"56th British Rgtl Flag" Topic

Hi, the 56th had purple facings..but I've yet to see an illustration of their regimental flag, or even a photo of said batallion on a wargames table..
Would the rgt have really carried a purple flag ? (I'm assuming the bluish hue, like Vallejo Lie de Vin, rather than the reddish, true Roman purple, or am I barking up the wrong flagpole??)
Anyone out there got info? Comments?? Thanks!

The 56th (West Essex) Regiment of Foot, a unit of the British Army that existed from 1755 to 1881, was nicknamed "The Pompadours", as the purple facing of the regiment's uniform was allegedly Pompadour's favourite colour. Some soldiers of the regiment preferred to claim that it was the colour of her underwear.

This regiment started off it's life with dark red facings
but in 1764 several changes were made in the clothing and equipment of certain regiments of infantry; and a communication, dated Dublin, October 9, made known to the regiment:
"His Majesty's pleasure, that the facings of the clothing of the Fifty-Sixth Regiment of Foot, under the command of major-general Keppel, be changed to a purple colour; that the men have white breeches; that the accoutrements be white; and that the grenadier caps be plated instead of embroidered…"

More precisely the distinctive colour was called "Pompadour" purple, a dark purple. I suspect that purple was quite close to the dark red they had previously used.

I am sure that the Regimental flag would have been purple as that was the habit of the British army but I have never seen one either.

There's a picture of the colours from a regimental history at link – but don't get your hopes up, it's (a) black-and-white and (b) not well reproduced. However the copy of the same book at archive.org/details/cihm_48495 (also monochrome) says that it's "Filmed from a copy of the original publication held by the National Library of Canada" – perhaps you could ask them?

Further to de Ligne's point, this article about the development of dyeing techniques and colours in the eighteenth century – interestingly, the patent discussed was issued at almost exactly the time the 56th adopted "pompadour" facings – points out that pompadour was a range of colours, from a "deep purplish brick red" to a lighter pink. The former colour seems more likely for the regiment's facings than a conventional purple:

"As the name for a color, pompadour disappears and reappears from color lists until the early twentieth century with no remarkable regularity. Like nankeen reference, it was clearly not one color but several. Color charts and other descriptions indicate that pompadour could range from a deep purplish-brick color to a silvery pink, and it was used for textiles, paints, and porcelain."

link

The article also indicates any association with Mme Pompadour herself is untrue. Elsewhere on the same site is a very interesting piece on Prussian Blue as well.

For some reason no British unit seems to have worn eau de nil facings, which is a major missed opportunity.

If the purple facings of the 56th were very nearly red, they might have followed the practice of units with red facings where the regimental colour was the red cross on a white field (Saint George's Cross).

If you know the uniform of the drummers of the 56th, this might give you a clue. If the drummer's had white uniforms then St George's cross is a good bet. If the drummer had purple uniforms then I would bet on a purple Regimental Colour.

What I can find out is that the drummers had purple uniforms and GurKhan link doesn't show a cross.

So in answer to your question I would say…

Yes they really carried a purple flag.

EDIT: Yes they really carried a purple flag – we just don't know what shade of purple it was!

They didn't carry a purple colour; they carried a pompadour one. We just don't know what colour pompadour actually was.

The regimental museum website of the Royal Anglian Regiment shows a photograph of the "Colour Sergeants, 2nd Battalion The Essex Regiment with the old 56th Pompadour regimental colours, c. 1890s." Of course this is later and black and white but shows the colour without a cross. link (Clink on the tab for the Essex Regiment).

It might pay to get in touch with the Royal Anglians' museum.

de Ligne, not wishing to hijack the thread, are you aware of a general source for the 1764 changes you referred to, as applying to other regiments? This is something I need to look into? Many thanks.

Although the detail is from an original uniform of around 1830, the dyes would probably have been similar. The Regimental colour should be that of the facing colour.

Paul :)

Good find. I stand corrected.

Audacious. Would any designer put those three shades together today

Contemporary William Loftie illustration

Paul :)

Franklin- my eyes! My eyes!

Just to add:

From a contemporary 1811 Officers cuff rank chart (I bet you never knew that there was such a thing)

Paul :)