WSS British Cavalry Headgear

A section devoted to questions and answers for this period.
Post Reply
Bernhard
Private
Private
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2012 5:05 pm

WSS British Cavalry Headgear

Post by Bernhard » Wed Feb 12, 2014 4:04 pm

Front Rank manufactures WSS British Dragoons with fur hats. does anyone know something about which regiments wore them. Someone on the 18th Century board had suggested that it was probably for the Horse Grenadier Company of the Guards or simply the grenadier troop of a Dragoon regiment. Furthermore, did the Scots Greys wear caps or tricornes during the Marlburian period?
Graf Bretlach
Captain
Captain
Posts: 146
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2008 8:27 pm

Re: WSS British Cavalry Headgear

Post by Graf Bretlach » Wed Feb 12, 2014 6:09 pm

Scots Greys - hats or tricorne till after Ramillies (1706) given permission to wear grenadier cap (so late 06 or early 07 or maybe even later)
Bearskins came in with the 1768 regulations.
Churchill
General
General
Posts: 1519
Joined: Sat Feb 02, 2008 11:49 pm

Re: WSS British Cavalry Headgear

Post by Churchill » Wed Feb 12, 2014 9:23 pm

Ray.
Last edited by Churchill on Thu Feb 27, 2014 12:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Prince Henry
Sergeant Major of the Army
Sergeant Major of the Army
Posts: 111
Joined: Mon Dec 23, 2013 5:55 am
Location: Colorado Springs, USA
Contact:

Re: WSS British Cavalry Headgear

Post by Prince Henry » Thu Feb 13, 2014 5:15 am

Beautiful figures, Ray! (as usual). Now I ned inspiration for French cavalry... :wink:

Doug
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

Theodore Roosevelt
Bernhard
Private
Private
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2012 5:05 pm

Re: WSS British Cavalry Headgear

Post by Bernhard » Thu Feb 13, 2014 6:10 am

Thank you all for the help. I am still tempted to give the Scot's Greys a cloth cap similar to the one they wore later in the century but with a simpler design. Front Rank makes such a figure in their earlier range. I will also add a Horse Grenadier figure to my regular Dragoon units as you suggested. Thank you again.
User avatar
Russian James
Colonel
Colonel
Posts: 357
Joined: Mon May 28, 2012 11:43 am
Location: Glen Clova, by Kirriemuir, UK
Contact:

Re: WSS British Cavalry Headgear

Post by Russian James » Thu Feb 13, 2014 7:27 pm

His Majesty’s Regiment of Dragoons, later to be known as the Scots Greys, originally wore grey coats with blew bonnets or possibly reddish brown fur caps. They were known as the 'Grey Dragoons' at this time by their opponents, the Covenanters...
Scots Dragoon.JPG
Scots Dragoon.JPG (22.73 KiB) Viewed 5701 times
From 1685 onwards they were supposed to change to red coats, probably with white facings as the rest of the Scottish units even though they were on the English establishment.

The first mention of grey horses appears at a parade in 1693:

"In 1693 they were inspected in London by King William III - on this occasion the whole regiment was mounted on ‘greys’ (horses with white or dappled-white hair). This gained them the nicknames ‘Grey Dragoons’ or ‘Scots Regiment of Grey Dragoons’, though this only became part of their official name in 1877, when they were renamed the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys)."

I intend to model my Dragoons in grey coats, white facings and a mixture of bonnets and fur caps. Officers will be in floppy hat.
Post Reply