Queen’s Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) officer’s glengarry badge in silver plate, produced in the Queen’s Crown pattern worn from 1961 to 1994 by commissioned officers of the Queen’s Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) of the British Army. This Scottish Highland infantry officer’s headdress badge is constructed as a three-piece silver-plated badge, the lower pieces comprising a stag’s head caboshed — presented without a neck, facing forward — above a scroll inscribed “CUIDICH ‘N RIGH” (Scottish Gaelic: “Help the King”) and the upper piece comprising a thistle flower between two flanking leaves surmounted by a Queen’s Crown — St Edward’s Crown — set between the antlers of the stag’s head. The officer’s pattern is produced in three-dimensional silver plate with crisp modelling of the stag’s antlers, the thistle flower, and the crown, distinguishing it from the other ranks’ flat-struck anodised aluminium two-piece badge of the same device. The reverse carries two loops to the thistle upper piece and four loops to the stag’s head lower piece, consistent with the construction of a two-piece Highland officer’s glengarry badge as specified in the sealed pattern.
The regiment was formed on 7 February 1961 at Redford Barracks, Edinburgh, through the amalgamation of the 1st Battalion Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany’s) and the 1st Battalion Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, as part of the defence restructuring announced in the 1957 Defence White Paper. The badge device was carefully designed to unite the heraldic identities of both predecessor regiments: the stag’s head caboshed and the motto scroll “Cuidich ‘n Righ” were taken directly from the cap badge of the Seaforth Highlanders, deriving from the arms of the Earls of Seaforth – the Mackenzie chiefs of Kintail – whose family had raised both the 72nd and the 78th Foot from which the Seaforths descended. The ensigned thistle with the Queen’s Crown was taken from the collar badge of the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, itself deriving from the Royal Badge of Scotland granted to the 79th Foot by Queen Victoria in 1873 when she conferred upon them the title “Queen’s Own”. The combination of the two devices on a single badge thus preserves the specific identity of each predecessor regiment in equal measure. The regiment served with distinction throughout its existence, including operations in Brunei in 1962, multiple tours of Northern Ireland during the Troubles between 1971 and 1992, and service in the Gulf War of 1991 during which three Queen’s Own Highlanders were among eleven British soldiers killed in a friendly fire incident involving US A-10 aircraft. The regiment was amalgamated with the 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders on 17 September 1994 to form The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons), which adopted the Queen’s Own Highlanders badge as its own — giving the badge a continuous wear life from 1961 to 2006, though your listing correctly identifies the Queen’s Own Highlanders period of 1961 to 1994 as the primary attribution.
Manufactured in silver plate consistent with the British Army Scottish Highland infantry officer’s glengarry badge production of the 1961 to 1994 period, this example provides a well-defined representation of the officer’s headdress badge of the Queen’s Own Highlanders as worn throughout the regiment’s thirty-three-year existence. Queen’s Own Highlanders officer’s silver glengarry badges are collected as examples of Scottish Division Highland infantry officer’s uniform accessories, silver headdress insignia of the amalgamated Seaforth and Cameron tradition, and original officer’s militaria of one of the last of the great Scottish Highland infantry regiments.
Dimensions
Approx. 78mm height x 61mm width
Condition
Good overall original condition, with crisp detailing and a well-preserved finish. Reverse fittings remain intact and secure. No significant damage or repairs evident.
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