18/06/2026
Factual Friday
By Charlie Elphinstone
I’ve written about military history and Militaria in the past, however, I have never talked about an extremely overlooked aspect of military history that has been used for centuries and still is….cap badges.
So what is a cap badge?
A cap badge is a small metal badge worn on an article of headgear to denote where the wearer comes from or what regiment they belong to.
The earliest forms of cap badges were in fact not worn on caps at all.
They were symbols worn by knights and nobles in the Middle Ages to show their heraldic origins.
The English armed forces adopted this method of identification during the English Civil War as Cromwell’s “Roundheads” wore badges to show their loyalty to Cromwell.
In the early 1700s, many regiments in the British army were formed by local lords as a means of protecting their county/estate.
This meant regimental badges were simply whatever the commanding officer chose to represent his regiment.
In the mid-1700s, regimental badges became regulated, with designs having to be submitted to the crown for approval before use.
These early forms of cap badges were very different from the modern counterpart, mainly due to most soldiers wearing large hats such as shakos and busbies.
As military headgear and equipment changed, so too did the cap badges.
A notable example of this can be seen during WW2 when metal was in such short supply that many troops wore Bakelite and plastic “economy” cap badges.
Each cap badge represents the heritage of the regiment that wears it.
The Gordon Highlanders’ cap badge, for example, features the Clan Gordon family crest along with their motto “by dand”.
Other badges worn by the Gordons celebrate their victories in Egypt and India during the 19th century.
One of my favourite cap badges is that of the Royal Marines.
While it’s simple in design, it has an absolutely fascinating story behind it.
In 1827, the Royal Marines found themselves in an unusual predicament as their battle honours could not fit on one regimental flag neatly.
It was decided by George IV that the marines would wear a cap badge of the globe to show their worldwide achievements. Below the globe is their motto “per mare per terram”, which translates to “by sea by land”.
