Red tunics

The red tunics ( british: red coat ) is the nickname given to the troops of the British army at the time of the period spreading out between the creation of the the United Kingdom (1707) and the First World War in 1914. It refers to the British uniform of the time which was at the beginning a long scarlet red coat.

The nickname of red tunics (or red coat ) is now a reference at the time where the British wars were imperialists and colonial.

Origin

Since the Middle Ages, the red is frequently found in the British uniforms. Nevertheless it is necessary to wait several centuries so that the uniform is generalized and put before in the army. It takes then approximately two centuries to become the red tunics. It is important to consider here that some Vassaux had only little clothing and that to dress them for the war was not always profitable for the lords. Also the armament of the Fantassins is not always comparable, whereas some can be provided with a armor and sword S in Fer, others is satisfied with a fork and fights barefeet. At that time the idea have just made carry a standard by the units of infantrymen. Thereafter come a standard by infantryman, then a uniform for certain military careers. The regular uniform was founded about the middle of the 16th century. It is also advisable to note that the army employed voluntary militia not carrying a uniform until the middle of the 19th century.

Color

The uniform which was initially a long coat of scarlet red color having two properties; the red color symbolizing the England acts political as symbol vis-a-vis the Scotland, the British Isles and the colonial empire. The scarlet red finds its origin like symbol in the floral emblem ( pink scarlet or pink tudors ) of the Maison of Lancaster, being seen then in the house of Tudors then becoming symbol of British monarchy. N the other hand the kingdoms under the British aegis had like symbols the Chardon for Scotland and the Trèfle for the Ireland. By doing this the pink and its color were symbolically strong and oppressive.

To note that the cross of Saint-George raised on the flag of England is also red scarlet.

The red also made it possible at the time of a combat to create a confusion for the enemy when with the number of wounded soldiers, the scarlet red being same color as blood. It was an asset largely used at the time of pitched battles, whereas the majority of the other European powers of the time raised white uniforms, black, blue, gray.

Evolution

In the beginnings of the use of the red tunic, this one went as a long coat, accompanied by a shirt with long fringes, a tricorn and black boots of horsemanship. These last remained, the hat adapted to the climate (in Australia the telly hat was adopted, with the Canada one ends up using a stetson and in Southern Africa a crash helmet was possibly used). The tunic in oneself also evolved/moved, passing from a trench coat with a coat with the size, or a simple jacket in certain cases. It is clear that the evolution of the tunic, in addition to adapting to the climate, also reflected the evolution of the armament and the style of combat studied by the British officers. Thus in 1756 with the Bataille of Strong Chime the red tunics were used in pitched battles armed with Mousquet S. At the time of the Guerre of Boers, put with share the many skirmishes characterizing this war, the rifle S did not have to be reloaded with each drawn salvo, only rearmed, and the strategies rested more on the loads of cavalries and the quartering of the troops, the tunic then went a such jacket to the size. Its use was abolished in 1902 for the regular troops of infantry to be replaced by a uniform Kaki in order to better melt itself with the landscape (in particular for the war of Boers). The use of the red tunics was preserved nevertheless for the use of the uniforms of ceremonies and those of the officers and the cavalry until 1914 when the red tunic disappeared from the British uniform.

Heritage

Certain police or military bodies of the the Commonwealth have today a uniform of ceremony taking as a starting point the red tunics; inter alia let us quote the royal Gendarmerie of Canada (GRC) as well as the Queen' S guard of England.

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