Facing colour
A facing colour, also known as facings, is a common tailoring technique for European military uniforms where the visible inside lining of a standard military jacket, coat or tunic is of a different colour to that of the garment itself.[1][2] The jacket lining evolved to be of different coloured material, then of specific hues. Accordingly, when the material was turned back on itself: the cuffs, lapels and tails of the jacket exposed the contrasting colours of the lining or facings, enabling ready visual distinction of different units: regiments, divisions or battalions each with their own specific and prominent colours. The use of distinctive facings for individual regiments was at its most popular in 18th century armies, but standardisation within infantry branches became more common during and after the Napoleonic Wars.[2][3][4]
The standard red jacket ("redcoat") worn by British infantry soldiers from the mid-17th century made it difficult to distinguish between units engaged in battle. The use of colour assisted soldiers in rallying on a common point, and each regiment had a flag, or colour, in a specific shade so as to be easily distinguished. The lining of uniform jackets came to be made from material of the same regimental colours, and turning back the material at the cuffs, lapels and tails of the jacket exposed the lining, or "facing". Most European armies adopted facings during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. By the 19th century, for reasons of economy, coat linings had become a universal white or black and distinctive regimental facings were reduced to collars and cuffs sewn on to the basic garment. [8]
The tradition of associating particular colours with specific regiments continued into the 20th century, even when the general use of red tunics ceased in favor of khaki. Facings remained a part of the ceremonial uniforms retained by Household troops, bandsmen, officers and other limited categories after World War I. The practice was also adopted by Commonwealth military units that adopted dress distinctions from affiliated units of the British Army.
In 1881 an attempt was made, as an economy measure, to standardise facing colours for British infantry regiments (other than the four rifle regiments who wore dark green uniforms) according to the following system:
While this standardisation made the manufacturing and replacement of uniforms simpler, it proved unpopular amongst the army at large. Some regiments (such as the Buffs and Green Howards) derived their names or nicknames from the colour of their facings and the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (who had red facings) lost their claim to be the only truly red-coated regiment in the British Army.
So widespread was opposition to the order, and so frequent the requests for special exceptions to be made, that the scheme in its original form was finally dropped and the historic colours were re-instated in a number of regiments, until full dress for the Army as a whole finally vanished with the coming of war in 1914. While many regiments did continue with their new 1881 facings, instances where reversion to traditional colours was approved included:[9]
Even after World War I this tendency to revert to historic facings continued, although by that time the scarlet uniforms were normally worn only by regimental bands and by officers in mess and levee dress. As examples, the Norfolk Regiment regained its former yellow facings in 1925 and the North Staffordshire Regiment its pre-1881 black facings in 1937.[10]
In the Royal Artillery and various supporting corps, full dress tunics that were worn up until 1914 were actually dark blue, sometimes with facings in other colours, including red for the artillery. Today, the Royal Bermuda Regiment, a 1965 amalgam of the Bermuda Militia Artillery (part of the Royal Regiment of Artillery) and the Bermuda Rifles wears dark blue No. 1 Dress with red facings, recalling its Royal Artillery heritage, while the drummers of its band wear red tunics with black facings (recalling the black facings, buttons and equipment worn by rifle units, which had mostly worn rifle green tunics).