Senior NCOs and officers wore this pattern forage cap from 1881 but this example has the post‑1887 cap badge. The cap is 3 inches high with a diced band of red, white and green squares. The drooping peak has gold embroidery along the edge. The red welt around the top can be seen on other Scottish regimental caps. Field officers had a gold welt.
The Queen Victoria crown on the badge dates this prior to 1902. This style of forage cap was replaced in the British army by the ‘modern’ pattern that has lasted to the present day. But the KOSB, along with other Scottish regiments, usually wore the glengarry cap in undress. However, the Dress Regulations for 1911 authorise for the KOSB officers, in undress: ‘Forage Cap—Universal pattern, blue cloth, with diced band and scarlet welts’ as well as ‘Glengarry Cap—Blue, with diced band, scarlet tuft’.
This photo is reproduced with kind permission from Borderers in Uniform from 1689 by Hiram Dunn. Also in his book is a photo of an officer’s forage cap (modern style) dated 1902 to 1914. The peak has gold embroidery which is not mentioned in the 1911 DR. There is also a khaki cover on the upper part of the cap.
