I’m guessing this is from the 1980s but any help in dating it further would be appreciated. 

Have you tried contacting Bates directly?

Just sent them an enquiry, thanks! 

I did receive a prompt response, but no answers. 
 

Dear Sir,

 

Thank you for your email.

 

I am very sorry that we are unable to help, would it be possible to give us more information and let us know where did you find this cap?

 

Many thanks,

Tim

9 minutes ago, MattS said:

I did receive a prompt response, but no answers. 
 

Dear Sir,

 

Thank you for your email.

 

I am very sorry that we are unable to help, would it be possible to give us more information and let us know where did you find this cap?

 

Many thanks,

Tim

Well that isn’t an answer😵‍💫. I see they also have a FB page.

Nope. I guess I’ll go with “circa 1980s” until someone proves me wrong. 

Hi Matt,

I know I'm stating the obvious here but the St. Edwards"s Crown (aka Queen's Crown) was technically used between June 1953 and September 2022. Regarding your cap, I think your cap may be earlier than 1980's.  RAF caps can be tough to date because the same style and basically the same color were used from pre WWII to present.  One of the reasons that I think yours maybe earlier than 1980's is the chin strap appears to be real leather.  From about the 1960's on the chin strap most commonly seen is made of a  synthetic leatherette/vinyl type material.  Also and I can't tell from your photos, are the side chin strap buttons plastic or cloth covered?  If cloth covered that would also indicate construction of the cap much earlier than the 1980's.  Sorry not a definitive answer but my observations anyhow.

That is great information! I am much more familiar with American military hats, and the further away you get from WW2, the more plastic, vinyl, and polyester you see used in caps. It makes sense the British are the same. I will inspect it closer when I get home and photograph it with another vintage RAF cap I have. Thanks! 

So I have a couple of more clues. The side buttons are black plastic, and there seems to be a name written on the sweat band that is very faint. “Trace” I think it says, and there is a hand written label under the sweatband with “X100 7 1/4 AW”. Obviously the size, not sure about the X100 or AW. 

Here it is with another RAF cap. It has a Queen’s crown, leather strap, fabric covered buttons, and was made by R.E. City Ltd. of London. I always thought this one was 1950-60s. 

Long shot, but Group Captain Mike Trace served in the RAF from 1969 to 2001. I think this hat predates his promotion to Group Captain in the 90s though.  

Matt,

I think you've found your man!  The key to the age of your cap lies with when he was promoted to Group Captain.

Thanks! I suppose this could be close to 35 years old if it was his cap in the early 90s.