Original Item: Only One Available. This is a fantastic example of the famed WWII Australian Style Slouch Hat. While these were iconic pieces of headgear for Australian and South African Forces many others had adopted them. The cap has a wonderful outward appearance with a heavily worn interior resulting in the detachment of the leather sweatband and the breaking of the leather chinstrap.
A slouch hat is a wide-brimmed felt or cloth hat most commonly worn as part of a military uniform, often, although not always, with a chinstrap. It has been worn by military personnel from many different nations including Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Canada, India, New Zealand, Southern Rhodesia, France, the United States, the Confederate States, Germany and many others. Australia and New Zealand have had various models of slouch hat as standard issue headwear since the late Victorian period.
The front of the cap features a wonderful and correct insignia for the Sudanese Armed Forces. The insignia consists of a voided center showing the head of a ‘White Rhinoceros’ in the center, surrounded by ‘Palm Fonds’ – with Arabic lettering beneath. The ‘Rhino’ badge mirrored the official Sudanese State Crest / Logo used in the period between Sudan becoming independent (1 January 1956), through to the time of the Revolution (Coup d’Etat’) of 25 May 1969.
A wonderful example ready for further research and display.