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Bearskins

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  Posted by Vizzer aka U_numbers (U2011621) on Saturday, 12th June 2010

  I caught part of the Trooping the Colour on television this morning which was trooped this year by 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards. This set me to pondering the bearskin caps which the UK Foot Guard regiments wear. When were these first introduced?

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  Posted by AlexanderLiberty (U14397753) on Saturday, 12th June 2010

  Origins
  
  The cloth caps worn by the original grenadiers in European armies during the 17th century were frequently trimmed with fur. The practice fell into disuse until the second half of the eighteenth century when grenadiers in the British, Spanish and French armies began wearing high fur hats with cloth tops and, sometimes, ornamental front plates. The purpose appears to have been to add to the apparent height and impressive appearance of these troops both on the parade ground and the battlefield.[1]
  
  During the nineteenth century, the expense of bearskin caps and difficulty of maintaining them in good condition on active service led to this form of headdress becoming generally limited to guardsmen, bands or other units having a ceremonial role. The British Foot Guards did however wear bearskins in battle during the Crimean War and on peacetime manoeuvers until the introduction of khaki service dress in 1902.[2]
  Immediately prior to the outbreak of World War I in 1914, bearskins were still worn by guard or other units in the British, Belgian, Danish, Dutch, Russian and Swedish armies.[3]. This did not include use of the busby and other types of smaller fur headdress sometimes confused with the high bearskin. The Italian Sardinian Grenadiers had discarded bearskins in the nineteenth century but were to readopt them for limited ceremonial wear in modern times.
  
  notes
  1^ Military Uniforms of the World: Preben Kannil SBN 71370482 9
  2^ British Military Uniforms From Contemporary Pictures: W.Y.Carman Hamlyn Publishing Group 1968
  3^ "Uniforms of the World": Richard Knotel, ISBN 0-684-16304-7.
  
  British use
  
  Following the Battle of Waterloo and the action in which they gained their name, the Grenadier Guards were permitted to wear the bearskin. This tradition was later extended to the other two regiments of Guards. The officers of Fusilier regiments also wore the bearskin as part of their ceremonial uniform. The bearskin should not be mistaken for the busby, which is a much smaller fur cap worn by the Royal Horse Artillery and hussar regiments in full dress. Nor should it be confused with the similar but smaller 'Sealskin' cap worn by other ranks of the Royal Fusiliers, actually made of raccoon skin.[5]
  
  The standard bearskin of the British Foot Guards is 18 inches tall, weighs 1.5 pounds, is made from the fur of the Canadian black bear. However, an officer's bearskin is made from the fur of the Canadian brown bear as the female brown bear has thicker, fuller fur, and is dyed black. The British Army purchase the hats, which are known as caps, from a British hatmaker which sources its pelts from an international auction. The hatmakers purchase between 50 and 100 black bear skins each year at a cost of about Β£650 each.[6] If properly maintained, the caps last for decades; some caps in use are reportedly more than 100 years old.
  
  notes
  5^A Dictionary of Military Uniform: W.Y.Carman ISBN 0-684-15130-9
  6^ British Royal Guards criticized for wearing bearskin hats on Queen's Birthday
  

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  Posted by Triceratops (U3420301) on Sunday, 13th June 2010

  The Scots Greys are depicted wearing bearskin shakoes in Lady Butler's painting of Waterloo. A quick check on wiki, says this regiment started wearing bearskins in 1768.
  
  

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