The hackle is a clipped feather plume that is attached to a military headdress.
In the British Army and the armies of some Commonwealth countries the hackle is worn by some infantry regiments, especially those designated as fusilier regiments and those with Scottish and Northern Irish origins. The colour of the hackle varies from regiment to regiment. It is traditionally taken from the neck of the cock vulture.
The hackle should not be confused with the much longer set of feathers commonly attached to the feather bonnet worn by Highland regiments (now usually only worn by drummers, pipers and bandsmen).
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In the modern British Army, there is a single regiment of fusiliers, plus a battalion of a large regiment. Hackle colours are:
There were several other fusilier regiments which have been amalgamated and no longer exist. The hackle colours worn were as follows:
Other Ranks of the Royal Welsh, the regiment that was formed by the amalgamation of the Royal Welch Fusiliers and Royal Regiment of Wales, continue to wear the white hackle of the RWF.
The fictional regiment featured in the series Soldier Soldier is also a fusilier regiment:
Non-fusilier regiments which wear the hackle are:
Following the amalgamation of the regiments of the Scottish Division to form The Royal Regiment of Scotland on 28 March 2006, the following hackles are being worn by the regiment's constituent battalions:
Whilst the white hackle of 2 SCOTS, red hackle of 3 SCOTS and blue hackle of 4 SCOTS have a known ancestry, the origin of 1 SCOTS black hackle and 5 SCOTS green hackle are not clear and have no apparent precedent. It may be that the black hackle of 1 SCOTS simulates the black-cock tail feathers originally worn in the 1904 pattern Kilmarnock Bonnet and latterly in the regimental Glengarry Cap by the Royal Scots and King's Own Scottish Borderers, who merged in August 2006 to form 1 SCOTS. Alternatively, it may be a sympathetic gesture to a former Lowland regiment, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), who went into 'suspended animation' in 1968 (and later disbanded), who wore a black hackle in their rifle green dress Balmoral. The adoption of the green hackle now being worn by the Argylls battalion (5 SCOTS) is no doubt a continuation of that regiment's association with the colour green, most prominent in the hue of their regimental kilts and stripes on their regimental association ties. (It is, however, worthy of note that in the 19th Century, all line regiments of the British Army used to designate their "light company" with a green hackle.)[1] The Regimental Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland does not wear the hackle. However, the Highland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland (Territorial Army) continues to wear the red hackle with the Tam o' Shanter.
Former non-fusilier regiments, now amalgamated, which also wore the hackle were:
There are also several fusilier regiments in the Canadian Army which wear the hackle (the French-speaking fusilier regiments do not appear to do so):
Scottish-influenced non-fusilier regiments which wear the hackle include:
Irish-influenced non-fusilier regiments which wear the hackle (on the caubeen) include:
In the Indian Army, a few selected infantry regiments wear the hackle:
Scottish- and Irish-influenced regiments which wear the hackle include: