Feather bonnet

The feather bonnet is a type of military headdress used mainly by the highland infantry regiments of the British Army throughout the 18th Century, but now it is mostly worn by Pipers and Drummers in various bands throughout the world.

History

The feather bonnet began with the knitted Tam o'shanter bonnet with a chequered border. This was propped up and worn with a tall hackle. During the 1700s, the highlanders who wore this hat began to add ostrich feathers to decorate it. This decoration evolved into a full covering of the original Tam o'shanter. The ostrich feathers were then entwined into a lightweight cage, producing the height. The feather bonnet has one or more "tails" that hang down below the headband, and the regimental badge and hackle (Scots: tourie) are displayed the left.

Use

The Feather Bonnet has been used by all of the Scottish highland regiments at one point or the other. Examples include the Black Watch (red Hackle), the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (white hackle) and the Queens Own Cameron Highlanders (blue hackle).

Despite its elaborate appearance, the feather bonnet is a highly practical piece of military gear, being lightweight and the internal cage offers protection from blows. William Gordon-Alexander describes the feather bonnet as follows ;

Not only the most sensible head-dress in the British army as a protection against sword-cuts but also being, when properly made up, the most perfectly ventilated and coolest one for hot climates hitherto invented.