STABLEBELTS.CO.UK

5TH WELLINGTON WEST COAST AND TARANAKI
BATTALION GROUP

BELT COLOURS - black with yellow, red, green and mauve stripes (similar to belt used by the Royal Hampshire Regiment)

OTHER INFORMATION

The 5th Wellington, West Coast and Taranaki Battalion Group has two regimental belts, one for officers and warrant officers and another for soldiers:

The officers and warrant officers belt is black with central stripes of red, green, yellow, mauve, and red. This belt is provided through unit non-public funds.

The Group’s soldiers below the rank of warrant officer wear a black belt that has central stripes of yellow, red, green, and mauve.

In 1973 the New Zealand Army phased out the old web pattern belt and adopted stable, corps, and regimental belts. Each corps, regiment, and battalion (in the case of the infantry) became eligible to wear a belt. The 5th Battalion applied to wear the Royal Hampshire Regiment’s belts.

The colours on these regimental belts have significance and stem from the regimental colours and the colours of the lace and facings on the uniforms of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment – the colours of the new regiment being yellow, red, green and mauve (in that order) on a black background. These colours are the combination of those from the 37th and the 67th. The colours of the 37th were yellow and black (the Duke of Orange’s streamer) with a lace of yellow and red, and the colours of the 67th were yellow and crimson with a lace of yellow, green, and mauve. Both regiments wore yellow facings and therefore yellow became the senior colour and accordingly the soldier’s belt is the right way up when the yellow is to the top.

With thanks to George Pearson

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