17th and 18th Centuries

Much thought and accumulated experience have gone into the matters of production of suitable headgear both from the points of view of decoration and protection.

Officers in Marlborough’s Army wore full bottom wigs liberally curled and long enough to reach the shoulders whilst the men cut their hair short. By George II’s reign officers’ wigs had become smaller and were tied back with black silk ribbons. They were decorated with powder. Themen’s hair, now worn long and tied in a queue, was smeared with tallow or lard and powdered with flour. Men who carefully prepared their hair on nights before a special parade were known to sleep face downwards to avoid disturbing it before morning. The queue was worn in a bag, secured with black ribbons tied according to a regimental pattern. This kept much off the red coat.
The grenadier cap was introduced in James II’s time as the wide brimmed hat interfered with the throwing of grenades. The first version of this headdress resembled a stocking cap and was decorated with fur and a tassel. Gradually this developed into a mitre shape with regimental devices on the front. Officers’ caps were beautifully embroidered in coloured silks and many examples still survive.
By the end of the eighteenth century hair powder was being phased out and by the time of the Napoleonic wars queues were abolished by a War Office Order of 1808. The Royal Welch Fusiliers were the last Regiment to lose them, thereafter wearing a flash of black ribbons on the backs of their collars as souvenirs.