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Buckingham guards' bearskins face their Waterloo
August 13, 1997
Web posted at: 7:46 p.m. EDT (2346 GMT)LONDON (AP) -- Worn since the Napoleonic wars and still loved by tourists who crowd to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, the British army's towering bearskin hat may be about to meet its Waterloo.
The Ministry of Defense said Wednesday it has ordered a search for synthetic alternatives to bearskin, because of its concern for the welfare of the Canadian brown bear. Bearskin hat lovers countered that only skins from culled bears are used.
Past attempts to produce fake bearskin have ended in disaster. "When it rained the hats became rather bedraggled -- like a bad hair day," said ministry spokesman Maj. Michael Devlin.
"They were also subject to static electricity which was rather embarrassing when they passed under (electricity) pylons."
Devlin said defense minister Lord Gilbert took a personal interest in animal rights issues and wanted to see bearskin phased out as soon as a substitute could be found.
Five elite infantry regiments -- the Coldstream, Scots, Welsh, Irish and Grenadier guards -- wear the well-known bearskin hats. They were adopted to commemorate Britain's victory in 1815 over Napoleon's forces at Waterloo, where France's elite troops, the Imperial Guard, had worn bearskins to appear more intimidating.
Soldiers today wear the 18-inch (45-centimeter) bearskin, which weighs around 1 1/2 pounds (665 grams), for ceremonial duties and to guard royal residences like Buckingham Palace and St. James' Palace in London and Windsor Castle, Queen Elizabeth II's weekend home west of the capital. Soldiers in bearskins also protect the Tower of London.
The bearskins come from Canada's brown bear, culled by Inuit hunters under an agreement with the Canadian government. The army says the bears are culled anyway and that no bears are killed solely to provide the bearskins.
One senior officer said his regiment would fight any move to replace the bearskin.
"I am not sure exactly what the problem is," said Gen. Sir Willie Rous of the Coldstream Guards. "The bearskin is available and the animals are not endangered, indeed they are culled. The bearskin is genuine and it is traditional.
"It also lasts a very, very long time. I wear one I got through my family. One officer I know has one that is at least 100 years old and was worn by his father and grandfather," said Rous.
Iain Duncan-Smith, a lawmaker in the main opposition Conservative Party and a former Scots guardsman, agreed.
"When we tried synthetic hats they frizzed up," he told The Financial Times.
Devlin said the army had gradually found alternatives to skin and fur regimental uniforms and decorations such as leopard skin sashes, animal drum skins and some fur hats, "except where we have kept the old animal skins."
But "not even the fashion industry has come up with a wearable alternative" to bearskin, he said.
"We are determined that any substitute will come up to the mark and look the same as the foot guard's bearskin, which is known the world over and synonymous with the British army," Devlin said.
Copyright 1997 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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