Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders dress beret

[NARVIK1940]

I just picked this up. How common are these? I haven't been able to find others to compare it to.

Thanks, Scott

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[NARVIK1940]

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[byterock]

The old 'Sand Dirt and Gravel' boys from Cornwall as we called them or the The Glens’ as they like to be called.

It is a simple ORs Balmoral with a present day cap-badge.

Unfortunetly quite common. Not sure what date I would give it. They have been wearing Glengarries for some years now.

You might be able to date it from the cardboard used to prop up the badge. Simply remove the cotter-pin and it should come out without damaging the cap any.

Would like to see what it says

[byterock]

One thing I forgot to ask. What colour is it turry?

[Grizzly]

The cap badge is a king's crown (or more properly a tudor crown). It dates from about 1942 until circa 1953, when QE II ascended the throne. The current cap badge has a queen's crown, (more properly a St Edward's crown).

[NARVIK1940]

Thanks for the comments. The turry is green. Will post more pics, including soap box. Is the liner missing?

[NARVIK1940]

Here are a few more pics.

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[ledfut]

too many questions for my liking

Hi. I saw this cap listed on eBay but decided to stay away from it.

What you have appears to be a ww2 era officer's balmoral. Other ranks in the Highland regiments wore the tam o'shanter, which had a larger, floppier cut and were made from a coarser material. Unfortunately, balmorals were typically private purchase and undated (unlike the tams, which were usually issued and bore all of the appropriate stamps). The only real way to date this cap is to compare it to known ww2 examples with provenance. From the pictures, yours looks like it might very well be ww2 era.

The badge is a King's crown badge as worn during Ww2 and the tartan does appear to be the correct MacDonnell of Glengarry tartan as worn by the SDG Highlanders. The liner is intact, and appears similar to the liner of several of the WW2 balmorals in my collection. This is the good news.

Now for the not so good news. As an officers balmoral, it would most likely have worn a sterling silver officer's badge as opposed to the other ranks badge that is currently on it. Worse, if this were really an SDG Highlanders balmoral, then the toorie would be blue, not green. I believe the green toorie was exclusive to the Highland Light Infantry. The toorie itself, besides being the wrong color, also looks much larger and shaggier than I have seen on any wartime balmorals.

It could be that the toorie was missing, and someone has incorrectly added a green one. Perhaps the officer who owned this cap did wear an OR badge, or perhaps the original badge was removed at some point (sterling officer's badges for the SDG are relatively rare and are quite pricey).

There were too many questions/inconsistencies with this cap for my liking (which might also explain why yours was the only bid on it).


PS - I have attached several pictures of the WW2 era SDG Officer's Balmoral in my collection for comparison. Note the blue toorie and the sterling officer's badge. The officer's badge was missing from mine when I found it (probably not uncommon, as the badge is desirable to collectors and is worth more than the cap itself), but I did manage to locate another one for the cap (it wasn't cheap!). The replacement badge fit the existing lug holes perfectly and no modifications were made to the cap.

[ledfut]

Should add that, despite the question marks, it is still a very nice (and interesting) cap. It is always interesting to see the little personal touches like the cardboard backing that the wearer has added behind the badge.

[ledfut]

Toorie color

Acording to the CSC Discussion Forum, each unit of the 9th Brigade of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division wore a different colored toorie: the North Nova Scotia Highlanders wore a red toorie, the SDG Highlanders wore a blue toorie, and the Highland Light Infantry wore the green toorie.

[NARVIK1940]

Thanks for the info. I bought this piece on a whim, to go with a Canadian turtle helmet. As you know I don't have much into it, and it displays nicely. Someone probably replaced the toorie postwar and the badge may also be a replacement. Nice to see that the badge and cap are probably ww2 era.

[Grizzly]

Just a note. The SD&G officer's cap badges were made in sterling and silver plate.