In addition to its many practical uses, rope has a long history of decorative and ornamental uses across different branches of the military in various countries. There is a rich tradition of using different types of rope and lanyards as a means of awarding commendations to soldiers and identifying members of various units.
The fourragère was introduced by the French Ministry of War in WWI as a means of recognizing units, organizations, and soldiers who had distinguished themselves in service. It is a braided and knotted cord with a spike attached, which is worn as part of an officer’s uniform. The design of any given fourragère becomes more complex as the number of commendations received by the unit or soldier increases.
Within French military history, the most common fourragère contained green and red, the colours of the Croix de Guerre, or Cross of War. The Croix de Guerre was a medal that was often bestowed upon members of allied countries, and the same was true for the fourragère, meaning that you didn’t specifically need to be a member of the French military to receive one.
The second tier fourragère was representative of the Medaille Militare, coloured yellow and red, with the third and final tier being scarlet in colour and representing the Legion d’Honneur.
The fourragère is meant to embody and recall the courage and fighting spirit of members of the units who have gone before.
It is representative of membership to a unit, and therefore, members typically relinquish their fourragère when they leave the unit. While France was the first country to offer the modern fourragère, several other countries also award the fourragère or a variation thereof, including Belgium, Portugal, Luxembourg, and South Korea.
While the fourragère has a rich history, it is far from the only example of where the military used rope products as decoration to declare a sense of belonging. Within Canada, many corps, units and regiments used coloured lanyards to distinguish themselves from others during not only the first and second World Wars, but also the interwar years. For example, members of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps wore a dull cherry lanyard, while the Saskatoon Light Infantry wore green lanyards. Lanyards were typically worn on the right shoulder of the service dress uniform, though in World War II, permission was given to units to also add lanyards to the battle dress uniform.
The use of rope and cord for such adornments ensures that they will stand the test of time, allow for current squadron members to proudly wear them, and one day potentially wind up in a museum, where everyone will be able to view them and remember the heroic sacrifices of the armed forces, who put their lives on the line in pursuit of a better future.
This article was featured in Cancord Rope Talk Issue 1. Download the full newsletter here.
