I serverd in The Parachute Regiment from 1985 to 1992. As a recruit you were issued with a maroon beret and cap badge on day one. The beret had a cloth band and was refered to as a Porky Pie. You only got to wear it after week four if you were on guard duty and then you wore a green plastic backing behind the cap badge to show you were still a recruit. It was only after you passed Pre Parachute Selection, Week 12 in my day, that you were allowed to wear the the beret without any backing and you got to wear your Para Smock. Nobody wore their issue beret. You bought a beret from Victors in Aldershot which had a leather band and a smaller crown than the issue beret. You bought at least 2. One was you 'ally' beret for day to day use and the second was you parade beret. On the inside of your beret you had an oval brass backing plate to tie the cap bade to the beret. On your ally beret the cap bage was fixed an inch or so above the the leather band and this allowed the cloth of the beret to drop over the leather band creating a flatcap look. The pull down to the side should not cover the ear. Your parade beret had the cap badge just above the leather band. On you ally beret the cap badge was postion at the side of the head while the parade beret the cap badbe was centred on the left eye.
Thank you very much for your explanation about the maroon beret. I used to be a Paratrooper in the 1/508th Parachute Infantry Regiment "Red Devils" part or detached from the 82nd Airborne Division. It is a gift to us American Paratroopers from the British Airborne Forces. Today in the US Army the maroon beret is a unit head wear for Airborne units who are parachute capable no matter what airborne or conventional unit they may belong to. These units are usually on every major US Army division is a supply and air drop supply company, Long Range Surveillance Detachment with pathfinders. Majority of those who wear the maroon beret are already parachute qualified and in dedicated units that are on jump status. Some soldiers who have volunteered or were selected for parachute units who are not parachute qualified yet. They wear their maroon berets in the unit. Later they will be sent to Ft. Benning for parachute training. The only unit which used to be an Airborne division up until 1975 which is no longer on jump status is the 101st Air Assault. Even though they have an AIRBORNE tab or scroll above their Screaming Eagle by tradition are pure helicopter borne Air Assault units especially all their infantry and other combat arms units. Their LRSD, Aerial Supply Detachment, that support the division are airborne qualified.
Very interesting, thanks for all the information! I have to say I really like that the gesture made by 1st Airborne Corps to the 509th PIR is honoured today with the use of the airborne beret in the US Army. I personally think it's an exceptionally smart headdress.
Rifleman Moore Just a thought so came here to comment. In Zeno’s book The Cauldron about Arnhem, it is mentioned some paras removed helmets and wore berets, a few added scrim over the beret which I thought was interesting. A practical solution i have since noticed at least one such skrimmed beret in an Arnhem photo. Once aware you see details more easily. Not sure if of interest to you or anyone else really. But mentioning it just in case! Cheerio. 👋
the LRSD, ASD, Pathfinder, and all other support airborne units have been largely deactivated or taken of jump status in the last 10 years or so. Outside of special operations you have 82nd Airborne Division, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and 4th Brigade 25th Infantry division (my current unit).
The Brits wear the maroon beret the way the US Army wears the Airborne tab. In WWII US AIRBORNE Divisions had Parachute and Glider units too. All wore the Airborne tab. It was after WWII when they disbanded or converted Glider units to Airborne that the Airborne tab came to mean parachutist.
Thank you for mentioning the glider borne troops. These guys are often overlooked in the history of airborne ops but frankly had enormous courage in being inserted into combat via gliders.
Thumbs Up Rifleman Moore! It may be worth mentioning the significance of P-Company selection and its relationship to the beret. For a lot who serve in British Airborne forces, the beret has been 'earned' and not issued.
Absolutely outstanding video. Thank you so much. I’m just starting out my own channel it’s a great help to me for my learning. Thanks again and best wishes, Laurie
I think the mix up also comes from the time when paras in the depot wore the dpm crap hat, on completion of P company they were entitled to wear the maroon beret. The parachute course followed on from that and that's where they earned their wings
You mean RECRUITS at Depot PARA. ;-) A "craphat" is a person, not a head dress. It's an erroneous myth created by the BBC in the 1982 documentary "The Paras". The head dress you're talking about was called a "cap, combat", "cap, AK" or "hat/cap grotty". Recruit cadres varied this hat with the cap comforter, depending on the quantities held by stores. All recruits in a cadre had to be dressed the same. My cadre wore the hated combat cap. I hated the thing. The cap comforter won out in the end 'cause stocks of combat caps depleted by the late 1980s. The main benefit of the cap comforter is that it's "one size fits all" and so there was no need for stores to stock the myriad of different sizes.
@@simonsignolet5632 Exactly. Back when there was 5 AB Bde, non-Paras from Corps etc who didn't have their wings were hats even though they wore maroon berets.
@@simonsignolet5632A "craphat" is a person, not a head dress. It's an erroneous myth created by the BBC in the 1982 documentary "The Paras". In the 70's a "crap hat" was anyone who did not have a Red beret, how did a documentary in the early 80's create a myth in the 70's.
That was really interesting and enlightening. Thank you for explaining it so clearly. I had assumed ever since I was a child that a maroon beret meant you were a jump qualified paratrooper.
Lots of running at least three times a week and make sure it includes hills make the runs last at least an hour build the heart lungs fitness forget putting weight on your back it's pointless you will learn tabbing at the depot it's a skill you can or you can't .. build the long distance running build them legs they will be in for a shock get through it the reg will do the rest... I'm Yorkie pickard 1para 89_02.. So good luck and get running lots of hills..good luck buddy
I was with 7th RHA and never jumped out of a serviceable aircraft unless I was tethered or the aircraft had landed. I did spend a lot of time getting in and out of chinooks however.
Thank you for explaining this, I'd always wondered when looking at period photos why the maroon beret often had different cap badges as I'd thought it was exclusive to the Parachute Regiment. Is it the same case with the denison smock, in that all airborne forces wore them?
We wore our RMP badge with the red beret , when in the 16th Independent Parachute Brigade Group,, and from memory, ! apart from the Airborne regiment who wore the wing cap badge, there were Units of REME, RACC, RE, who were all needed to support the brigade. I assume all went through the basic selection that sorted out the chaff.
In the reorganization of the Canadian Army after unification of the CAF in 1968, 3 Mechanized Commando in Germany was assigned to the Canadian Airborne Regiment & wore maroon berets even though the troops were mixed RCR or PPCLI & not even "Airmobile"
For non Parachute regiment to earn a maroon beret you either need to be posted to 16 air assault brigade or you receive it upon completion of P-coy. The wings which you wear on your uniform are more what designate parachute troops than the beret. You can be a marine with wings.
It was approved for issue in Army Council Instruction '877', 22nd April 1942, with priority of issue being anti-tank/anti-aircraft units of the Royal Artillery, Reconnaissance Corps then Infantry units (the latter on a scale of one per officer and man).
Certainly a subject for a future video. I would say the idea of it being a scarf is a bit of a misconception, at least in so far as its designed purpose. It was intended as a camouflage face veil, to cover the helmet and face or to be tied over the equipment to aid in breaking up its outline.
@@RiflemanMoore Modern issued berets still have a fairly large crown and fall across the ear when pulled over, if are the actual size for the head its on. I've compared the latest repro airborne beret to issued ones of comparable actual headband size and found the crown on the issued one about 1/2 inch less in diameter than the WW2 repro. Although I have heard that WW2 berets had the same crown size for every head size? Whereas modern issued berets have varying crown sizes depending on head size. I think some possible misconceptions amongst reenactors may be a result of current tactical fashion to wear the beret small, where many serving: 1. Get an issued beret several sizes smaller and then stretch out the headband. 2. Purchase a commercially available beret - the vast majority of which are small crown berets - because that is what is in vogue.
A few things I've read over the years which may or not be true. I've seen the beret described by some in WW2 as being claret in colour. I've also read that Browning selected maroon and Cambridge blue as they were his old rowing colours. It's also been said that his wife, Daphne DuMaurier was somehow involved in AB fashion selection. I'd also read that the sr officers were dead locked in the colour selection and that Browning called his driver in and asked his opinion. So many legends.
There's also a story that the colours originated with one of Browning's racehorses. All legends indeed, the account given in the video is the genuine origin of the colour.
@Rifelman Moore, on a related subject could you do the British WWII Denison smock used by British airborne and, I believe also some Commando troops? Incidentally going to war in a glider in WWII was by no means a easy option, they were mostly wood and canvas and thus very vulnerable to anti aircraft fire and often crashed on landing.
I don't believe I suggested glider-borne troops had it easy. The Denison smock was indeed used by Commandos too, the Royal Marines wore them into the 1960s. It's something I'd love to do a video on in the future but it will depend on access to other people's collections.
@@RiflemanMoore Cool would love to see a video on this iconic bit of British military uniform. I think it was almost the only camouflage clothing issued to the British military in WWII? I know the Parachute Regiment held on to theirs as long as they could post WWII. You did not suggest glider borne troops had it easy, that comment was really for your subscribers, who might not know what they did; apologies if you thought it was directed at you, it was not. You have a excellent channel.
Ah, I see, understood, I get what you were going for now. The Denison was close to the only camouflage clothing yes, it was the most widespread I would say but the camouflage windproof suit and tank suits were issued too just not in any great numbers it seems.
I didn't know that units in WW2 who'd been deployed in a glider-borne role had worn maroon berets. Interestingly the Staffordshire Regt in the late 80s had a yellow glider on a green background on a badge worn on the upper left arm but only on the woolly pully, it was due to one of their precursors, the South Staffords, having been glider-borne, at Anzio.
I think it may have been mentioned in the comments already by now but a denison smock in-depth video would be good, going from the last War till the smock used during the Falklands maybe I have a couple of nice examples of the ones used during the Falklands, If needed for a video.
I'd love to see, something I'm lacking I'm afraid. I have a repro wartime example, a 1959 Pattern in the later camouflage and then a mid '80s DPM example with the dressing pocket added to the arm. I'd love to pick up a Falklands era example.
My grandad wore red beret with reme cap badge on it when he served in TA in 1963 wish I had his original beret he kept original when he discharged from ta but that wore away and got dirty as years went on he used to wear a lot later in life washing his cars I had to buy one myself and put reme cap badge on it.
Hi, great clip and history. As per how the 'Red' (Maroon) Beret denotes either Parachute Qualified or Airborne as applicable, and usually it's just Army. It's interesting that the USAF Pararescue Airman also wear the 'Red Beret', even though they aren't Army: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Air_Force_Pararescue kind regards.
It would depend on the role, generally speaking, tank/armoured car, black beret, infantry GS cap or latterly perhaps a khaki beret with brown leather sweatband.
As an Ex Junior soldier in Junior. Parachute Company at Para Depot in the 80s we wore the Maroon beret with a blue plastic backing behind the cap badge where adult recruits wore a green backing pre Pcoy in our case we entered recruit company exchange blue for green backing....if you passed Pcoy you dispensed with said backing. I my self was injured and transferred regiments
Hi ex 1 para 16 platoon junior para passed out with 550 in 89 left in 02 my screw in juniors was Kev Heaton great man I'm Yorkie pickard so here's a shout out to you hope your well brother keep on keeping on.
@@Kcip72 You went down the same path as me,was 10 platoon JPC 82/83 and passed out with 493 platoon in Nov 83.Then spent 3yrs in 1 para and left in 86.👍
@@RiflemanMoore hi not sure how to take a photo for this reply, with the 2 x eyelets in the beret it was more the year of manufacture would be nice to know.. Allan
In the case of the Belgians, wrong assumption. Their airborne berets come from the Belgian 5th SAS WW II heritage. To this day the beret is earned after a four month gruelling “basic” training that only airborne combat and their support troops have to pass. No exception. Then come the wings. In Belgium, every para is also commando trained. And every commando is para trained. Hence, the long used name of para-commando regiment; now replaced by special operations regiment, used on its own or in support of the Belgian Special Forces Group.
Quite so, it has a similar significance in some other nations military forces as well. But as the title says this video is primarily concerned with its significance in British use.
There are two excellent Airborne reference books called D-Day Paratroopers - The Americans & D-Day Paratroopers: The British, The Canadians, The French Not sure if there is a German one out there I’ve never seen one
I was "issued" a red berry when I was researching Granddad at Browning Barracks in Aldershot , one of the Troopers said men like your Granddad paved the way for us , so please accept this beret in honor of your Granddad... imgur.com/Tzh7SQe (Officially they were No2 Commando/II SAS who became 1st Battalion Para)
@@RiflemanMoore Yes indeed, just a small annoyance when people think that pink berets are real! In my eyes berets look way better after being worn for years, no matter how discoloured they are ;)
Not if it's a "Victor"'s beret. Had mine since the 1980s, bought from Mr Victor himself in his Aldershot shop. Used to chuck it in the washing machine with my kit FREQUENTLY, at least once a month over 7x years. Still maroon. If boil washed and left in the sun when not worn, issue/other makes might fade, perhaps, but I've never seen this. Perhaps it was a (marketing) myth or, most likely, images on faded book covers or photographs that gave rise to this idea.
@@RiflemanMoore The Glider Pilot Regiment (disbanded after WW2) also wore maroon berets and an eagle cap badge. The pilots were also drawn from the ranks so you had Sargent pilots. This still applies to this day in the Army Air Corps.
I think you have resolved a doubt that I have had for years about the film "A Bridge Too Far". I always wondered why so many characters were going around wearing the maroon beret when it is clear that they were non combatants e.g. the psychiatrist who chatted with the fictional Maj Fuller.
I'd understood that, from the outset, the Pegasus was the formation/divisional insignia, the maroon beret as having to be earned. But there DID seem to be exceptions, even by the late 1980s. EVERY man in the Para Regt will have earnt it the hard and ONLY way so we'd assume that same applies to everyone else who is permitted to wear it. My oppo at Depot had been short-listed for champion recruit but was hospitalised 200 metres from the end of our last P Coy event, the ten miler - and he was failed. Strict for us, no standards for the masqueraders that can pass off as Brethren. Your explanation makes sense 'cause we had some support arms attachments who we considered poor quality and who'd avoid talk of Depot or P Coy. We used to encourage these uniformed civvies to "RTU" even if it meant we went without a proper cook... SAS have the same situation. They GIVE beige berets to all and sundry who are attached from the support arms. Makes the point of selection a joke. It seems that Para Regt and PERMANENT members of the support arms in 16 Air Assault (via an All Arms P Company selection) have to pass P Coy - but not support arms attachments on a temporary (even long-term) basis. Typical army bureacratic BS. CONCLUSION: Only the maroon beret with the Parachute Regiment badge *IS* a guaranteed qualification - you cannot be in the regiment unless you've passed P Coy. Those in our support arms who'd passed P Coy are short-changed just like the rest of us who'd passed P Coy. Makes me hate the army even more passionately.
Your initial understanding is incorrect I'm afraid, the beret was divisional headdress, as said in the video, even members of the ATS (non-combatants of course) on Browning's staff wore it. It represents airborne troops and as far as I can see the beret itself has never officially gained any further significance. The airborne beret certainly didn't have any stipulation of being earned attached to it at its introduction. This is one reason gliderborne troops argued for and received a qualification badge during the course of WW2, their equivalent of parachute wings.
How were you short-changed, if you'd passed P Coy you wore wings for the rest of your career. Even if you'd done it in the TA, and then joined the regs, you were allowed to wear those wings although I'm not sure if that was the case during basic trg prior to passing out (one of our DS at Int Corps depot Ashford had his wings from having been in the TA Paras). Guys in non AB units with wings were respected and had a lot of kudos. However guys who were known to have served in 5 AB but didn't have wings were looked down on. It was always about the wings and not the beret. A guy in 5AB without wings was still a hat, even though he wore a maroon beret.
@@RiflemanMoore Not all units attached to 5AB wore maroon berets. 658 Squadron AAC continued to wear their liight blue beret and the AAC DZ flash on their combat jackets. Those of us that had passed P Company only wore the maroon beret in the field with wings and DZ flash on our smocks. At the Squadron it was back to light blue. Not sure what happens now but the AAC are proud of their own beret. I would describe myself as a HAT with wings but definitely not a penguin.
When I was in Airborne Forces you still had to earn the right to wear your Red Beret through P Company. Then some Brigadier after Brigadier Jeeps decided to let anyone wear it, which was a drop in morale in the whole of the Shot. There after anyone who wore the Red Beret without doing their Jumps Course were referred to as Penguins' and others as I am sure you are aware are referred to as Crap hats, or HAT's for short. I used admire the FFL , but their beret is a lightish Green, so I used to wear a French Paratroop Beret while on exercise. I was only once pulled up for it while on Parade when a Crap Hat Sgt asked me why I was wearing a "funny coloured" beret. I told him it was my exercise beret, looking at him sternly in the face , outraged that a Hat would even comment on my Beret ( such was the arrogance of Airborne Warriors back in the day). He told me to go round the back of the Billets away from the Parade. When we did so I asked him: "Are we speaking Sgt to Gunner or Man to Man?" upon which he took one look at me and said; " Alright get back in in the squad." And never mentioned my Beret again!
I haven't served, no, not for want of trying, alas I am barred from military service due to a nut allergy of all things. Happy to discuss where you think I'm wrong on this topic.
@@RiflemanMoore nice for replying his wife choose the colour of the beret the same colour as stretcher bearers that is why the Royal Army Medical Corps retain the flash behind cap badge
Someone else had mentioned similar in a previous comment. A common misconception but not so. Daphne du Maurier discredited any suggestion she had chosen the colour in a letter written after the war, the letter is now in the collection of the Airborne Assault Museum, Duxford.
Sorry you are totally talking out of your back side ,The color of the berry was due to the faced that Boy racing horse jockey colors was light blue and maroon. That'"s how the British Airborne got the colors.Due to his wife instances
This is isn’t strictly accurate. Members of the Parachure regiment can not wear the maroon beret until they pass P company (pre-parachute selection) Parachute wings awarded after completion of the parachute course. In my opinion only those who have passed P Company should be allowed to wear the maroon beret. Supporting units as in 16 Air assault brigade should wear there own regiments colour beret with maybe the maroon of the parachute regiment behind their cap badge. As for the Royal Marines they are awarded the dagger to show they are commando qualified as are all who pass the all arms commando course.
As far as I'm aware the P Company rule was never officially recognised by the British Army at large. The red beret is and always has been an airborne unit headdress, that's where it has it's origins in WWII and as far as I know, the British Army has never officially changed this. To impose the rule you suggest on 16 Air Assault Brigade would sever a historic link with non-parachute airborne forces and that would be a real shame, in my opinion. I'm glad to see it being used as a unit headdress, as it was from its inception.
I served in Para Sqn RAC back in the 1970s, wearing the maroon beret from the start (what was referred to as a 'penguin) but not feeling that I'd earned it until passing 'P' Coy.
I believe the Dettol badge is only for supporting arms who pass the All Arms Commado course. The Booties wear the flash that says ‘RM Commando’. That being said, with the proliferation of badges these days, I believe the army commandos now wear something similar on certain forms of dress.
The troops who landed and took Pegasus bridge never did P-Company, want to take their maroon berets away from them?…. Also the equivalent of P-Company that all parachute troops did during the war was simply just gymnastics as an aide to landing safely as an aide to minimise casualties on the DZ, so whilst were at it you going to take the maroon berets away from all who jumped in Africa, normandy, Holland and the Rhine crossing too then?
I serverd in The Parachute Regiment from 1985 to 1992. As a recruit you were issued with a maroon beret and cap badge on day one. The beret had a cloth band and was refered to as a Porky Pie. You only got to wear it after week four if you were on guard duty and then you wore a green plastic backing behind the cap badge to show you were still a recruit. It was only after you passed Pre Parachute Selection, Week 12 in my day, that you were allowed to wear the the beret without any backing and you got to wear your Para Smock. Nobody wore their issue beret. You bought a beret from Victors in Aldershot which had a leather band and a smaller crown than the issue beret. You bought at least 2. One was you 'ally' beret for day to day use and the second was you parade beret. On the inside of your beret you had an oval brass backing plate to tie the cap bade to the beret. On your ally beret the cap bage was fixed an inch or so above the the leather band and this allowed the cloth of the beret to drop over the leather band creating a flatcap look. The pull down to the side should not cover the ear. Your parade beret had the cap badge just above the leather band. On you ally beret the cap badge was postion at the side of the head while the parade beret the cap badbe was centred on the left eye.
531 in '87. Pete Lodge, The Bear, Freddy Laker etc. In Frost block. Remember having to 'keep off the grass' when there wasn't any :-)
Thank you very much for your explanation about the maroon beret. I used to be a Paratrooper in the 1/508th Parachute Infantry Regiment "Red Devils" part or detached from the 82nd Airborne Division. It is a gift to us American Paratroopers from the British Airborne Forces. Today in the US Army the maroon beret is a unit head wear for Airborne units who are parachute capable no matter what airborne or conventional unit they may belong to. These units are usually on every major US Army division is a supply and air drop supply company, Long Range Surveillance Detachment with pathfinders. Majority of those who wear the maroon beret are already parachute qualified and in dedicated units that are on jump status. Some soldiers who have volunteered or were selected for parachute units who are not parachute qualified yet. They wear their maroon berets in the unit. Later they will be sent to Ft. Benning for parachute training. The only unit which used to be an Airborne division up until 1975 which is no longer on jump status is the 101st Air Assault. Even though they have an AIRBORNE tab or scroll above their Screaming Eagle by tradition are pure helicopter borne Air Assault units especially all their infantry and other combat arms units. Their LRSD, Aerial Supply Detachment, that support the division are airborne qualified.
Very interesting, thanks for all the information! I have to say I really like that the gesture made by 1st Airborne Corps to the 509th PIR is honoured today with the use of the airborne beret in the US Army. I personally think it's an exceptionally smart headdress.
Thank you for your Service Brother!
Respect! 👊
From a British Veteran
Rifleman Moore Just a thought so came here to comment. In Zeno’s book The Cauldron about Arnhem, it is mentioned some paras removed helmets and wore berets, a few added scrim over the beret which I thought was interesting. A practical solution i have since noticed at least one such skrimmed beret in an Arnhem photo. Once aware you see details more easily. Not sure if of interest to you or anyone else really. But mentioning it just in case! Cheerio. 👋
the LRSD, ASD, Pathfinder, and all other support airborne units have been largely deactivated or taken of jump status in the last 10 years or so. Outside of special operations you have 82nd Airborne Division, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and 4th Brigade 25th Infantry division (my current unit).
The Brits wear the maroon beret the way the US Army wears the Airborne tab. In WWII US AIRBORNE Divisions had Parachute and Glider units too. All wore the Airborne tab. It was after WWII when they disbanded or converted Glider units to Airborne that the Airborne tab came to mean parachutist.
Thank you for mentioning the glider borne troops. These guys are often overlooked in the history of airborne ops but frankly had enormous courage in being inserted into combat via gliders.
Thumbs Up Rifleman Moore! It may be worth mentioning the significance of P-Company selection and its relationship to the beret. For a lot who serve in British Airborne forces, the beret has been 'earned' and not issued.
Many thanks Adron! I may make a video on how the Parachute Regiment ascribed a significance to the beret in the future, for sure.
Thanks for uploading Rifleman Moore!
Most welcome!
Well informed and valuable, as always.
Absolutely outstanding video. Thank you so much. I’m just starting out my own channel it’s a great help to me for my learning. Thanks again and best wishes, Laurie
Thanks Laurie, best wishes to you too!
Excellent and most informative as always, CHEERS!
I think the mix up also comes from the time when paras in the depot wore the dpm crap hat, on completion of P company they were entitled to wear the maroon beret. The parachute course followed on from that and that's where they earned their wings
That could well be the case.
You mean RECRUITS at Depot PARA. ;-)
A "craphat" is a person, not a head dress. It's an erroneous myth created by the BBC in the 1982 documentary "The Paras".
The head dress you're talking about was called a "cap, combat", "cap, AK" or "hat/cap grotty". Recruit cadres varied this hat with the cap comforter, depending on the quantities held by stores. All recruits in a cadre had to be dressed the same. My cadre wore the hated combat cap. I hated the thing.
The cap comforter won out in the end 'cause stocks of combat caps depleted by the late 1980s. The main benefit of the cap comforter is that it's "one size fits all" and so there was no need for stores to stock the myriad of different sizes.
@@simonsignolet5632 Exactly. Back when there was 5 AB Bde, non-Paras from Corps etc who didn't have their wings were hats even though they wore maroon berets.
@@simonsignolet5632A "craphat" is a person, not a head dress. It's an erroneous myth created by the BBC in the 1982 documentary "The Paras".
In the 70's a "crap hat" was anyone who did not have a Red beret, how did a documentary in the early 80's create a myth in the 70's.
That was really interesting and enlightening. Thank you for explaining it so clearly. I had assumed ever since I was a child that a maroon beret meant you were a jump qualified paratrooper.
Applied to join the paras last year, gotta wait another 5 years but I'll get there one day
Why the 5 year wait?
@@Sam-if6xx medical issues, origionaly I was banned from joining but I appealed it and that's the compromise I got, can apply once I turn 21
good luck mate, an old para
@@frankloughlin8418 thanks man, just got my second appeal in the other day so hopefully I'll get there sooner
Lots of running at least three times a week and make sure it includes hills make the runs last at least an hour build the heart lungs fitness forget putting weight on your back it's pointless you will learn tabbing at the depot it's a skill you can or you can't .. build the long distance running build them legs they will be in for a shock get through it the reg will do the rest... I'm Yorkie pickard 1para 89_02..
So good luck and get running lots of hills..good luck buddy
I was with 7th RHA and never jumped out of a serviceable aircraft unless I was tethered or the aircraft had landed. I did spend a lot of time getting in and out of chinooks however.
Was you a penguin?
Great channel.
Thank you for explaining this, I'd always wondered when looking at period photos why the maroon beret often had different cap badges as I'd thought it was exclusive to the Parachute Regiment. Is it the same case with the denison smock, in that all airborne forces wore them?
Yes, glider borne infantry and parachute/glider borne corps troops also wore the Denison.
Thanks for sharing and the clarification, cheers
No worries!
We wore our RMP badge with the red beret , when in the 16th Independent Parachute Brigade Group,, and from memory, ! apart from the Airborne regiment who wore the wing cap badge, there were Units of REME, RACC, RE, who were all needed to support the brigade. I assume all went through the basic selection that sorted out the chaff.
In the reorganization of the Canadian Army after unification of the CAF in 1968, 3 Mechanized Commando in Germany was assigned to the Canadian Airborne Regiment & wore maroon berets even though the troops were mixed RCR or PPCLI & not even "Airmobile"
Very very interesting and informative Great 👍👍👍👍👍
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing 👌🇬🇧
For non Parachute regiment to earn a maroon beret you either need to be posted to 16 air assault brigade or you receive it upon completion of P-coy.
The wings which you wear on your uniform are more what designate parachute troops than the beret.
You can be a marine with wings.
Could you discuss the camouflage neck scarf - when did it come into service?
It was approved for issue in Army Council Instruction '877', 22nd April 1942, with priority of issue being anti-tank/anti-aircraft units of the Royal Artillery, Reconnaissance Corps then Infantry units (the latter on a scale of one per officer and man).
Certainly a subject for a future video. I would say the idea of it being a scarf is a bit of a misconception, at least in so far as its designed purpose. It was intended as a camouflage face veil, to cover the helmet and face or to be tied over the equipment to aid in breaking up its outline.
Thanks for replies-also I believe the ww2 berets were much larger than the ones wore today
That's correct, yes, the WW2 era berets have a much larger crown than those worn today.
@@RiflemanMoore Modern issued berets still have a fairly large crown and fall across the ear when pulled over, if are the actual size for the head its on. I've compared the latest repro airborne beret to issued ones of comparable actual headband size and found the crown on the issued one about 1/2 inch less in diameter than the WW2 repro. Although I have heard that WW2 berets had the same crown size for every head size? Whereas modern issued berets have varying crown sizes depending on head size.
I think some possible misconceptions amongst reenactors may be a result of current tactical fashion to wear the beret small, where many serving:
1. Get an issued beret several sizes smaller and then stretch out the headband.
2. Purchase a commercially available beret - the vast majority of which are small crown berets - because that is what is in vogue.
A few things I've read over the years which may or not be true. I've seen the beret described by some in WW2 as being claret in colour. I've also read that Browning selected maroon and Cambridge blue as they were his old rowing colours. It's also been said that his wife, Daphne DuMaurier was somehow involved in AB fashion selection. I'd also read that the sr officers were dead locked in the colour selection and that Browning called his driver in and asked his opinion. So many legends.
There's also a story that the colours originated with one of Browning's racehorses. All legends indeed, the account given in the video is the genuine origin of the colour.
I heard it was the wife who picked the colour ... I'm 1para 89 02 Yorkie pickard .
@Rifelman Moore, on a related subject could you do the British WWII Denison smock used by British airborne and, I believe also some Commando troops? Incidentally going to war in a glider in WWII was by no means a easy option, they were mostly wood and canvas and thus very vulnerable to anti aircraft fire and often crashed on landing.
I don't believe I suggested glider-borne troops had it easy. The Denison smock was indeed used by Commandos too, the Royal Marines wore them into the 1960s. It's something I'd love to do a video on in the future but it will depend on access to other people's collections.
@@RiflemanMoore Cool would love to see a video on this iconic bit of British military uniform. I think it was almost the only camouflage clothing issued to the British military in WWII? I know the Parachute Regiment held on to theirs as long as they could post WWII. You did not suggest glider borne troops had it easy, that comment was really for your subscribers, who might not know what they did; apologies if you thought it was directed at you, it was not. You have a excellent channel.
Ah, I see, understood, I get what you were going for now.
The Denison was close to the only camouflage clothing yes, it was the most widespread I would say but the camouflage windproof suit and tank suits were issued too just not in any great numbers it seems.
I didn't know that units in WW2 who'd been deployed in a glider-borne role had worn maroon berets. Interestingly the Staffordshire Regt in the late 80s had a yellow glider on a green background on a badge worn on the upper left arm but only on the woolly pully, it was due to one of their precursors, the South Staffords, having been glider-borne, at Anzio.
@@simonh6371 and market garden
Really good mate.
Thanks, glad you thought so!
I think it may have been mentioned in the comments already by now but a denison smock in-depth video would be good, going from the last War till the smock used during the Falklands maybe I have a couple of nice examples of the ones used during the Falklands, If needed for a video.
I'd love to see, something I'm lacking I'm afraid. I have a repro wartime example, a 1959 Pattern in the later camouflage and then a mid '80s DPM example with the dressing pocket added to the arm. I'd love to pick up a Falklands era example.
Glad to help if I can I'll be showing it in the next video going up tomorrow.
My grandad wore red beret with reme cap badge on it when he served in TA in 1963 wish I had his original beret he kept original when he discharged from ta but that wore away and got dirty as years went on he used to wear a lot later in life washing his cars I had to buy one myself and put reme cap badge on it.
Hi, great clip and history. As per how the 'Red' (Maroon) Beret denotes either Parachute Qualified or Airborne as applicable, and usually it's just Army. It's interesting that the USAF Pararescue Airman also wear the 'Red Beret', even though they aren't Army: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Air_Force_Pararescue kind regards.
Were the guards armoured division wearing the brownish green berets or was I misinformed on this?
It would depend on the role, generally speaking, tank/armoured car, black beret, infantry GS cap or latterly perhaps a khaki beret with brown leather sweatband.
As an Ex Junior soldier in Junior. Parachute Company at Para Depot in the 80s we wore the Maroon beret with a blue plastic backing behind the cap badge where adult recruits wore a green backing pre Pcoy in our case we entered recruit company exchange blue for green backing....if you passed Pcoy you dispensed with said backing. I my self was injured and transferred regiments
Hi ex 1 para 16 platoon junior para passed out with 550 in 89 left in 02 my screw in juniors was Kev Heaton great man I'm Yorkie pickard so here's a shout out to you hope your well brother keep on keeping on.
@@Kcip72 You went down the same path as me,was 10 platoon JPC 82/83 and passed out with 493 platoon in Nov 83.Then spent 3yrs in 1 para and left in 86.👍
Hi l have a maroon beret with eyelets what age period would the beret be.. Allan
Impossible to say from such a basic description I'm afraid, if you email me a photo it might be possible to give an estimate.
@@RiflemanMoore hi not sure how to take a photo for this reply, with the 2 x eyelets in the beret it was more the year of manufacture would be nice to know.. Allan
I’ve got a 1942 parachute regiment beret!
Airborne Brotherhood ready for anything
In the case of the Belgians, wrong assumption. Their airborne berets come from the Belgian 5th SAS WW II heritage. To this day the beret is earned after a four month gruelling “basic” training that only airborne combat and their support troops have to pass. No exception. Then come the wings. In Belgium, every para is also commando trained. And every commando is para trained. Hence, the long used name of para-commando regiment; now replaced by special operations regiment, used on its own or in support of the Belgian Special Forces Group.
Quite so, it has a similar significance in some other nations military forces as well. But as the title says this video is primarily concerned with its significance in British use.
‘Grueling’ hahaha
The cap badge was more comfortable worn over the left temple different battalions had their own styles
There are two excellent Airborne reference books called
D-Day Paratroopers - The Americans &
D-Day Paratroopers: The British, The Canadians, The French
Not sure if there is a German one out there I’ve never seen one
I was "issued" a red berry when I was researching Granddad at Browning Barracks in Aldershot , one of the Troopers said men like your Granddad paved the way for us , so please accept this beret in honor of your Granddad... imgur.com/Tzh7SQe (Officially they were No2 Commando/II SAS who became 1st Battalion Para)
What a lovely gesture!
Malaysian "silent killer" (senoi Praaq) also wear the maroon beret
Up the Ox and Bucks!
GPR where the first to wear the maroon beret which later became the modern AAC..
It was Daphnie Du Maurier who picked the Maroon beret for British Airborne Forces, the wife of General Sir Boy Browning.
No, it wasn't, a common misconception but the Airborne Assault Museum has a letter in it's collection where she herself debunks this notion.
IDF paras are also Red Berets as the Israeli army in its early years was directly modeled of the British army
The only negative side to the maroon beret is that when it's shaven, shaped, and worn under the sun for years it starts to look pink.
True I suppose, though I would rate that pretty low down compared to lists of complaints about other kit!
@@RiflemanMoore Yes indeed, just a small annoyance when people think that pink berets are real! In my eyes berets look way better after being worn for years, no matter how discoloured they are ;)
Thomachi 3 Para mortars would likely jump at the chance to wear a pink beret.
Not if it's a "Victor"'s beret.
Had mine since the 1980s, bought from Mr Victor himself in his Aldershot shop. Used to chuck it in the washing machine with my kit FREQUENTLY, at least once a month over 7x years. Still maroon.
If boil washed and left in the sun when not worn, issue/other makes might fade, perhaps, but I've never seen this. Perhaps it was a (marketing) myth or, most likely, images on faded book covers or photographs that gave rise to this idea.
Or perhaps wartime dyes being inferior.
If I had a wartime beret, I don't think I'd want to conduct washing machine tests on it, though... ;-)
Nice hat.
At me there are a maroon beret with old babge silver wings of Second World War in my collection for draw
What about the RAF Glider pilots? Airborne? But of course! They came after Arnhem when the glider regiment was a bit short handed!
I believe that RAF glider pilots stuck with the blue-grey beret but I will have to check that.
@@RiflemanMoore they, and other air landing Forces, wore the maroon beret
Since the were part of the Airborne formation
@@RiflemanMoore
The Glider Pilot Regiment (disbanded after WW2) also wore maroon berets and an eagle cap badge.
The pilots were also drawn from the ranks so you had Sargent pilots.
This still applies to this day in the Army Air Corps.
I think you have resolved a doubt that I have had for years about the film "A Bridge Too Far". I always wondered why so many characters were going around wearing the maroon beret when it is clear that they were non combatants e.g. the psychiatrist who chatted with the fictional Maj Fuller.
Indeed, the red beret is quite simply divisional headdress.
And the Polish paratroopers?!! They wear maron beret since WWII too!!!! It is a shame that an Englishman does not think of this!
Polish parachutists in WW2 wore a grey beret.
Completely off the point, but Maj. Gen. Browning was married to the writer Daphne du Maurier.
I'd understood that, from the outset, the Pegasus was the formation/divisional insignia, the maroon beret as having to be earned. But there DID seem to be exceptions, even by the late 1980s.
EVERY man in the Para Regt will have earnt it the hard and ONLY way so we'd assume that same applies to everyone else who is permitted to wear it. My oppo at Depot had been short-listed for champion recruit but was hospitalised 200 metres from the end of our last P Coy event, the ten miler - and he was failed. Strict for us, no standards for the masqueraders that can pass off as Brethren.
Your explanation makes sense 'cause we had some support arms attachments who we considered poor quality and who'd avoid talk of Depot or P Coy. We used to encourage these uniformed civvies to "RTU" even if it meant we went without a proper cook...
SAS have the same situation. They GIVE beige berets to all and sundry who are attached from the support arms. Makes the point of selection a joke.
It seems that Para Regt and PERMANENT members of the support arms in 16 Air Assault (via an All Arms P Company selection) have to pass P Coy - but not support arms attachments on a temporary (even long-term) basis. Typical army bureacratic BS.
CONCLUSION:
Only the maroon beret with the Parachute Regiment badge *IS* a guaranteed qualification - you cannot be in the regiment unless you've passed P Coy. Those in our support arms who'd passed P Coy are short-changed just like the rest of us who'd passed P Coy. Makes me hate the army even more passionately.
Your initial understanding is incorrect I'm afraid, the beret was divisional headdress, as said in the video, even members of the ATS (non-combatants of course) on Browning's staff wore it. It represents airborne troops and as far as I can see the beret itself has never officially gained any further significance.
The airborne beret certainly didn't have any stipulation of being earned attached to it at its introduction. This is one reason gliderborne troops argued for and received a qualification badge during the course of WW2, their equivalent of parachute wings.
How were you short-changed, if you'd passed P Coy you wore wings for the rest of your career. Even if you'd done it in the TA, and then joined the regs, you were allowed to wear those wings although I'm not sure if that was the case during basic trg prior to passing out (one of our DS at Int Corps depot Ashford had his wings from having been in the TA Paras). Guys in non AB units with wings were respected and had a lot of kudos. However guys who were known to have served in 5 AB but didn't have wings were looked down on. It was always about the wings and not the beret. A guy in 5AB without wings was still a hat, even though he wore a maroon beret.
@@RiflemanMoore Not all units attached to 5AB wore maroon berets.
658 Squadron AAC continued to wear their liight blue beret and the AAC DZ flash on their combat jackets.
Those of us that had passed P Company only wore the maroon beret in the field with wings and DZ flash on our smocks.
At the Squadron it was back to light blue.
Not sure what happens now but the AAC are proud of their own beret.
I would describe myself as a HAT with wings but definitely not a penguin.
When I was in Airborne Forces you still had to earn the right to wear your Red Beret through P Company. Then some Brigadier after Brigadier Jeeps decided to let anyone wear it, which was a drop in morale in the whole of the Shot. There after anyone who wore the Red Beret without doing their Jumps Course were referred to as Penguins' and others as I am sure you are aware are referred to as Crap hats, or HAT's for short.
I used admire the FFL , but their beret is a lightish Green, so I used to wear a French Paratroop Beret while on exercise. I was only once pulled up for it while on Parade when a Crap Hat Sgt asked me why I was wearing a "funny coloured" beret. I told him it was my exercise beret, looking at him sternly in the face , outraged that a Hat would even comment on my Beret ( such was the arrogance of Airborne Warriors back in the day). He told me to go round the back of the Billets away from the Parade. When we did so I asked him: "Are we speaking Sgt to Gunner or Man to Man?" upon which he took one look at me and said; " Alright get back in in the squad." And never mentioned my Beret again!
So you were 7 RHA? ..... that makes YOU the “Crap Hat” then!
Take it you have not been in the military wrong happy to put you right
I haven't served, no, not for want of trying, alas I am barred from military service due to a nut allergy of all things. Happy to discuss where you think I'm wrong on this topic.
@@RiflemanMoore nice for replying his wife choose the colour of the beret the same colour as stretcher bearers that is why the Royal Army Medical Corps retain the flash behind cap badge
Someone else had mentioned similar in a previous comment. A common misconception but not so. Daphne du Maurier discredited any suggestion she had chosen the colour in a letter written after the war, the letter is now in the collection of the Airborne Assault Museum, Duxford.
It’s the bloody Maroon Beret!! Not red.
Not historically. Check out the book 'The Red Beret' by Hilary Saunders MC by way of example.
It’s still a hat :)
Sorry you are totally talking out of your back side ,The color of the berry was due to the faced that Boy racing horse jockey colors was light blue and maroon. That'"s how the British Airborne got the colors.Due to his wife instances
A common misconception, but not so.
This is isn’t strictly accurate. Members of the Parachure regiment can not wear the maroon beret until they pass P company (pre-parachute selection)
Parachute wings awarded after completion of the parachute course.
In my opinion only those who have passed P Company should be allowed to wear the maroon beret. Supporting units as in 16 Air assault brigade should wear there own regiments colour beret with maybe the maroon of the parachute regiment behind their cap badge.
As for the Royal Marines they are awarded the dagger to show they are commando qualified as are all who pass the all arms commando course.
As far as I'm aware the P Company rule was never officially recognised by the British Army at large. The red beret is and always has been an airborne unit headdress, that's where it has it's origins in WWII and as far as I know, the British Army has never officially changed this. To impose the rule you suggest on 16 Air Assault Brigade would sever a historic link with non-parachute airborne forces and that would be a real shame, in my opinion. I'm glad to see it being used as a unit headdress, as it was from its inception.
I served in Para Sqn RAC back in the 1970s, wearing the maroon beret from the start (what was referred to as a 'penguin) but not feeling that I'd earned it until passing 'P' Coy.
I believe the Dettol badge is only for supporting arms who pass the All Arms Commado course. The Booties wear the flash that says ‘RM Commando’.
That being said, with the proliferation of badges these days, I believe the army commandos now wear something similar on certain forms of dress.
The troops who landed and took Pegasus bridge never did P-Company, want to take their maroon berets away from them?…. Also the equivalent of P-Company that all parachute troops did during the war was simply just gymnastics as an aide to landing safely as an aide to minimise casualties on the DZ, so whilst were at it you going to take the maroon berets away from all who jumped in Africa, normandy, Holland and the Rhine crossing too then?