Royal Dublin Fusiliers - Officer Bearskin

[RPN]

Hi

This item may be of interest. I once had a passion (and $$) for British Victorian headwear .... particularly Lancer caps ... Dragoon helmets. The one piece I have kept all these years is pictured below (I also have its tin case) ... simply a beautiful bit of headgear!

Royal Dublin Fusiliers Officer bearskin (unlike the more squat man's racoon skin busby) ... Victorian period. Stunning silver and gilt badge (see pics). The badge features three castles ... the badge of the old Royal Dublin City Militia ... on a shield. The Royal Tiger and Elephant reflect the formation of this regiment from two old Honourable East India Company European Regiments ... the 102nd Royal Madras Fusiliers and the 103rd Royal Bombay Fusiliers).

The Royal Dublin Fusiliers were disbanded in 1922.

I hope you enjoy this.
Paul

[Terry K.]

Hi Paul,
That's a really nice bearskin! I love that stuff, hussaren also.

[Tony Farrell]

Oh don't even go there. Victorian military headwear is a science unto itself. I simply go weak at the knees when I see Dragoon & Life Guards' helmets. They are, quite simply, fine art - almost jewelry. But like most things that appeal to me, they're outrageously expensive - and a bugger to store. One simply needs a stately home to house them all in, because displayed anywhere else simply wouldn't cut the mustard. I can see them now - glass display cases, soft lighting glinting off the curb chains etc. And those Georgian bell topped shakos?

(All donations gratefully received)

[DJT]

Paul, that is a wonderful piece!

Regards,

Des

[Tony Farrell]

Nob & Nobility

Traditionally, officers in the Irish regiments were of Irish nobility, or certainly to have Irish connections. Many had ancestoral connections to the country, with service in the 'family' regiment going back some generations. True, there were (and still are) Brit 'toffs' who took commissions in Irish regiments rather than wait for a vacancy in a preferred unit, but on the whole, they were where they wanted to be.

Other ranks were a mixed bag, with locals & Brits serving side by side - again, the ancestoral connection being instrumental in choice. To this day, many soldiers serving in (what's left of) the Irish regiments aren't actually Irish. They tend to be predominantly Scousers & Mancs* - who are also quite prolific in the Scottish regiments.

My family's military history leans towards service in the Black Watch & Gordons - even though we're an Irish descended family that settled in Manchester. A chap I work with was in the Irish Guards (Guards Ind. Para. Coy.) in the 1950s and he hails from Norfolk!

*Liverpool & Manchester both have large Irish immigrant communities.

[Prosper Keating]

Beautiful! Some relatives of ours - I am from Dublin - gave me a box full of RDF insignia when I was a kid. There were medals too. Not being very into British Army stuff, I sold it all. Oh...I got good prices for everything but I wish I had kept it. Ah, the follies of youth!

Prosper Keating

[Bill D.]

Absolutely splendid, Paul!

As one who still has relatives in Ireland, I have always been tempted to collect the memorabilia of the Irish regiments. I once spoke with my frind Jeff Floyd about starting a collection of medals to Irish units. He observed "Well, you won't find them very often but you will pay a lot for them when you do."

So I decided that it would be better to think about narrowing my focus. I concluded that if I ever stated to collct Irish material (and Jayzus, I'm sure I will, because I seem to have collected everything at one time or another!), I will concentrate on two areas: the medals of the Easter Uprising and its survivors, and the medals of the one unit with which I have been able to establish a family connection. My Mother's Uncle was killed in action in Belgium in 1916, and so I thought that at such time as I initiated an Irish collection, I would look for militaria related to his unit.

Oh, by the way, he was killed while serving with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.

[ccj]

Absolutely Wonderful. Yes, it is wonderful. A wonderful thing to behold.

Ah, I wish I could have such a splendid helmet as that. Not for lack of wanting but lack of money keeps these things from my hands.

Anyone who will share more of this will be greatly appreciated.

[Ciaran Byrne]

I'm really impressed with this one as my great uncle fought with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and his brother fought with the 5th Royal Irish Lancers, both sadly disbanded in 1922.