A 26th Hussars Officer’s Side Hat – a familiar ‘hawk” but spot the difference!

The 26th Hussars were raised at Meerut, India in June 1941 from a cadre of officers and NCOs of the 14th/20th King’s Hussars. Lieutenant Colonel John B. Norton was appointed to command the regiment and the cap badge was the 14th/20th Hussars Prussian eagle with Orb and Sceptre reversed.

The 26th Hussars remained in India and were not involved in any fighting before being disbanded in October 1943. Soldiers were transferred to the 3rd Carabiniers, or into units that were part of General Orde Wingate’s Chindits in Burma.

Stanley Gibbons, who served as an officer with the 26th Hussars, later reminisced: “It was an undoubted tragedy in one respect that the 26th was disbanded. We thought, and I believe we were, the best trained of the armoured units at that time. We were also a happy regiment with a good and caring C.O. who I don’t think recovered from the blow of losing what in effect was his baby. He’d raised, trained and looked after us all through difficult times.”

(With thanks to the Noah’s Arc for Stanley’s account).