British Napoleonic Uniforms

Product Information

After the restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 the Monmouth cap, a broad-brimmed, low-crowned felt hat, with one side of the brim generally turned up, was introduced. Out of 89,000 British soldiers who served in the West Indies, 43,747 died of yellow fever or other tropical diseases. Officers were permitted to have the collar of the BD jacket tailored to have faced lapels, allowing the wearing of a shirt and tie underneath, inspiring the later American M44 "Ike Jacket". Brigades were attached to infantry divisions or columns, or sometimes acted directly under the command of the cavalry commander of an army.

Generally, the 1st (or senior) battalion of a regiment would draw fit recruits from the 2nd battalion to maintain its strength. The Kilmarnock forage cap was superseded in kilted Highland regiments by the Glengarry bonnet in 1851.Similar braided coats are worn on occasion by directors of music and bandmasters of bands affiliated to line cavalry regiments (in other bands they wear a plainer double-breasted frock coat similar to that of senior officers but without the velvet) in dark blue (or green for The Rifles). Widely worn during the 1950s and 1960s (when Britain still maintained significant garrisons in tropical stations) this uniform is now usually restricted to military attachés in tropical postings and their personal staffs; [24] units of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment and The Royal Bermuda Regiment (see below); plus a few army bands and officers of the battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles stationed in Brunei. The oldest of these was the 60th Regiment, which had originally been raised in 1756 for service in America, and which had long been composed primarily of Germans. For most of the wars, British cavalry formed a lower proportion of armies in the field than most other European armies, mainly because it was more difficult to transport horses by ship than foot soldiers, and the horses usually required several weeks to recuperate on landing. While the rifle-armed units adopted a dark green uniform, the musket-armed light infantry units wore tailless jackets in the traditional red colour.

As we cannot easily obtain individual regimental buttons we fit a generic brass or pewter button as standard. Following the Battle of Waterloo, all members of the newly named Grenadier Guards were permitted to wear the bearskin. It was also issued in RAF Blue-Grey for the Royal Air Force, Navy Blue for the Royal Navy / Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve and Dark Blue for the Civil Defence Corps. Until the issue of the 1812 pattern infantry cap (or “Belgic”) in 1812, company officers wore bicorne hats; afterwards, they usually wore the same headgear as their men while on campaign, their status as officers denoted with braided cords.Officers generally wore silver or gold epaulettes (depending on regimental colours), with regimental badge to designate rank. Some Regiments and Corps wear a stable belt in No 8 dress whilst others restrict its use to Nos 13 and 14 Dress. One type of frock coat may be worn by officers of lieutenant general and above (and major generals in certain appointments) on formal occasions when not on parade in command of troops. After 1811, officers were permitted to wear a short tailed coatee, grey pantaloons or trousers and low field boots on campaign.

The only variations of the standard jacket are the jackets worn by the Foot Guards whose buttons are grouped differently depending on their regiment, and the Royal Regiment of Scotland who wear a "cutaway" form of the jacket to be worn with kilts. Six women per company were officially "on the strength" and could accompany their husbands on active service, receiving rations and places on troop transports. The fabric of the belt itself is in regimental colours, either a single colour or striped along its length (the origin of these combinations is often traditional, derived from historic uniform colours and facings, and may coincide with the design of a particular unit's TRF).In January 1902, the British army adopted a universal khaki uniform for home service wear, the Service Dress, after experience with lighter khaki drill in India and South Africa. Other ranks wear a white, buff, or black leather belt with a regimental pattern locket, with a bayonet frog if carrying arms. Unlike other armies of the time, the British did not use conscription to bolster army numbers, with enlistment remaining voluntary. The first rifle-armed unit, the 5th Battalion of the 60th Regiment, was formed mainly from German émigrés before 1795.

It had a good record in battle but later became notorious for desertion, and was not even allowed to perform outpost duty, for fears that the pickets would abscond. In addition, the Life Guards, the Blues and Royals, the Queens Royal Dragoons, the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, the Royal Dragoon Guards, and the Royal Lancers all wear white leather gauntlets when mounted.In December 1752, the wings were reserved for grenadier companies only, followed by the light infantry in 1770. Additionally, corporal punishment was removed for a large number of petty offences (while it was still retained for serious derelictions of duty) and the Shorncliffe System for light infantry was established in 1803, teaching skirmishing, self-reliance and initiative.