View source for Cap badge

{{Short description|Badge worn on uniform headgear}}
{{for|the late Medieval and Tudor hat ornament|Cap hook}}
[[File:Australian_and_US_Navy_caps_stacked_together_during_a_port_visit_by_the_battleship_USS_MISSOURI_(BB_63)._The_ship_is_stopping_over_in_Sydney_during_a_cruise_around_the_world_-_DPLA_-_a0a36b129789542cded99e82afd62449.jpeg|thumb|Cap badge of the United States Navy on the left and cap badges of the French Navy (Marine Nationale) on the right.]]
A '''cap badge''', also known as '''head badge''' or '''hat badge''', is a badge worn on [[uniform]] headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as well as uniformed civilian groups such as the [[Scouting|Boy Scouts]], civil defence organisations, ambulance services (e.g. the [[St. John Ambulance]] Brigade), customs services, fire services etc.

Cap badges are a modern form of [[Heraldic badge|heraldry]] and their design generally incorporates highly symbolic devices. Some badges that contain images of lions or other cats are sometimes informally referred to as cat badges.

== Instances in military forces ==

===British armed forces===
[[File:Cliffecastlemus 051.jpg|thumb|right|British Army cap badges at [[Cliffe Castle Museum]], [[Keighley]]. View at max resolution to read labels.]]
{{further|Uniforms of the British Armed Forces}}

The [[British Armed Forces]] utilise a variety of metal and cloth cap badges on their headdress, generally on caps and berets. They are also worn on [[Uniforms_of_the_British_Armed_Forces#Turbans|Sikh turbans]].

====British Army====
In the [[British Army]] (as well as other [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] armies) each [[regiment]] and [[corps]] has its own cap badge. The cap badge of the [[Queen's Royal Lancers]] is called a motto by those within the regiment,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.qrlshop.co.uk/product/qrl_motto_capbadge_of_the_queen_s_royal_lancers_/|title=Queen's Royal Lancers Gift Shop|quote=QRL Motto (Cap badge of The Queen's Royal Lancers).|access-date=2009-01-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905184300/http://www.qrlshop.co.uk/product/qrl_motto_capbadge_of_the_queen_s_royal_lancers_/|archive-date=2008-09-05|url-status=dead}}</ref> that of the [[Royal Horse Artillery]] is known as a cypher and that of the [[Coldstream Guards]], [[Scots Guards]] and [[Irish Guards]] is known as a cap star.
That of the [[Grenadier Guards]] is known as the ''grenade fired proper''.

The concept of regimental badges appears to have originated with the British Army. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica''{{'}}s 1911 Edition notes that although branch badges for infantry, cavalry and so on were common to other armies of the time, only the British Army wore distinctive regimental devices.<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Uniforms#Regimental Badges|display=Uniforms § Regimental Badges |volume=27 |page=586}}</ref>

=====Cap badge variations=====

Plastic cap badges were introduced during the [[World War II|Second World War]], when metals became [[strategic material]]s. Nowadays many cap badges in the British Army are made of a material called "stay-brite" ([[anodised aluminium]], anodising is an electro-plating process resulting in lightweight shiny badge), this is used because it is cheap, flexible and does not require as much maintenance as brass badges.

Regimental cap badges are usually cast as one single piece but in a number of cases they may be cast in different pieces. For instance, the badge of the now amalgamated, [[The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons)]] was cast in two separate pieces: the Queen's Crown and the thistle forming one piece, and the stag's head and scroll with regimental motto forming a second piece (see the first picture above). 

The Royal Corps of Signals also has a two-part badge. The top being a brass crown and the bottom consisting of a silver flying body of [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]] (the winged messenger of the gods{{snd}} 'Jimmy') above a brass world and the motto {{lang|la|certa cito}} ('swift and sure').
[[File:Colonel_and_Brigadiers_Cap_Badge_British_Army.jpg|thumb|right|Cap badge of British Army colonels and brigadiers.]]
A regiment or [[battalion]] may maintain variations of the same cap badge for different ranks. These variations are usually in the badges' material, size and stylization. Variations in cap badges are normally made for:

* Officers: usually three-dimensional in design with more expensive materials such as silver, enamel and gilt. Most officers' beret badges are embroidered rather than metal or "stay-brite".
* Senior non-commissioned officers such as [[Sergeant#United_Kingdom|sergeant]]s, [[colour sergeant]]s and [[warrant officer]]s: a more elaborate design compared with those worn by other ranks but usually not as elaborate as those worn by officers.

There are exceptions such as the Welsh Guards, where all ranks wear a cloth cap badge. Officers wearing a more elaborate version compared to that of soldiers, made using [[Goldwork (embroidery)|gold thread]] and has a more three-dimensional design. The only exception to this is recruits in training who have to wear the brass (or more often "stay-brite") leek, often referred to as the "[[Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes|NAAFI]] fork", until they have passed out of training and reached their battalion will they receive their cloth leek{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}}. All ranks of the [[Special Air Service]] wear an embroidered cap badge and all ranks of [[The Rifles]] and [[Royal Regiment of Fusiliers]] wear the same metal badge.

Some regiments maintain a blackened or subdued version of their cap badges as shiny brass cap badges may attract the enemy's attention on the battlefield. However, since the practice of British soldiers operating in theatre with regimental headdress (i.e. peaked cap, beret) has all but died out, the wearing of these has become much less common in recent years.

=====Wearing conventions=====
The cap badge is positioned differently depending on the form of headdress:

*Home Service Helmet or Wolseley Helmet: above the centre between the wearer's eyebrows.
*[[Combination cap|Service dress cap]]: above the centre point between the wearer's eyebrows
*[[Beret]]: above the left eye<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.army.mod.uk/documents/general/Rifles_Dress_Guidance__2013_Srl_10.pdf#search=beret |title=Archived copy |access-date=6 June 2015|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206210653/http://www.army.mod.uk/documents/general/Rifles_Dress_Guidance__2013_Srl_10.pdf |archive-date=6 February 2015}}</ref>
* Side cap: Between the left eye and the left ear
* Scottish [[tam o'shanter (hat)|tam o'shanter]]: Between the left eye and the left ear
* Scottish [[glengarry]]: Between the left eye and the left ear
* Feather bonnet: Slightly off the left ear towards the left eye
* Fusilier cap or [[Busby (military headdress)|Busby]]: Slightly off the left ear towards the left eye
* Jungle hat (as worn by the [[Brigade of Gurkhas]] in Number 2 dress): Centre front or between left eye and left ear.

Soldiers of the [[Gloucestershire Regiment]] and subsequently the [[Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment]] wore a cap badge on both the front and the rear of their headdress, a tradition maintained by soldiers in [[The Rifles]] when in service dress. The back badge is unique in the British Army and was awarded to the 28th Regiment of Foot for their actions at the [[Battle of Alexandria (1801)|Battle of Alexandria]] in 1801.

Additional items that reflect a regiment's historical accomplishments, such as backing cloth and [[hackle]]s, may be worn behind the cap badge. In Scottish regiments, for instance, it is a tradition for soldiers to wear their cap badges on a small square piece of their regimental [[tartan]]s. [[Officer cadet]]s may wear a small white backing behind their badges. Members of arms such as the [[Adjutant General's Corps]] and [[Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers]] serving on attachment to other units often wear that regiment's beret or headdress but with their own Corps cap badge.

For a period leading up to [[Remembrance Day]] artificial [[Remembrance poppy#United Kingdom|poppies]] are worn by many people in the United Kingdom and [[Canada]] to commemorate those killed in war. On [[forage cap]]s the paper petals are fitted under the left hand chin strap button.

====Royal Air Force====
Cap badges in the [[Royal Air Force]] differ in design between those of commissioned officers and [[RAF other ranks|other ranks]]. In addition to caps and berets, they are also worn on [[Forage_cap#Royal_Air_Force|forage caps]].

<gallery mode="packed">
File:180406-D-SW162-1145_(40401404765)_(Smeath_cropped).jpg|The cap badge of a senior RAF officer.
File:Saxophones_Images_MOD_45160324.jpg|Cloth version of the cap badge of RAF other ranks. This version is worn on caps.
File:RAF_Reservist_MOD_45156517.jpg|Metallic version of cap badge of RAF other ranks, worn on a beret. This version is also worn by cadets in the [[Combined_Cadet_Force#Royal_Air_Force_Section|Royal Air Force Section]] of the Combined Cadet Force.
</gallery>

===Canadian Armed Forces===
{{further|Uniforms of the Canadian Armed Forces#Headdress}}
The [[Canadian Armed Forces]] utilize a variety of metal and cloth cap badges on their headdress, and many follow British traditions for additions such as cloth behind and blackened metal badges for rifle regiments. Distinct cap badges identify members' [[personnel branch]] or, in the case of infantry and armoured soldiers, regimental affiliation. Some units further differentiate non-commissioned members from officers by cap badge material (for example, artillery officers wear gold-wire embroidered cloth instead of brass, [[Lord Strathcona's Horse]] officers wear silver rather than brass).

<gallery mode="packed">
File:RIMPAC_2016_Opening_Press_Conference_DVIDS2707905.jpg|Cap badge of a flag officer on a Royal Canadian Navy peaked cap
File:US_Navy_080922-N-9818V-068_Covers_belonging_to_senior_enlisted_members_of_navies_around_the_world_are_placed_on_a_table.jpg|Peaked cap with badge of a senior appointment chief petty officer 1st class of the RCN.
File:Dr._Kem_talks_with_Maj._Gen._Parent_about_the_construction_of_the_Afghan_National_Defense_University_(4737514100).jpg|Cap badge of an RCAF general officer, on a beret.
File:110126-D-7203C-003_(5393752029).jpg|Blue [[Side_cap#Air_Force|wedge cap]] of the Royal Canadian Air Force, with a cap badge.
File:Badge_métal_royal_22_regiment.jpg|[[Royal_22nd_Regiment#Arms|Cap badge]] of the [[Royal 22nd Regiment]] of the Canadian Army.
</gallery>

===United States===
{{further|Peaked cap#United States}}

[[File:Nathan Twining 02.jpg|right|thumb|General [[Nathan Farragut Twining]], former [[chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff]] (1957&ndash;1960), wearing an officer's insignia.]]

====U.S. Army====
In the [[United States Army]], a [[distinctive unit insignia]] (DUI) is worn on the flash of a [[beret]]. For [[service cap]]s, a gilt eagle device is worn. This is the [[Great Seal of the United States]]. In the late nineteenth century, this device on a blue circle was listed as the equivalent of the [[roundel]] that appeared on headgear of many European armies. 
 
For officers, a large eagle device is worn. For enlisted men, a small version of the officer's insignia centered on a disk is worn on the front. [[Warrant officer]]s used to wear a gold eagle device, known as "Eagle Rising," centered on the cap but now wear the same devices as regular officers. For garrison caps, generally the rank insignia is worn, but recent regulations call for the wear of the DUI.

====U.S. Air Force====
For U.S. Air Force service caps, a large, silver eagle device is worn on the service caps. For enlisted men, a smaller version of the officer's insignia is worn, but enclosed in a ring. The use of the same device is because the U.S. Air Force was once part of the U.S. Army.

==Navies==
Cap badges used by navies (and merchant mariners) around the world tend to follow the pattern in use by the [[Royal Navy]]: an [[anchor]], or occasionally a [[cockade]], surrounded by golden leaf-shaped embroidery, and often topped by a crown or another symbol. They may be worn on peaked caps or berets. For [[petty officer]]s the leaves may be absent or replaced by a ring of golden cable. 

===United Kingdom===

====Royal Navy====
[[File:Lord_Mayor%27s_Show,_London_2006_(295201010).jpg|thumb|right|Badge of a petty officer on a hat of female RN personnel, left, with a commissioned officer's badge on a peaked cap, right.]]
Cap badges in the [[Royal Navy]] differ between ranks but have some common features: junior rates ([[Able Seaman]] to [[Leading Seaman]]) do not wear cap badges, wearing the peakless [[sailor's cap]] in number one dress. When wearing a beret, junior ratings will wear a fouled anchor within a gold ring as a beret badge. 

[[Petty Officer]]s wear a silver fouled anchor within a gold circle, with [[St Edward's Crown]] above the ring as their cap badge. That of [[Chief Petty Officer]]s is the same, but with a small laurel wreath around the gold ring. That of [[warrant officers]] (both Class I and Class II) has a larger wreath around the anchor, but omits the ring. 

The laurel wreath around that of commissioned officers is larger still.

<gallery mode="packed">
File:A_Sailor_Smiling_Onboard_HMS_Bulwark_MOD_45155883.jpg|Cap badge of a junior rating, worn on a beret.
File:Lord_Mayor%27s_Show,_London_2006_(295199477).jpg|Cap badge of a Royal Navy warrant officer on a peaked cap.
</gallery>

====Royal Marines====

{{Stack|{{multiple image
| align    = Left
| direction= horizontal
| width    = 100
| image1   = RM_officer%27s,_WO1_%26_WO2.jpg| Subdued example of cap badge of officers.
| image2   = RM_beret_badge.jpg| Subdued example of cap badge of other ranks.
| footer   = Subdued versions of junior officers' (left) and other ranks' (right) Royal Marine cap badges.
}}}}
In the [[Royal Marines]], cap badges are worn on peaked caps and berets. Those of [[Royal Navy officer rank insignia#Royal Marines|commissioned officers]] below the rank of colonel are split in two, the crown and lion atop, but separated from, the globe and laurels. They are brass and silver. Those of [[Royal Navy other rank insignia#Royal_Marines|other ranks]] are of the same design but not split in two. They are plain brass.

Blackened or subdued versions of both variants, those of officers and other ranks, are worn on berets, with [[Combat_uniform#United_Kingdom|combat uniforms]]. 

The lion and crown denote a royal regiment, conferred by [[George III|King George III]] in 1802. The globe was chosen by [[George IV|King George IV]] to reflect their successes around the world. The [[Laurel wreath|laurels]] honour their gallantry at the [[Capture of Belle Île]] in 1761.

In the [[Royal Marines Band Service]], the Portsmouth band and CTCRM band have different cap badges from the rest of the Corps.<ref>[https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/-/media/royal-navy-responsive/documents/reference-library/br-3-vol-1/chapter-40.pdf Royal Marines Badges of Rank and Insignia]. BR 3 Chapter 40. [[Royal Navy]].</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.royalmarinesbands.co.uk/reference/FS_rank.htm |title=Badges of rank and other badges of the Royal Marines Band Service |access-date=2020-08-07 |archive-date=2013-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729140404/http://www.royalmarinesbands.co.uk/reference/FS_rank.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Special Boat Service|SBS]] also has its own cap badge.<ref name="Globe2003">{{cite magazine|magazine=The Globe & Laurel – The journal of the Royal Marines|author1=OC SBS|title=The New SBS Cap Badge|publisher=Simpson Drewett & Co Ltd|location=Richmond, Surrey|date=November–December 2003|issn=0017-1204}}</ref><ref name=pickup>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/special-forces-obituaries/5309727/Col-Richard-Pickup.html |title=Col Richard Pickup&nbsp;– Obituary |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=11 May 2009 |access-date=9 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525112932/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/special-forces-obituaries/5309727/Col-Richard-Pickup.html |archive-date=25 May 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:BrigadirsCap_Badge.jpg|Cap badge of RM colonels and brigadiers.
File:Evening_Parade_140718-M-GR671-024.jpg|Brass and silver cap badges of Royal Marines junior officers.
File:Marine_Cadet.jpg|Plain brass cap badge of RM other ranks. This version is also worn by [[Royal Marines Cadets]] of the rank of [[Colour sergeant#United Kingdom|Colour Sergeant]] or below.
</gallery>

===United States===
====Navy and Coast Guard====
[[File:US Navy Cap Devices.png|thumb|U.S. Navy current and former cap devices.]]
The main exceptions to the Royal Navy pattern are the [[United States Navy]] and the [[United States Coast Guard]], which once followed this pattern, but changed after the [[American Civil War]] to their current designs. The Navy has crossed anchors behind the eagle and shield for commissioned officers, while the Coast Guard uses a single large anchor held in the eagle's claws on its commissioned officers' caps; officers in both branches wear a miniature version of the commissioned officer insignia on the left side of the garrison cap, with rank insignia worn on the wearer's right. [[Chief petty officer (United States)|Chief petty officers]] and above in both the Navy and the Coast Guard have a larger version of their collar insignia as their cap badge for the [[Peaked cap|combination cover]] and a miniature version worn on the [[Side cap#United States|garrison cap]]; [[Petty officer first class#United States)|petty officer first class]] and below in both services wear a full-sized rank insignia on the garrison cap. Junior enlisted coastguards wear a combination cap badge featuring a gold disc in front of two silver crossed anchors, while junior enlisted sailors of both genders wear a [[sailor cap]] without any insignia. Midshipmen at the [[United States Naval Academy|US Naval Academy]] and the [[United States Merchant Marine Academy|US Merchant Marine Academy]] and in the [[Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps]] (NROTC), and wear a single, upright fouled anchor on combination and garrison caps, while cadets at the [[United States Coast Guard Academy|US Coast Guard Academy]] wear a single fouled anchor surmounted by a silver five-pointed star, with one point facing down.

====Marine Corps====
{{multiple images
|footer       = Peaked cap devices of US Marine Corps Eagle, Globe, and Anchor 
|perrow       = 4
|align        = right
|caption_align= center
|total_width  = 330
|image1       = Officer EGA.png
|caption1     = Officer dress
|image2       = US Marine Corps Insignia-Subdued.png
|caption2     = Officer service
|image3       = Enlisted GlobeAnchor.jpg
|caption3     = Enlisted dress
|image4       = USMC EGA Enlisted Service.jpg
|caption4     = Enlisted service
}}
United States Marines wear the [[Eagle, Globe, and Anchor]] as their cap device: gilt and silver for officers and gold for enlisted on [[Uniforms of the United States Marine Corps#Dress uniform|blue dress]] uniforms, and subdued for all ranks on [[Uniforms of the United States Marine Corps#Service uniform|service and utility]] uniforms. Marine-option [[midshipmen]] at the US Naval Academy wear the same cap device as other midshipmen, while NROTC Marine-option midshipmen wear the enlisted-dress Eagle, Globe, and Anchor on all their uniforms instead of an anchor.

==International forces==
{{See also|Military_beret#International_forces}}

Badges are worn on berets of international military and peacekeeping forces.

<gallery mode="packed">
File:BW_Barettabzeichen_Eurocorps.png|Cap badge of [[Eurocorps]].
File:Beret_(AM_1996.145.12).jpg|Beret of the [[Multinational_Force_and_Observers#Military|Multinational Force and Observers]] with a metal and enamel badge.
File:United_Nations_Peacekeeping_Beret_Flash.jpg|Cap badge of [[United Nations peacekeeping]] forces on a [[blue beret]].
File:2014_12_27_New_Ghanian_Contingent_-4_(15517479853).jpg|Cap badge of the former [[African_Union#Regional_conflicts_and_peacekeeping|African Union peacekeeping]] forces.
</gallery>

==Police==
{{see also|Uniform|Police}}

The [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]], as well as provincial and municipal police forces, utilize forage caps and metal cap badges.

===United Kingdom===
Where the majority of British police forces have silver-coloured cap badges, those of the [[City of London Police]] are [[brass]]. They are in the form of each force's crest and include the name of that force.

Different badge designs are also worn on the headgear of [[Police community support officer#Uniform and equipment|police community support officers]].

==Civilian organisations==
{{Multiple image
|align = right
|total_width = 220
|image1  = CAP DEVICE UNMOUNTED PHS.PNG
|caption1= [[United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps]] combination cap device.
|image2  = NOAA Corps Combination Cap device.png
|caption2= [[NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps|National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps]] combination cap device.
|footer= Peaked cap devices of the [[Uniformed_services_of_the_United_States#Non-armed_uniformed_services|unarmed uniformed services of the United States]].
}}
Cap badges are worn by a variety of other organisations:

In the United Kingdom, cadets of the [[Community Cadet Forces]], [[Combined Cadet Force]] and [[Volunteer Cadet Corps]] generally wear cap badges of the armed forces they are affiliated to. Cadets of the [[Sea Cadets (United Kingdom)|Sea Cadet Corps]] and [[Air Training Corps]] wear a badge with a unique design.

==See also==
*[[Cockade]]
*[[Irish Defence Forces cap badge]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Cap badges}}
*{{cite Collier's New Encyclopedia|wstitle=Military Insignia |short=x}}

*[http://www.britishbadgeforum.com/forums/ British & Commonwealth Military Badge Forum]
*[http://regimentalrogue.com/rcrbadges/rcrbadges_intro.htm Badges of The Royal Canadian Regiment]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050226234107/http://history.farmersboys.com/RGBW/r_g_b_w__insigna.htm RGBW insigna] (Site is authorized by the colonel of the RGBW)

[[Category:Military insignia]]
[[Category:British military uniforms]]
[[Category:Badges]]
[[Category:Australian military insignia]]
[[Category:Australian military uniforms]]
[[Category:British military insignia]]
[[Category:Military hats]]