Rhodesian Beret

[Kia kaha]

These pictures will show what a 1970s era issue beret made in Botswana should look like,

this beret was worn by Internal Affairs.

air vent reinforcement, black cotton liner no markings

 

Rhodesian Corps of Engineers

badge protector 

Rhodesia Corps of Engineers 

[Kia kaha]

Rhodesian Artillery Officers beret

Rhodesian Psychological Operations Regiment

[RRA227]

Great items.  Rich A. in Pa.

[Kadet]

Nice items, and thanks for posting them. In the pre-UDI period, Rhodesians typically wore British-made berets. These can often be found with a combination of British and Rhodesian markings. For units whose existence spanned the pre-UDI and Bush War eras, the British made examples were used up until the end in 1980, albeit with an insignia change if appropriate. Berets procured after UDI were typically made somewhat locally in Botswana because of the heavy trade sanctions placed on Rhodesia by the UN and other countries. The Botswana berets run pretty true to form, but there were slight variations. Some were manufactured with a clear plastic insert which housed the maker label and size sticker. These were quite often removed by the wearer, as was the cloth lining itself. The second picture of your INTAF beret seems to show remnants of the plastic. I have a beret that is identical to the typical Botswana example except the metal grommets themselves are smaller and it has a piece of leather vice the cloth-backed vinyl flap. South African-made berets were also worn, and it is logical to assume that examples made elsewhere in the world were probably scrounged and used during the UDI period, as long as the color matched.  

[williamsmilitaryrelics]

Nice berets, IA & Psy-Ops are hard to find in the US market.

[RhodesianMilitaria]

On 2/12/2022 at 9:26 PM, Kadet said:

Nice items, and thanks for posting them. In the pre-UDI period, Rhodesians typically wore British-made berets. These can often be found with a combination of British and Rhodesian markings. For units whose existence spanned the pre-UDI and Bush War eras, the British made examples were used up until the end in 1980, albeit with an insignia change if appropriate. Berets procured after UDI were typically made somewhat locally in Botswana because of the heavy trade sanctions placed on Rhodesia by the UN and other countries. The Botswana berets run pretty true to form, but there were slight variations. Some were manufactured with a clear plastic insert which housed the maker label and size sticker. These were quite often removed by the wearer, as was the cloth lining itself. The second picture of your INTAF beret seems to show remnants of the plastic. I have a beret that is identical to the typical Botswana example except the metal grommets themselves are smaller and it has a piece of leather vice the cloth-backed vinyl flap. South African-made berets were also worn, and it is logical to assume that examples made elsewhere in the world were probably scrounged and used during the UDI period, as long as the color matched.  

The origin of the berets is quite complicated. The berets from the 60s were predominantly from the UK including the ones stamped with RNG (Rhodesia Nyasaland Government). However, this changed when Rhodesia became a republic and most of the berets were made by Botswana Cap & Helmet Mfg's which were actually made in South Africa. Botswana Cap & Helmet Mfg was used as a front because of the sanctions. There were only two variations of these berets, one lined with plastic with the Botswana logo and the other lined with black cotton material with a very small gold circular sticker with the size of the beret in metric. Both had eyelets.