Sabretache 1855 - 1880



No more battle honours were added to the sabretache at this date but the drastic change in the uniform from the heavily laced short jacket and pelisse, to a plainer tunic, called for a redesign of the sabretache. The actual design on the face changed little but there was an effort to return to the Austrian Wave pattern gold lace around the edge. It is not actually Austrian Wave but to the untrained eye it would appear so.

There are two versions of this style, the other one has the two top honours re-arranged so that EMSDORF is on top of VILLIERS-EN-COUCHIE. The lace around the edge also seems narrower in this version. No-one seems sure which one is the older of the two.

The sabretache had one more alteration, in 1881, when AFGHANISTAN was added below WATERLOO. This was the final version until sabretaches were discontinued in 1901.



Regimental details | Sabretaches


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by Stephen Luscombe