Editing Cap badge (section)

=====Cap badge variations=====

Plastic cap badges were introduced during the [[World War II|Second World War]], when metals became [[strategic material]]s. Nowadays many cap badges in the British Army are made of a material called "stay-brite" ([[anodised aluminium]], anodising is an electro-plating process resulting in lightweight shiny badge), this is used because it is cheap, flexible and does not require as much maintenance as brass badges.

Regimental cap badges are usually cast as one single piece but in a number of cases they may be cast in different pieces. For instance, the badge of the now amalgamated, [[The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons)]] was cast in two separate pieces: the Queen's Crown and the thistle forming one piece, and the stag's head and scroll with regimental motto forming a second piece (see the first picture above). 

The Royal Corps of Signals also has a two-part badge. The top being a brass crown and the bottom consisting of a silver flying body of [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]] (the winged messenger of the gods{{snd}} 'Jimmy') above a brass world and the motto {{lang|la|certa cito}} ('swift and sure').
[[File:Colonel_and_Brigadiers_Cap_Badge_British_Army.jpg|thumb|right|Cap badge of British Army colonels and brigadiers.]]
A regiment or [[battalion]] may maintain variations of the same cap badge for different ranks. These variations are usually in the badges' material, size and stylization. Variations in cap badges are normally made for:

* Officers: usually three-dimensional in design with more expensive materials such as silver, enamel and gilt. Most officers' beret badges are embroidered rather than metal or "stay-brite".
* Senior non-commissioned officers such as [[Sergeant#United_Kingdom|sergeant]]s, [[colour sergeant]]s and [[warrant officer]]s: a more elaborate design compared with those worn by other ranks but usually not as elaborate as those worn by officers.

There are exceptions such as the Welsh Guards, where all ranks wear a cloth cap badge. Officers wearing a more elaborate version compared to that of soldiers, made using [[Goldwork (embroidery)|gold thread]] and has a more three-dimensional design. The only exception to this is recruits in training who have to wear the brass (or more often "stay-brite") leek, often referred to as the "[[Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes|NAAFI]] fork", until they have passed out of training and reached their battalion will they receive their cloth leek{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}}. All ranks of the [[Special Air Service]] wear an embroidered cap badge and all ranks of [[The Rifles]] and [[Royal Regiment of Fusiliers]] wear the same metal badge.

Some regiments maintain a blackened or subdued version of their cap badges as shiny brass cap badges may attract the enemy's attention on the battlefield. However, since the practice of British soldiers operating in theatre with regimental headdress (i.e. peaked cap, beret) has all but died out, the wearing of these has become much less common in recent years.