badge, headdress, British, The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment, other ranks

Silver-grey plastic badge in the form of the White Horse of Kent on a scroll inscribed 'INVICTA' (Unconquered) in old English lettering. Below the motto-scroll is the title scroll embossed 'ROYAL WEST KENT'. Blades to reverse.

Second World War period plastic cap badge for the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment. Plastic cap badges, which were first introduced into the British Army during 1941 as a result of metal shortages caused by the prioritised demands of industrialised war production, proved very unpopular with British Army personnel. This badge pattern sealed 3 May 1943. The predecessor Regiment was raised in 1756 as 52nd Regiment of Foot by Colonel James Abercrombie. In 1757 it was re-numbered 50th Foot and in 1782 re-designated with a county affiliation as 50th (West Kent) regiment of Foot. In this guise it served as Marines in 1797. In 1827 it was re-designated 50th (Duke of Clarence's) Regiment of Foot and in 1831 was again re-designated, now as 50th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot. In the 1881 Cardwell/Childers reforms the Regiment merged with the 97th Foot (Earl of Ulster's Regiment) to become the Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment). At this time the Regiment departed from the emblems of both its progenitors and adopted the Horse emblem from the arms of Kent, a symbol previously carried by the Kent Militia. The same badge, without the helmet place circlet, was adopted in 1898 with the taking in to use of the slouch and forage cap. In 1921 the title of the Regiment was changed to the Royal West Kent Regiment (Queen's Own), and modified the year after to the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment, involving no change to the badge. In 1961 the Regiment amalgamated with the Buffs, Royal East Kent Regiment, to form the Queen's Own Buffs, Royal Kent Regiment. The new Regiment was assigned to the Home Counties Brigade, the regular battalions expected to wear the Brigade badge. At the end of December 1966 the Queen's Regiment was formed from the Home Counties Brigade Regiments, the Queen's Own Buffs becoming that Regiment's 2nd Battalion. In 1992 the Queen's Regiment absorbed the Royal Hampshire Regiment and became the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queens and Royal Hampshires). The constituent battalions amalgamated to form the Regiment's two regular battalions.

Invicta Royal West Kent