Oh dear, I bought a cheap one. Don't ask how much it was, but an Alkit was cheaper than a posh Bates ... and I was only Air Traffic anyway. So Messrs Alkit duly provided.
So it was soft and comfortable, but started to lose shape (i.e. Looked 'operational') of its own accord. And after a tour in Singapore it really looked quite weary ... to the point that certain senior officers make pointed suggestions about a replacement being required. However, all was not lost: a couple of years after that I took up Service Weapon shooting at Bisley. Long before issued combat kit ... you wore what you could scrounge from the RAF Regt, or wore an old blue uniform, etc. So my old Alkit SD hat came out of retirement, as it was excellent for keeping the sun out of my eyes, and you could wear ear defenders over it comfortably ... and it soldiered on in that role
into the late 80s.
At this stage, DPM was in issue, and a beret should really be worn ("But, Sir, only airmen and Regt officers wear berets"). And eventually the word came down the line from a 4-star that a certain officer should stop wearing "that hat". Another retirement was advisable.
Until late in 1993, when on my last working day in the RAF I gathered up my very faded, limp and slightly frayed Alkit ... and in a gesture of defiance wore it to work. From my Graduation Parade, through tropic rain and sun, to temperate rain and sun on ranges, it staggered along for 29 years. It is still in the attic ... how could I discard such an old friend?
