Australian Slouch Hat
The Australian slouch hat of the Second World War was one of the most instantly recognisable pieces of headgear worn by any nation in that conflict. Officially known in army documents as the Hat, Khaki, Fur Felt (often abbreviated KFF), it was almost always made from rabbit-fur felt, shaped with a wide brim, and worn with one side turned up and secured. Wrapped around the crown of the hat was the cloth band called a puggaree, and on the turned up brim was mounted the famous Rising Sun hat badge.
The slouch hat did not have a single named “designer”. It developed naturally over time. The roots of it go back to the late Victorian colonial forces in Australia, especially mounted units who wanted a wide brim for sun protection but needed one side turned up so rifles could be carried high on the shoulder. By the early 20th century, and certainly by World War I, the slouch hat had become the Australian Army’s primary service hat. By World War II, it had become a national symbol.
During the Second World War, the slouch hat was worn mainly by the Australian Army — AIF and Militia — for general duties, parades, marching, and everyday wear when not in combat helmets. In hotter climates such as the Middle East and the Pacific, the brim was often left down for maximum shade. The Royal Australian Air Force also used slouch hats in certain units and bases, fitted with a different coloured puggaree.
Many Australian manufacturers made these hats. Akubra (the old Dunkerley Hat Mills) is the most famous name today. They were making large quantities of slouch hats in both world wars and remained a major supplier after the war ended. Other Australian hat manufacturers also produced them during WWII, including John Bardsley & Sons and Mountcastle, among others. Wartime production figures were never published as one complete, precise total — but considering the Australian Army alone had hundreds of thousands of servicemen passing through its ranks, and hats needed replacing due to wear, the numbers ran into the hundreds of thousands at minimum. Over the entire century, Akubra alone has made over two million military slouch hats.
The construction of the wartime hat was practical and suited to Australian conditions. The felt was usually rabbit fur, which shapes well and holds its form. The brim was bound on the edge, chinstraps were fitted, and there were small ventilation eyelets. A metal clip on the side held the brim up. The puggaree had pleats, which over time became seven pleats, which many people like to say represent the six states plus the combined territories. The Rising Sun badge went on the turned up brim, and a unit colour patch went on the cloth band.
There are many small customs and bits of heritage wrapped up in the slouch hat. The Australian Light Horse units famously used emu plumes with their hats in the First World War, and that tradition still appears in ceremonial use. At Duntroon (the Royal Military College), the slouch hat is worn with some unique traditions of its own which have become part of Australian military folklore.
