Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment (1947-1958 Pattern) Officer’s Silverplate and Enamel Beret Cap Badge

Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment officer’s beret badge in silverplate with dark blue enamel, produced in the pattern worn between 1947 and 1958 by commissioned officers of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment of the British Army. This British Army infantry officer’s beret badge displays the recognised regimental insignia in three-dimensional relief, incorporating a Maltese cross with ball-tipped points superimposed on an eight-pointed star of the Order of the Garter as the principal device, with a circular centre ring enclosing a dark blue enamelled disc bearing a hart crossing a ford in silver relief — the hart representing the county device of Hertfordshire — the circumference of the centre ring inscribed with the Garter motto “Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense” (French: “Shame on him who thinks evil of it”), and a lower scroll inscribed “BEDFORDSHIRE & HERTFORDSHIRE”. The officer’s pattern is distinguished from the other ranks’ white metal badge by the silverplate finish and the dark blue enamel to the central disc.

The regiment traces its origins to 1688 when it was raised as Colonel Sir John Hale’s Regiment of Foot at the command of King James II, and was ranked as the 16th Regiment of Foot in 1747. Following the First World War, during which large numbers of Hertfordshire men had served in the Bedfordshire Regiment rather than the separate Hertfordshire Regiment, the regiment’s title was extended to the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment in 1919, at which point the points of the Maltese cross were revised to carry ball tips in the form visible on this badge. The beret was introduced as standard service headdress across the British Army in 1947, at which point the beret badge replaced the earlier service dress cap badge as the primary everyday headdress badge, with the officer’s silverplate and enamel pattern being produced specifically for wear on the beret from that date. The regiment amalgamated with the Essex Regiment on 29 August 1958 to form the 3rd East Anglian Regiment (16th/44th Foot), at which point the regimental badge was superseded by the East Anglian Brigade badge.

Manufactured in silverplate with dark blue enamel to the central disc, consistent with British Army infantry officers’ beret badge production of the 1947 to 1958 period, this original example provides a well-preserved representation of the regimental badge in its definitive officer’s pattern. Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment officers’ silverplate beret badges are collected as examples of post-war British Army infantry officers’ uniform accessories, headdress insignia of the East Anglian antecedent regiments, and original officers’ militaria of the final decade of the regiment’s existence.

Dimensions Approx. 32mm height x 32mm width

Condition Good, with spots of tarnishing throughout