Material: White metal
Dimensions: 42 mm W × 75 mm H
Description: This Royal Scots Fusiliers headdress insignia is struck in gold-anodized aluminum, a lightweight and tarnish-free material universally known by collectors as Staybrite. The design features a classic fusilier grenade body, meticulously detailed with a highly stylized, nineteen-flame combustion plume flaring upward from the neck. Stamped into the ball of the grenade is the complete British Royal Coat of Arms, depicting the lion and unicorn supporters flanking a central quartered shield surmounted by a prominent King's Crown. The reverse retains its original dual-lug fastening brackets and securing pin, showing a highly reflective, unmarked finish that mirrors the front design exactly.
Circa: 1953-1959
Notes:
This insignia had a very brief operational life on the beret because the historic Royal Scots Fusiliers were permanently amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry in 1959 to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers, ensuring these specific pieces remained low in total production volume.
The Royal Scots Fusiliers was originally raised in 1678 by Charles Erskine, 5th Earl of Mar, to maintain peace and suppress religious dissent among dissident Covenanters across southwest Scotland. Affectionately known early on as "The Earl O'Mar's Grey Breeks" due to the distinctive hue of their uniforms, the regiment achieved elite status in 1685 when they were re-armed with the advanced flintlock musket, or fusil, officially becoming a premier fusilier unit. They later served under the Duke of Marlborough with such skill during the War of the Spanish Succession that they earned the nickname "The Duke of Marlborough's Own" and received the prestigious title "Royal" by 1712. Officially numbered as the 21st Regiment of Foot in 1751, the unit fought aggressively against the American Revolution at Ticonderoga and took part in the brutal trenches of the Western Front, Gallipoli, and Burma across both World Wars.