Cap Badge c1900


The date of the introduction of this badge is not clear but this design is mentioned in Dress Regulations For The Officers of the Army 1900 as being worn on the collars of tunics and frocks, and on the field cap. In their book Records and Badges of the British Army, (Gale & Polden 1900) H M Chichester and G Burges-Short state that the regulations recognise no special badge for the 20th Hussars. They illustrate the page with the rather mundane badge used by other regiments; the VR cypher inside the circular Garter, inscribed HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE and a guelphic crown above.

The badge here is the one worn in Queen Victoria's reign which has the Imperial crown. Post-1901 badges are almost identical except that they have the King's crown. The design is based around the large H for Hussars with the Roman numerals for 20 either side: XX. In the middle of the H is a small o which is probably there for aesthetic reasons. It suggests that the title of the regiment has the word OWN, such as Queen's Own, and may have given rise to the nickname Nobody's Own. Later badges have a diamond shape instead of the o, this may have been an attempt to deflect questions about the meaning of the o.


Regimental Details | Badges


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by Stephen Luscombe