Infantry soldiers had worn undress forage caps throughout the 19th century and in the 1890s had the field service cap, but in the first decade of the 20th century the Brodrick cap was adopted, initially by the Brigade of Guards, but in 1902 the cap was authorised for the line infantry and other units. It was not popular and only lasted a few years. It was officially discontinued in December 1905 but this example has the date of issue printed inside as 1906. The regiment first wore it as a plain dark blue cap but when other regiments placed a coloured patch behind the badge to signify their facing colour, the Norfolk Regiment followed suit in 1905, when, in April, their yellow facing colour was restored. By 1907 the cap was discontinued in the regiment and replaced by the khaki peaked forage cap. In 1908 the coloured peaked forage cap was issued.
These photos were published in “A Monstrous Piece of Cloth” The Brodrick Cap
by Toby Brayley (Military Historical Society 2020)
Regimental Details | Uniforms
