now mostly worn by pipers and drummers in various bands throu ...

. In 1914, all Scottish infantry regiments were wearing dark blue Glengarries in non-ceremonial orders of dress, except for the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) who wore them in rifle green, and the Scots Guards, who wore peaked forage caps or khaki service dress caps. The diced bands on Glengarries were either in red, white and blue for royal regiments or red, white and green for others. The toories on top could be red, royal blue or black, according to regiment. The Black Watch and Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, however, wore Glengarries without dicing and The 93rd (Sutherland) Highlanders were unique in wearing a simple red and white chequer pattern. This was said to commemorate the stand of the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders at the

Battle of Balaclava The Battle of Balaclava, fought on 25 October 1854 during the Crimean War, was part of the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–55), an Allied attempt to capture the port and fortress of Sevastopol, Russian Empire, Russia's principal naval base on the Bl ...

immortalized as the Thin Red Line. Between 1868 and 1897, the Glengarry was also worn as an undress cap for most

British soldiers The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Br ...

until replaced by the short-lived Austrian cap, replaced in turn in 1902 by the Brodrick cap (to which a peak was added to produce the design of cap worn in regimental colours with undress and in khaki with Service Dress at the start of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. When the Austrian style side cap was revived in 1937 as the Universal Pattern Field Service Cap (used by the

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

), the ''Dress Regulations for the Army,'' described it as "similar in shape to the Glengarry".

Modern wear

The Glengarry continued to be worn in dark blue by all regiments of the Scottish Division up to their final amalgamation into the Royal Regiment of Scotland in 2006. In parade dress, it was worn by all regiments except the Black Watch, who wore the blue

balmoral bonnet The Balmoral (more fully the Balmoral bonnet in Scottish English or Balmoral cap otherwise, and formerly called the Kilmarnock bonnet) is a traditional Scottish hat that can be worn as part of formal or informal Highland dress. Developed from t ...

, and musicians of some regiments, who wore feather bonnets in full dress. The Black Watch, however, wore a plain blue Glengarry in some orders of dress with trews. The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) wore a plain rifle green Glengarry up until their disbandment in 1968. The blue Glengarry currently worn by the Royal Regiment of Scotland has red, green and white dicing, a red

, black silk cockade and the regimental cap badge surmounted by a

blackcock The black grouse (''Lyrurus tetrix''), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large Game (food), game Aves, bird in the grouse family. It is a Bird migration, sedentary species, spanning across t ...

(''Tetrao tetrix'') feather. This last is a tradition taken from the Royal Scots and King's Own Scottish Borderers. Other

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

military forces that have Scottish and Highland regiments also make use of the Glengarry.

Irish Army

The headdress worn by Irish Army's Cavalry Corps is called a Glengarry but is more similar to the caubeen in appearance, than to the Scottish headdress of the same name. It was designed in 1934 for the Cavalry Corps as a more practical headdress than the standard peaked cap in the confines of their armoured cars and tanks. The Glengarry is the same colour as the army's service dress uniform with a black band and two black swallow-tail ribbons at the rear. The cap badge is worn over the left eye. Officers in the RDF wear a similar Glengarry but with green band and ribbons as part of their service dress uniform. Army pipers and drummers wear a black Glengarry with a saffron band and ribbons and a dark green feather hackle.

Civilian wear

The Glengarry is worn by male members of staff at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the King's Official residence in Scotland. 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. The Glengarry is the headdress stipulated in Dress Regulations for Officers of the Boys' Brigade; namely Warrant Officers, Lieutenants and Brevet Captains.

Police use of diced band

In 1932

Percy Sillitoe Sir Percy Joseph Sillitoe KBE DL (22 May 1888 – 5 April 1962) was a chief constable of several police forces. He changed the role of radios, civilian staff, and women police officers within the police. He was later Director General of MI5, ...

, the Chief Constable of the

City of Glasgow Police The City of Glasgow Police or Glasgow City Police was the police of the City of Glasgow, Scotland. In the 17th century, Scottish cities used to hire watchmen to guard the streets at night, augmenting a force of unpaid citizen constables. On 30 ...

, abolished the traditional custodian helmet and added a new feature to the

peaked cap The peaked cap, peaked hat, service cap, barracks cover or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations, as well as many uniformed civilian organisations such as law enforcement agencies and fire departments. It ...

s worn by his police officers. This new feature was a black and white chequered cap band based on the dicings seen on the Glengarry headdress of the Scottish regiments. The diced band, popularly known as the Sillitoe tartan, later spread to police forces in Australia,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, 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

. 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, with the point directly over the right eye.

References

*British Glengarries – ''British Army Uniforms and Equipment of World War Two''. Brian L. Davis, Arms and Armour Press, London 1983 *Canadian Glengarries in the First World War – ''Khaki''. Clive M. Law, Service Publications, Ottawa *Canadian Glengarries in the Second World War – ''Dressed to Kill''. Michael A. Dorosh, CD, Service Publications, Ottawa, 2001 *''A Dictionary of Military Uniform''. W.Y. Carman. *''The Uniforms and History of the Scottish Regiments''. R. M. Barnes. {{Hats British Army equipment Caps British military uniforms Scottish clothing Royal Regiment of Scotland