In 1946 the exhibition “Partisans of Ukraine in the Fight against the German-fascist invaders” was opened in Kyiv which among other things laid the foundation for the War Museum’s fund collection. Among exhibits was a side cap that belonged to the uniform of the Royal Hungarian Army. It was most likely used from the late 1930s to 1945 by officers, staff personnel, artillerymen, administrative or technical units, and sometimes graduates of military schools (they had the right to wear the ceremonial insignia even in field uniform).
Nowadays original samples with a fully preserved emblem are a great rarity since after 1945 such side caps were most often confiscated, reworked or destroyed as “monarchic”.
The side cap is made of green woolen fabric, a green lining, the edge is hemmed with yellow leather. Two metal buttons in front, above them – a patch of golden braid and lace, a cockade. A triangular patch of red cloth with three horizontal cords framed by embroidered laurel branches is clearly visible on the left side of the side cap. The red patch in the form of a triangle is a symbol of the command staff, three cord loops are a sign of officer or sergeant rank, and laurel branches are a traditional symbol of military honor and belonging to the elite army. There were almost no two absolutely identical side caps since embroidery was often done manually or semi-manually that’s why the emblems differed slightly from each other. Individual orders from officers were a common occurrence at that time.