86 Marshall’s Horse slouch hat badge (CO1703)

86 : Marshall’s Horse slouch hat badge

1899 – 1902

Marshalls Horse Boer War slouch hat badge, brass cut out.

The regiment was created at the outbreak of the Boer War by combining the mounted infantry sections of two Eastern Cape volunteer units, the First City (Grahamstown) Volunteers and the Uitenhage Rifle Volunteers.

Initially, the unit used the abbreviation “1 C.V.” (First City Volunteers). However, this caused severe logistical confusion with the British “C.I.V.” (City of London Imperial Volunteers). To eliminate the mix-up, the unit was renamed after its first commanding officer, Major George Marshall CMG.