Thank you for the detailed reply. After running a number of searches it seems The Lovat Scouts is likely.


It was Wikipedia that gave me the following on the Sillitoe Tartan. With clear photographs of both black and white and blue and white. Although I understand that this hat may not have been issued to the Police as uniform there is clear evidence that both black & white and blue & white chequered dicing are used by them today.


Stating as follows:

'Sillitoe Tartan is the nickname given to the distinctive black and white chequered pattern which was originally associated with the police in Scotland, but which later spread to Australia, New Zealand, and the rest of the United Kingdom, as well as to some other places such as Chicago and Pittsburgh in the United States and in parts of Canada to distinguish members of the Auxiliary Police. Based on the diced bands seen on the Glengarries that are worn by several Scottish regiments of the British Army, the pattern was first adopted for police use in 1932 by Sir Percy Sillitoe, Chief Constable of the City of Glasgow Police

Sillitoe Tartan may be composed of several different colours and number of rows depending on local custom, but when incorporated into uniforms, or vehicle livery, serves to uniquely identify emergency services personnel to the public.'


'Black and white Sillitoe Tartan, commonly used for police in the United Kingdom (other than the City of London Police who use red and white).'

'Blue and white Sillitoe Tartan, commonly used for police in Australia and New Zealand.'


'The Sillitoe tartan was an exclusively Scottish phenomenon until introduced in South Australia in 1961.[2] From 1972, within the United Kingdom, the original black and white Scottish version began to rapidly spread throughout England and Wales and it is now used by all police forces in Great Britain.

Most forces use black and white chequered hat bands, however the City of London Police is unique in that it uses distinctive red and white chequers. The City of London Corporation also run the Hampstead Heath Constabulary and the Billingsgate Market Constabulary (who are no longer attested as constables but retain the historic title), who both also use red and white chequers. The Hammersmith and Fulham Parks Constabulary, whom are run by the local authority, also originally used red and white chequers in line with their corporate colours of the council but they reverted to the standard type.'

With regards to the blue and white.

Blue and white chequers are also associated with the police, and may be used on vehicles and signage. Subsequent to the launching of Battenburg markings on police vehicles in the 1990s, the police introduced retro-reflective versions of the Sillitoe tartan markings to their uniforms, usually in blue and white, rather than the blue and yellow used on vehicles.

Many police force’s have a sky blue and white Sillitoe Tartan hatband as part of their PCSOs uniform. This is as a result of moves by the trade union UNISON to develop a national law enforcemeent uniform within the UK.

As a result of this the blue and white Sillitoe Tartan has been taken up by a number of municipal organisations, including the London Borough of Newham Law Enforcement and Nottingham City Council Community Protection,who are accredited under the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme. It is also being taken on by a number of private security organisations (most notably Canary Wharf Security) in recognition that they are now part of the extended poling family.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sillitoe_Tartan

Cheers.

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Quote Originally Posted by The Wizard of BC View Post
I can't help with identifying if this is military issue or not but I can clear up a few points.

This is what is called a Balmoral style bonnet but does not have the standard rosette we use today.
Many Balmorals have some sort of dicing. This is the checkered pattern around the band. This dicing can be of many different colors including red/white, Red/black/white, etc.


This is not an uniform issue item for the police. It is also not the Sillitoe Tartan. Sillitoe is blue/white

The Scottish Tartans Authority has this to say about Sillitoe.

"This is the name given to the blue and white chequered band worn around their hats by many of the world's police forces. Strictly speaking it isn't a tartan and Sir Percy Sillitoe (Chief Constable of Glasgow) didn't design it - it had existed for about 100 years as an Heraldic symbol in many Scottish coats-of-arms. Highland soldiers are said to have woven white ribbons into their black hatbands, thus creating a chequered effect. Sir Percy - answering criticism that it was difficult for the public to differentiate between the police and bus conductors and other uniformed officials, introduced the three line chequered bands in 1932. The experiment was a success and the idea spread across the world with the ultimate accolade being its adoption by the European Union as the universal symbol of the police. Sir Percy was Director General of MI5 the UK's internal security service from 1946 to 1953."

I cannot comment on the usage of the word "Atholl" in reference to this type of Balmoral. I cannot find many contemporary photos of The Atholl Highlanders in anything but the fore and aft style bonnet called a Glangarry.
I did find photos of The Atholl Highlanders when they participated in the Braemar Gathering wearing Balmorals but without any dicing.
I can tell you that the current Atholl Highlanders are not part of the British Army. They are a ceremonial unit under the employ of Duke of Atholl and as such are the last European private army.
They would not get their uniforms from British Army stores.

It would seem possible that you have a bonnet from the Lovat Scouts. Many old photos show them in Balmorals similar to yours.

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