Now Forming! the Campaign Hat Corps

[Big Man]

Here are some interesting looking campaign hat styles. This old photo belonged to my great uncle Briscoe Brown (in the photo with his back to the camera and a check mark over his head). Great uncle Briscoe joined the Army in 1909 and served until 1912. He served a second enlistment during the War from 1917 until 1919. This is the only "campaign hat" photo I have of him.

 

[Big Man]

Another campaign hat photo. This is my great uncle Malcolm E. Jimerson. Malcolm volunteered for service during the Spanish American War. He died of typhoid fever at camp in Savannah, GA in 1898.

 

[Big Man]

My grandfather, Will Brown (1877-1932). My granddad volunteered during the Philippine Insurrection in 1899 and saw active duty in the Philippines. This photo of him was taken in 1902 in Manila, PI. He's holding his campaign hat in the photo.

 

[Jedi5150]

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Here are some interesting looking campaign hat styles. This old photo belonged to my great uncle Briscoe Brown (in the photo with his back to the camera and a check mark over his head). Great uncle Briscoe joined the Army in 1909 and served until 1912. He served a second enlistment during the War from 1917 until 1919. This is the only "campaign hat" photo I have of him.

Awesome photos, and a family history to be very proud of. Thanks for sharing!
The very narrow pinched center crease with side dents, as seen in the first photo, seems to have been a very popular style. When you see photos of Australian soldiers in WWII, their slouch hats are almost always in that style.

 

[Big Man]

 

[Jedi5150]

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That was nice of you to let Robert Duvall borrow your campaign hat!

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

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Mountain Laurel, Campaign hat, beautiful stream=flyfishing for trout!!
Bowen

 

[David Conwill]

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That is EXACTLY how a campaign hat is supposed to look. None of this glass-flat-brim, too-small, tilted-forward-on-your-head business. Bravo!

 

[fireman]

That is EXACTLY how a campaign hat is supposed to look. None of this glass-flat-brim, too-small, tilted-forward-on-your-head business. Bravo!

I would not say that to this man.

 

[David Conwill]

I wouldn't have much of anything to say to that man. And I still think he looks ridiculous.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

^^^^there’s a reason they are worn just like that but i don’t think you know the special handshake fella.
B

 

[Jedi5150]

^^^^there’s a reason they are worn just like that but i don’t think you know the special handshake fella.
B

I'm sure there's a reason, but I agree with David, I don't care for the look. I do admit that it looks more professional, when a uniformed person wears it that way, but it still looks a bit goofy to me. The best way I can describe it is like the furry hats the guards wear at Buckingham Palace...professional, yes...good looking, no.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I'm sure there's a reason, but I agree with David, I don't care for the look. I do admit that it looks more professional, when a uniformed person wears it that way, but it still looks a bit goofy to me. The best way I can describe it is like the furry hats the guards wear at Buckingham Palace...professional, yes...good looking, no.

Have you tried wearing a Beefeaters’ hat while fly fishing? Not an easy thing to do, but you do get a lot of real estate to hang your flies on to.


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[Big Man]

I got this Spanish American War era (reproduction) hat back in the 1970s. It served me well for many years and a lot of hard miles on the trails through the mountains. I "retired" this hat well over 25 years ago, but decided to get it back in service. I wore it on a nice long hike today. Except for the sweatband being almost non-existent, it's in remarkable shape for a hat it's age. I don't know how many more miles are in it, but I'm going to get as many as I can out of it for as long as I can.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

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I got this Spanish American War era (reproduction) hat back in the 1970s. It served me well for many years and a lot of hard miles on the trails through the mountains. I "retired" this hat well over 25 years ago, but decided to get it back in service. I wore it on a nice long hike today. Except for the sweatband being almost non-existent, it's in remarkable shape for a hat it's age. I don't know how many more miles are in it, but I'm going to get as many as I can out of it for as long as I can.

I love a well-used hat with lots of honest miles on it.

My philosophy is that old hats don’t die, they get sent off to VS for a complete rebuild.


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[Big Man]

I did a little fly fishing today and my old campaign hat served me well.

 

[cm289]

A smattering of Stetson BSA Scoutmaster/Campaign hats (plus one WWII-era US Army in the back with a BSA pin on it).

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[AbbaDatDeHat]

A smattering of Stetson BSA Scoutmaster/Campaign hats (plus one WWII-era US Army in the back with a BSA pin on it).

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Quite the Smokey collection!
Nice!

 

[Greencanoes]

I have been wearing the original Aussie "campaign" hat for years - the slouch hat, but having joined the Legion of Frontiersmen here in Australia, I've needed to run a proper lemon-squeezer, "mountie" style hat as part of the ceremonial and service dress uniforms.

Here's some pics of my respective headwear...

The original and best - a 2005 Mountcastle Australian Army "Hat, Khaki Fur Felt", civilianised by the addition of a WPG RCMP hatband. This one has seen a LOT of country and done thousands of miles on my head.

Next up was a bit of a mistake. A new-manufacture, UK-sourced Baden Powell scout leader's hat. It's the right basic configuration, with the "dent" facing the front, and the leather thong hatband is a nice touch, but they cut some corners - the sweatband and hatband are vinyl(!!!) and the brim, which is supposed to be 9cm wide, it only about 7cm as you can see from the photo when compared to a Biltmore hat. I will retain it for field use during bushcraft and bush survival training with the Legion, but for ceremonial use? Not a chance. This hat will end up squashed and bent, and will probably develop a pronounced droop in the brim like the slouch hat has.

The real deal - a Canadian made RCMP pattern "Hat, Felt" made by Biltmore in 2011. Biltmore made some 850 of these for the RCMP that year, so this was either one of those, or it was a contract overrun. The hat band was not correct, so I swapped it out for the WPG RCMP hat band which is a good deal closer to being correct to RCMP specs. This hat, fitted with the WPG RCMP hat band and No. 1 staybrite Legion of Frontiersmen hat badge is purely for ceremonial use.

 

[David Conwill]

Great stuff, @Greencanoes ! I've never cared for the Australian Army hat, but yours looks amazing. That treatment makes all the difference.