Uniforms of the British Army
At the beginning of the present world war the Land Forces of the British Empire embraced the regular troops commonly known as the “Home Army” and the troops of her far-flung colonial possessions and dependencies, such as the Indian Army, the Australian Army, the Canadian Army, the South African Forces, the West Indian regiments, the New Zealand troops, and the Police and Constabulary troops of many minor colonies and possessions.
In the “Home Army” there were many varieties and colors in the uniforms and when we add to this the distinctive uniforms of the various Colonial Forces and the picturesque native uniforms of the Indian forces the resultant assemblage is one which would require many volumes to adequately describe.
In one respect however the clothing of the various units collected from all over the vast British Empire to make up the great “New Army” of Great Britain is practically the same,—the service or field uniform of all is cut on the same lines and the insignia of rank worn with this uniform are the same for all, the variations being in the corps and regimental badges which indicate the portion of the empire from which the regiments come and the arm of the service in which they are serving.
The British were the first to adopt the neutral brown shade known as “khaki” for their field or service uniforms and its practicability and serviceability became so evident to them that its use was extended to all of their armed land forces, with the result that they now have a uniform and equipment which for serviceability, efficiency, comfort and smartness of appearance is excelled by no other nation.
The British Army officers’ uniform is made of a standard dark khaki colored cloth or serge and consists of a single-breasted coat with turn-down collar and rolling notched lapels, closed in front by a row of four gilt buttons, cut to fit snugly at the waist, easy across the breast and shoulders and with enough flare to the skirt to make it hang well over the full breeches that are worn with it; breeches which lace below the knee; tan leather strap puttees and shoes or tan leather boots; a bell-crowned cap with a sharply sloping visor; and the “Sam Browne” sword and pistol belt. Wrap puttees of khaki-colored cloth are also worn for garrison and field service.
The coat has a pleated patch pocket on each breast closed by a buttoned flap, and a large bellows patch pocket on each side below the waist which is also closed by a buttoned flap, and cloth shoulder straps on each shoulder secured by a small button at the collar end.
Photo. Harris & Ewing, Washington, D. C.
British Army. Officers’ service uniform
British Army.
Officers’ service uniform sleeve decorations indicating rank
| 1. Colonel | 2. Lieutenant Colonel |
| 3. Major | 4. Captain |
| 5. Lieutenant | 6. Second Lieutenant |
British Army.
Officers’ shoulder strap insignia indicating rank
| 1. Field Marshal | 2. General |
| 3. Lieutenant General | 4. Major General |
| 5. Brigadier General | 6. Colonel |
| 7. Lieutenant Colonel | 8. Major |
| 9. Captain | 10. Lieutenant |
| 11. Second Lieutenant | 12. Chaplain, with rank of Colonel |
The rank of an officer in service uniform is indicated by metal insignia of rank worn upon the shoulder straps and also (for officers below the rank of Brigadier General) by stripes of worsted braid around the sleeves just above the lower edge and by worsted insignia of rank worn on a three-pointed strap which crosses the sleeve stripes on the cuffs. These insignia of rank are shown in the accompanying illustrations and are as follows for the various grades of rank:—
| Field Marshal | Two crossed batons in red surrounded by a wreath of gold laurel leaves and surmounted by a British crown in gold and red. |
| General | A baton and sword crossed with a diamond shaped device above it and a crown above the diamond, all in gold. |
| Lieutenant General | A baton and sword crossed with a crown above it, all in gold. |
| Major General | A baton and a sword crossed with the diamond above, all in gold. |
| Brigadier General | The same omitting the diamond. |
| Colonel | Two diamonds and a crown in a vertical line. |
| Lieutenant Colonel | The same omitting one of the diamonds. |
| Major | A crown. |
| Captain | Three diamonds in a vertical line. |
| Lieutenant | Two diamonds in a vertical line. |
| Second Lieutenant | One diamond. |
The officers of the Scottish and Highland regiments wear the stripes on the cuffs in a curve from the outer edge of the sleeve to a higher point at the inner edge of the sleeve and the insignia of rank beneath these stripes in a horizontal line instead of in a vertical line as described and illustrated for the other officers.
The wearing of the insignia of rank upon the shoulder straps except by officers of the rank of Brigadier General and higher has been suspended when on actual duty in the field.
The insignia worn upon the front of the cap by a Field Marshal consists of two crossed batons in red surrounded by a gold wreath and surmounted by a gold and red crown above which is a gold British lion; for General officers it is the same except that instead of the two batons there is one baton and a sword crossed; permanent Staff officers wear the crown and lion only on the cap; and a Field Marshal, General officers and permanent Staff officers of field rank or above wear a scarlet band around the cap.
For regimental officers the insignia worn on the front of the cap are the distinctive “Regimental badges” adopted for the regiment. These regimental badges present a great variety in design and often refer to some historic battle in which the regiment has taken part or to some distinctive feature of the county or colony from which the regiment comes.
In many cases the name by which the regiment is commonly known is contained in the design, in others the number of the regiment in its corps is given in the design, and not infrequently the regimental motto has a prominent place.
Thus the regimental badge of the 4th Hussars, a famous cavalry regiment, is a gold circle bearing the inscription “Queen’s Own Hussars,” surmounted by a gold crown, and having on the center the number of the regiment “IV,” and on a scroll beneath the motto “Mente et Manu.”
The Irish Rifles have the Irish harp surmounted by a royal crown with a scroll beneath bearing the motto “Quis Separabit,” all in green enamel.
The 17th Lancers have as their insignia a skull and cross bones with the words “or Glory” on a scroll beneath, the motto of the regiment being “Death or Glory.”
The 12th Canadian Infantry has a gold maple leaf bearing the number of the regiment in silver and the word “Canada” also in silver.
The Grenadier Guards regiments have a gold spherical bursting shell.
Chaplains wear a Maltese cross surmounted by a crown in black enamel.
Officers of the Army Pay Corps wear the monogram “A.P.C.” surmounted by a crown.
The insignia of the Royal Army Medical Corps consist of the rod of Esculapius with a single serpent entwined about it surrounded by a wreath and surmounted by a crown with the scroll beneath bearing the inscription “Royal Army Medical Corps,” all in gold.
Both officers and enlisted men in the British Army habitually wear gilt buttons and insignia on their service khaki-colored uniforms, although when in the field these buttons and insignia are allowed to tarnish or bronze, and in many cases leather buttons are used on field service in place of the gilt buttons.
The overcoat, or great coat, worn by the officers of the British Army is a double-breasted ulster quite similar in design to that worn by officers of the United States Army, but having a lapel collar and reaching only to the knee. It is made of cloth of the same color as the service uniform and has shoulder straps upon which the insignia of rank are worn.
The service uniform of the enlisted men of the British Army is of the same khaki-colored cloth as the officers’ uniform and consists of a cap similar to that worn by officers with a visor of tan leather or of khaki-colored cloth upon the front of which the regimental or corps insignia are worn; a single-breasted sack coat buttoning to the neck with a standing turn-over collar, a patch pocket on each breast and a bellows patch pocket on each side below the waist, and shoulder straps upon which are worn, near the arm seam, the regimental badges; breeches of the same color as the coat; wrap khaki-colored cloth puttees; and heavy tan leather laced shoes. The overcoat is a short double-breasted coat with rolling collar and back straps.
In hot weather khaki cotton drill uniforms of the same design are worn.
As variations of this general uniform, the Scottish and Highland troops still wear the kilts as their winter uniform, although in hot weather they also wear the full khaki summer uniform, the troops from Australia and Canada to a great extent wear the wide brimmed felt hat common in the American service, and the Indian troops wear their native turbans and trousers although these are of the standard khaki color.
The rank of the noncommissioned officers is indicated in the British Armies by badges worn upon the sleeves between the elbow and the shoulder, as in the United States Army, many of these insignia being nearly the same for the various grades, doubtless due to the fact that the American insignia were originally taken from the British during the revolutionary period.
The principal insignia of rank worn on the sleeves of noncommissioned officers and enlisted men holding special assignments of duty are as follows:
Excellence in target practice with rifles and guns is indicated by special badges worn on the sleeves between the elbow and the shoulder as follows:
A new type of distinguishing mark adopted during the present war consists of pieces of cloth of various shapes worn in the center of the back between the shoulders to enable officers to distinguish the organization to which a man on the firing line belongs.