The grey felt hat was worn from the beginning of the unit’s life in 1860. The hat band and chinstrap were of brown leather. The cocks feathers, worn by all ranks, were greenish black slotted behind a Prince of Wales plume badge made of dull white metal. The dull badge on the front of the hat was a foliated and crowned HV monogram, for Hampshire Volunteers. There is no explanation for the unit having a Prince of Wales badge. This hat was worn until 1873 when it was changed to a spike-topped helmet, also grey, similar to the infantry hemet adopted in 1878. The Hampshire Mounted Rifle Volunteers were disbanded in 1877.
