 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Hackle" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Thehackle is a clippedplume or short spray of coloured feathers that is attached to a militaryheaddress, with different colours being associated with particular regiments.[1]
In theBritish Army and the armies of someCommonwealth countries, the hackle is worn by someinfantryregiments, especially those designated asfusilier regiments and those withScottish andNorthern Irish origins.
The modern hackle has its origins in a much longer plume, originally referred to by its Scots name,heckle, which was commonly attached to thefeather bonnet worn byHighland regiments (now usually only worn bydrummers,pipers and bandsmen). The smaller version originated in a regimental emblem adopted by the42nd Royal Highland Regiment, to be worn in the sun helmet issued in hot-weather postings from the 1870s.[2]
In the modernBritish Army, there is a single regiment offusiliers, plus a battalion of a large regiment. Hackle colours are:
Other ranks of theRoyal Welsh, the regiment that was formed by the amalgamation of theRoyal Welch Fusiliers andRoyal Regiment of Wales, continue to wear the white hackle of the Royal Welch Fusiliers.
There were several other fusilier regiments which have been amalgamated and no longer exist. The hackle colours worn were as follows:
Non-fusilier regiments which wear the hackle are:
Following the amalgamation of the regiments of theScottish Division to form TheRoyal Regiment of Scotland on 28 March 2006, the following hackles are being worn by the regiment's constituent battalions:
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 theRoyal Scots andKing'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, theCameronians (Scottish Rifles), who went into 'suspended animation' in 1968 (and later disbanded), 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.)[3] The Regimental Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland does not wear the hackle. However, the Highland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland (Territorial Army) continues to wear the red hackle with the Tam o' Shanter. Tradition holds that the black hackle originated as a Scottish tradition of wearing a black feather in your hat to signify you have an ongoing quarrel with someone.[citation needed]
Former non-fusilier regiments, now amalgamated, which also wore the hackle were:
There are five Army Reserve Regiments with Highland Companies in the Australian Army which wear the hackle:
There are several fusilier regiments in theCanadian Army which wear the hackle (the French-speaking fusilier regiments do not appear to do so):
Scottish-influenced non-fusilier regiments which wear the hackle include:
Irish-influenced non-fusilier regiments which wear the hackle (on the caubeen):
Other regiments which wear the hackle in the bearskin include:
A few infantry regiments in theDutch Army wear the hackle:
In theIndian Army, a few selected infantry regiments wear the hackle:
Scottish- and Irish-influenced regiments which wear the hackle include: