Are specialized pants accouterments?

[Niner]

Saw this photo today. It's a picture of some cannoneers of the Royal British Army in 1865 that has been colorized. Note the pants. There is a leather patch stitched into the inside of the pants legs. Then a strap from the pants fitting under the shoe instep and buttoning. Kinda like fake knee boots. Only officers who road horses probably got knee boots. And what's with that pill box hat?

[Niner Delta]

Since four of them are holding riding crops, I would guess the leather on the inside of the pant legs is for riding the
horses pulling the cannon and caisson. That's typical of riding pants.
As for the pill box hats, the British thought it kept the sun out of their eyes. ......
Interesting facial hair.

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[Niner]

Good observation Niner Delta. I hadn't paid any attention to the sticks. I remember a certain artillery battalion commander at Ft. Sill when I got back from Vietnam. He had himself a swagger stick that he liked walking around with. What a dildo he was. It was like advertising he never had been in a battle and never ducked a bullet or otherwise he would have had more humility in the face of his men and not been such a dandy.

[DuncaninFrance]

Those are riding crops used by riders of the horse team pulling the piece. AND there is no such thing as the ROYAL BRITISH ARMY and never has been...........
Royal is only used for certain units i.e. Royal Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, Royal Army Medical Corps..........

[Niner Delta]

Duncan, I think those of us on this side of the pond tend to think all your military is royal something,
most familiar is probably the RAF or the RN.
I think it is just called the British Army, isn't it?

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[Niner]

I admit I don't know what's Royal and what's not. I think those arty guys were part of a genuine Royal Regiment or Battalion or Battery or whatever they were organized into. They were in the day of the Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War.

Thinking about those britches .... wonder if the non Royal horse artillery got them? Did the not Royal gun bunnies feel discriminated against? Did they envy the pants the Royal pets got? Why protect the inside of the legs so much anyway? A cowboy's chaps had the leather more to the outside to protect against brush and such that the outside of the leg might come in contact with while riding.

[DuncaninFrance]

Duncan, I think those of us on this side of the pond tend to think all your military is royal something,
most familiar is probably the RAF or the RN.
I think it is just called the British Army, isn't it?

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That's right Vern. In the early days individuals raised regiments to fight for the crown and so these were named after their Commanders. In my instance the regiment was called The Duke of Wellington's Regiment.

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Now reduced to 2 Regular battalions and one Volunteer battalion............... but maintaining the traditions of their antecedent regiments as well as mess silver, company and platoon names. They also carry their battle honours.

https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corp ... -regiment/

[Niner]

I would think anything to do with the Duke of Wellington or Prince of Wales would be "Royal". So is your Regiment "Royal" or not? Dukes and princes are royal ..aren't they?

In the US Army there is no respect for historical Regiment history. A big reason is because Regiments, formed in mass and then discarded and forgotten after WWII, were done away with altogether as not practical in the early 60's and battalions became the unit of organization. Battalions could be assigned to any division or brigade easier than having to assign a whole Regiment. As battalions of a thousand men they went in and out of existence according to Army need. New battalions were sometimes formed and given Regimental denominators on whim depending on need for more soldiers in places like Vietnam even though some of the lessor battalion numbers weren't active at the time of new battalion creation and could have been used. Famous to the public former regiments, like the 506 of WWII, in the 101st Airborne, weren't immune from being divided up and sent to other divisions and having their role defined as straight leg infantry instead of glorious airborne when it suited. In Vietnam the 101st Division went over as all airborne jump qualified and as nobody needed to parachute it became rapidly airmobile in fact as time went on.

The battalion I was attached to first in Vietnam originally was put on planes with the intention of assigning them to one Division in Vietnam but on the way over the powers that direct such things changed their minds and sent them to the 9th Division instead. The original uniform division shoulder patch had to be changed after landing.

Now days the Army wants to have it both ways and pretends to think there is a tradition linked to Regimental designation. I belonged to a 31st infantry Regiment Association. They pay homage to the remaining active 4th battalion despite the fact that few of the living feel any connection to any other 31st unit other than the one they had belonged to once upon a time. Many of us who served in combat with a particular battalion unit aren't interested in trying to piece together a vampire like flow of disjointed history and are only interested in our battalion and our war and that's where it ends with us.

Now there is the other Heinz 57 mixture of interest too. I belonged to the 2/4 artillery assigned to the 6/31st infantry 9th Division in Vietnam for 9 months and then belonged to the 2/320 artillery and assigned to the 3/506 101st Division...... all in one year ... in Vietnam. Then back in the states for a few months I was in the 2nd 1st Artillery at Ft. Sill.

My greatest fealty, a word reflecting the medieval concept that Duncan is talking about, is to the 6/31st infantry that existed only for a few years and without any linking history.

[DuncaninFrance]

No, if you look at the pages I posted you will not see Royal anywhere.
The current Regiment is "The Yorkshire Regiment"

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Every Regiment has Colours..
According to the Royal Warrant of 1768:

The King's, or first colour of every regiment, is to be the Great Union throughout.

The second Colour to be the colour of the facing of the regiment, with the Union in the upper canton; except those regiments which are faced with red, white, or black. The second colour of those regiments which are faced with red or white, is to be the red cross of St. George in a white field, and the Union in the upper canton. The second colour of those which are faced with black, is to be St. George's cross throughout; Union in the upper canton; the three other cantons, black.

In the center of each colour is to be painted, or embroidered, in gold Roman characters, the number of the rank of the regiment, within the wreath of roses and thistles on the same stalk; except those regiments which are allowed to wear any royal devices, or ancient badges; on whose colours the rank of the regiment is to be painted, or embroidered, towards the upper corner. The size of the colours to be six feet six inches flying, and six feet deep on the pike. The length of the pike (spear and ferril included) to be nine feet ten inches. The cords and tassels of the whole to be crimson and gold mixed.

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The Royal Navy made up of Ships and Shore establishments, ALL designated HMS ( His or Her Majesty's Ship )
The Royal Air Force is made up of Numbered Squadrons.

Since the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II there will be changes to Royal patronage in all branches of the forces but collectively they are His Majesty's'' Armed Forces.

[Niner]

Looks complicated...but heraldry is a long military art that I'm sure Great Britain has put much thought into.
In the US....each Regimental flag is one flag emblem but with a few minor changes often over time. Note the two images attached after the one taken in the Philippines probably in the 1930's. One is for the 31st Regiment of WWII vintage. That regiment was decimated and either killed or captured in the Philippines at the start of WWII. The second is a copy made for the last commander of the 6th battalion of the 31st Infantry that served in Vietnam. Note the shape of the scroll at the bottom has changed slightly and the battalion number in in the top right.... 6 for 6th battalion. And the scroll doesn't say "Regiment".