18/06/2026
The bearskin cap has become intrinsic to the image of the Guards, and even London itself. But what came before? To mark the anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, we are spotlighting an object from our Waterloo exhibit – THE SHAKO CAP.
The word shako comes from the Hungarian of 'csákó', meaning peak cap. They were developed following a 1799 order that “the use of hats is to be entirely abolished throughout the whole of the Infantry”, to be replaced by caps.
Shakos were typically made from hardened felt (or in the case of officers, beaver fur, an expensive woollen material of the period) and had a visor. Visors were thought to be implemented to shield soldiers' eyes from the sun and for rain protection. Shakos would have been worn by infantry soldiers in the Battle of Waterloo – this example is an officer’s shako of the 3rd Guards (later Scots Guards). The 1812-1815 pattern shako acquired several names including the 'Wellington', the 'Belgique' and, more popularly and much later, the 'Waterloo' shako.
After the Battle of Waterloo, this shako was superseded by the Regency design. It is a great example of the evolution of the British army uniform, and helps to understand the significant moments in the history of the Guards as we know them today.
#1815
