Cabar Feidh

Left; The Cypher of Frederick Duke
of Albany (1763-1827), Right; The
cypher of Leopold Duke of Albany
(1881-1884)
From left; Other Ranks, Serjeants and Warrant Officers, Chief-Warrant
and Commissioned Officers badges. Note the correct orientation of
the tartan (white and red lines ‘horizontal’ rather than ‘vertical’) and
the intersection of the red and white lines is just above the top of the
head
to have a distinctive cap-badge for
Serjeants and Warrant-Officers.
This is because when Lord
Seaforth raised the 72nd Foot in
1778, the number of gentlemen who
applied for commissions exceeded
the number of positions available.
The unsuccessful applicants
accepted employment as Serjeants
but they were every bit as aristocratic
and professional as the officers -
and it was for this reason that they
founded the world’s first Serjeant’s
Mess! This was remembered (or
perhaps ‘acknowledged’) when the
stag’s-head badge was adopted for
use in 1881.
Serjeants and Warrant
Officers wear a 3-d silver ‘Hector’
with a separate banner bearing the
words “Cuidich n’ Righ” (simply
referred to as the ‘motto’).
One soldier is annually
selected by the Commanding Officer
(on the advice of the Regimental
Serjeant-Major) as ‘Soldier of the
Year’ and that soldier is presented
with a Sergeant’s cap badge, which
he (or she) is then entitled to wear
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for the rest of his service regardless
of what rank he may eventually
achieve.
‘Commissioned’ and ‘Chief
Warrant’ Officers wear the same
badge as the Serjeants but with the
addition of the Coronet and Cypher
of Leopold, Duke of Albany, Colonelin-Chief
of the regiment from 1881-
1884. The Coronet and Cypher of
Frederick Duke of Albany (1763-
1827) is borne on the Regimental
Colour and various pieces of Mess
silver.
**The possessive apostrophe
is correct because although the
OFFICAL name was “HM 72nd
Regiment of Foot” it was referred
to by all but the most bureaucratic
as “Lord Seaforth’s Highland
Regiment”.
From 1881 until amalgamation
the (British) Seaforth Highlanders
lobbied to change the name back
to “Lord Seaforth’s Highlanders”
- which is why our brass shouldertitles
read “Seaforth’s”.
One Hundred Years of ‘Hectors’: Left to Right; pre-1910 Officer’s badge
(possibly 78th Highlanders/2ndSeaforth), ca.1910-1939 Officer’s,
ca.1910-1939 Serjeant’s, ca.1939-1960s Officers and Serjeants,
ca.1974-present Officers and Serjeants. The difference in design is the
result of different moulds used by the various Regimental Jewelers
over the years