I'm hoping to find someone with the right answer to this question. The Royal Marine Commandos where a hat- not the beret- that looks a bit like a flight cap with a bent peak on either end and made of wool or some such material. I believe this hat dates back to at least WWII era but I could be wrong. I know that it is rather famous but I need to know what it is actually called! Any ideas?

Appears to be a 'bicorn' having previously been a 'tricorn'.

Do you mean the pith helmet? Sometimes called the Wolseley Helmet?

Pith helmets are worn with full parade dress/band uniforms. Normal service dress is green Lovat with dark blue peaked cap with red band. Standard uniform includes the green beret.

No not the pith helmet I'm afraid. This hat is like a watchman's cap for lack of a better term. It's used with the battle dress uniform not the formal dress.

Here's a picture of a memorial that has the headgear that I'm in search of a name for- http://www.freefoto.com/preview/1088-05-51

Ah... those aren't Royal Marine Commandos, those are Army Commandos.

I think they're wearing field service caps or maybe a side cap. I'm pretty sure there were versions of field service caps made of knitted material in WWII.

Army Commando units were disbanded after WWII and the British military's Commando forces are now part of the Royal Marines supported by units from other services including the Army - Logistics, Engineers etc.

One of my great-nephews was a Royal Marine Commando; his brother is in Royal Engineers (Bomb Disposal) so in theory they could have ended up on the same battlefield. But they didn't.

They look very close to a Garrison Cap or Glengarry Cap.

Could it be what is called a cap comforter? Like this one:
http://ww2-reenactor.com/shopexd.asp?id=1067&bc=no

Verbonica that seems to be the real article alright. It has a certain name that it's known by and I'm hot on the trail of just that.

It is true that the Royal Marine Commandos upon up start were borrowing from all branches and they started their training in Scotland near where this statue is located.

Is it a Gurkha Cap, Dov?

My ex husband is a Royal Marine Commando and is currently serving in Afghanistan.

The Royal Marines were founded in 1664, but the Royal Marine Commandos were formed in 1942, they joined forces with Army Commandos (formed in 1940). They did their training in Scotland.

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/royal_marines_commandos.htm

The hat featured in the memorial looks like a UK Field Service Cap...

The Field Service caps are also known as Forage caps...the UK ones from World War 2 being without a peak. If you type Field Service cap into Google images, you'll see one similar to the hat in the memorial...

Verbonica, you got it right. This is a forage cap, known in the RAF as a 'chip bag'. (Brits will understand why. For the rest of you it looks like the little paper bag we used to buy our chips (french fries) in.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrison_cap

I think I got it right too RMG lol

Well it's a good try but no cigar! This hat that I've googled isn't the one. We Americans call this a flight cap or also known by another name that would likely get me band from posting ever again.

The hat that I'm mentioning can actually cover the ears depending on how it's worn. It's like a nightwatchman's cap but it does have a peaked feature like this chip bag that you're showing here.

If you're not tired of this yet here's an excellent picture of what I'mdescribing.

http://www.brigadeqm.com/cgi-bin/tame.ex...2Flevel3c%2Etam

Just curious here, Flopsy--your great-nephews fought in WWII? or in Iraq?

Even I am not old enough to have had great-nephews fight in WWII, lol. The elder of those two brothers, the Commando, was in Iraq and then in Afghanistan, his brother is currently overseas, awaiting posting to one of those places.

It looks just like these, known by various names, one of them cited is the UK name of a 'forage cap' which is a revision of the 'garrison cap' already mentioned above by ClaraSue. It says it can be worn flaps down to cover the ears also. I think I know the name for it that would get you banned too, Dov.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrison_cap

Thanks.

Extraneous remark: My mother told me fairly recently that she considered it quite a coincidence that her sister's first and second husbands both fought in the same WWII battle. I asked which, and when she said, "Battle of the Bulge," it didn't seem so strange since more than half a million American soldiers were there.

Idea: This kind of question is very welcome at Ask Fun Trivia.

Dov's cap, and the ones on the statue, are quite a bit bulkier and more coarsely knit than the structured, finely-woven garrison, forage, etc. caps. Here's a closer look at the statue:
http://img2.photographersdirect.com/img/17863/wm/pd2057092.jpg

I still can't come up with another name for it other than cap comforter, though.

You have to remember that in WWII British Army uniforms were made of much rougher cloth than would be acceptable these days. The British had very little food, all clothing was rationed, and the raw materials required to make cloth weren't available - what materials there were went into uniforms which were churned out as fast as possible, they didn't get fine tailoring. When the American troops arrived, with their smart uniforms and endless supplies of food, cigarettes and nylons there was widespread amazement. My postwar childhood was regaled with stories of how well the Americans servicemen were treated - so much so, I could almost taste the ice cream my mother described. And as food was still rationed, I didn't even know what ice cream tasted like!

That's true Flopsy, however this particular hat is still being issued at least as late as 2002. The material in which it is made might be different but the shape and obviously the importance to the RM has been kept. I use to own one of these myself but it found its way out of my possession.

I shall ask my ex hubby on his return at the end of April...The Green Beret is the significant hat to the Royal Marines. I do recall my ex having a beanie type hat for Arctic Warfare Training....oh and a balaclava that was rolled up...

The forage cap was sometimes made of coarse wool...

As an ex serviceman,RAF, the only types of headgear that we were allowed to wear were the forage cap (chip bag), beret and the peaked hat properly known as the No1 SD (Service Dress) Hat. The woven hat shown in the pictures reminds me of a special type that certain regiments, ie Royal Marines and SAS, were allowed to wear when in the field. It kept their heads warm but gave off no reflection from a badge or indication of regiment.I seem to remember it being woven as a short tube so it could be used as either a scarf, or folded into headgear. What it was called I have no idea.