Hackle
The hackle is a feather plume that is attached to the headdress.
In the British Army and the armies of some Commonwealth countries the hackle is worn by some infantry regiments, especially those designated fusilier regiments and those with Scottish and Northern Irish origins. It was commonly attached to the feather bonnet worn by Highland regiments (now usually only worn by drummers, pipers and bandsmen). The colour of the hackle varies from regiment to regiment.
British Army
Fusilier Regiments
In the British Army, there is a single regiment of fusiliers, plus a battalion of a large regiment: Royal Regiment of Fusiliers: Red over white
Royal Highland Fusiliers (a battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland): White
There were several other fusilier regiments which have been amalgamated and no longer exist. Their colours were as follows:
Lancashire Fusiliers: Primrose yellow
Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment): White
Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers: Grey
Royal Irish Fusiliers: Green
Royal Northumberland Fusiliers: Red over white
Royal Scots Fusiliers: White
Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers: Blue over Gold
Royal Welch Fusiliers: White
Other Ranks of the Royal Welsh, the regiment that was formed by the amalgamation of the Royal Welch Fusiliers and Royal Regiment of Wales, continue to wear the white hackle of the RWF.
The fictional regiment featured in the series Soldier Soldier is also a fusilier regiment:
King's Own Fusiliers: Blue over white
Non-Fusilier Regiments
Non-fusilier regiments which wear the hackle are:
Irish Guards (pipers on caubeen only): St Patrick's blue
Liverpool Scottish (now a platoon of A (King's) Company, King's and Cheshire Regiment): Royal blue
London Irish Rifles (now D (London Irish Rifles) Company, London Regiment): Green [Pipers wear St Patrick's blue]
Royal Irish Regiment (as the direct descendent of two regiments of fusiliers): Green
Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (pipers on feather bonnet only): White
Royal Welsh (Other Ranks only): White
Scots Guards (pipers on feather bonnet only): Blue over red
The Queen's University Officers' Training Corps: St Patrick's Blue (A Coy Caubeen Only)
Following the amalgamation of the regiments of the Scottish Division to form The Royal Regiment of Scotland on 28 March 2006, the following hackles are being worn by the regiment's constituent battalions:
Royal Scots Borderers (1 SCOTS): Black
Royal Highland Fusiliers (2 SCOTS): White
Black Watch (3 SCOTS): Red
The Highlanders (4 SCOTS): Blue
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (5 SCOTS): Green
Whilst the white hackle of 2 SCOTS, red hackle of 3 SCOTS and blue hackle of 4 SCOTS have a known ancestry, the origin of 1 SCOTS black hackle and 5 SCOTS green hackle are not clear and have no apparent precedent. It may be that the black hackle of 1 SCOTS simulates the black-cock tail feathers originally worn in the 1904 pattern Kilmarnock Bonnet and latterly in the regimental Glengarry Cap by the Royal Scots and King's Own Scottish Borderers, who merged in August 2006 to form 1 SCOTS. Alternatively, it may be a sympathetic gesture to a former Lowland regiment, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), disbanded in 1968, who wore a black hackle in their rifle green dress Balmoral. The adoption of the green hackle now being worn by the Argylls battalion (5 SCOTS) is no doubt a continuation of that regiment's association with the colour green, most prominent in the hue of their regimental kilts and stripes on their regimental association ties. (It is, however, worthy of note that in the 19th Century, all line regiments of the British Army used to designate their "light company" with a green hackle.) The Regimental Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland does not wear the hackle.
Former non-fusilier regiments, now amalgamated, which also wore the hackle were:
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (feather bonnet only): White
Black Watch: Red
The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles): Black
Gordon Highlanders (feather bonnet only): White
The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons): Royal blue
Highland Light Infantry: White over red
Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders: Royal blue
Queen's Own Highlanders: Royal blue
Queen's Royal Irish Hussars (pipers on caubeen only): White over red
Royal Irish Rangers: Green
40 (Ulster) Regiment, Royal Corps of Signals: Navy blue, sky blue and green.
Royal Corps of Transport (pipers on feather bonnet only): Red over white over blue
Royal Ulster Rifles: Black
Seaforth Highlanders (feather bonnet only): White
Canadian Army
There are also several fusilier regiments in the Canadian Army which wear the hackle (the French-speaking fusilier regiments do not appear to do so):
Princess Louise Fusiliers: French grey
Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada: White
Scottish-influenced non-fusilier regiments which wear the hackle include:
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (drummers on feather bonnet only): White
Black Watch of Canada: Red
Calgary Highlanders (drummers on feather bonnet only): White
Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa: Royal blue
Canadian Scottish Regiment (drummers on feather bonnet only): White
Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment (feather bonnet only): White
Lorne Scots: Primrose yellow
Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada: Royal blue (except pipers in full dress, who wear an eagle feather instead).
Seaforth Highlanders of Canada (drummers on feather bonnet only): White
Irish-influenced non-fusilier regiments which wear the hackle (on the caubeen) include:
2nd Battalion, Irish Regiment of Canada: Green (light blue for senior NCOs and officers)
Indian Army
In the Indian Army, a few selected infantry regiments wear the hackle:
Brigade of the Guards: Red over yellow
The Grenadiers: White
Kumaon Regiment: Green
Mahar Regiment: Dull cherry
Maratha Light Infantry: Red over green
Naga Regiment: Orange
Rajput Regiment: Maroon over red
New Zealand Army
Canterbury, and Nelson-Marlborough and West Coast Regiment: Green
Malaysian Army
Royal Ranger Regiment: Black
Royal Military College: Red (to be worn on Annual Passing Out parade only)
Pakistan Army
The Punjab Regiment: Green
9th Battalion, Azad Kashmir Regiment: Red (commemorates the action in the Leepa Valley, Kashmir in 1972)
South African Army
Scottish- and Irish-influenced regiments which wear the hackle include:
South African Irish Regiment: Green
Transvaal Scottish Regiment: Red
Witwatersrand Rifles: Black
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