NEW ZEALAND INTELLIGENCE CORPS

BELT COLOURS - green, red, grey, red and green. The two red stripes are edging for the central grey band With thanks to George Pearson

The corps belt of the New Zealand Intelligence Corps is coloured cypress green, scarlet, grey, scarlet, and cypress green. The two scarlet stripes are edging for the central grey band. It is identical to the belt worn by the British parent Corps.

The origin of the colours of the British belt is as follows:

• Cypress Green - the cypress green colour that dominates the belt refers to the green gorget patches and capbands worn by British Intelligence Corps officers from 1916. Green was the colour for field security police cap covers by 1923 and was used in World War II on field security armbands and shoulder flashes.
• Scarlet - the scarlet stripe was introduced in the Intelligence Corps tie in 1949 and is said to derive from the rose. The rose is an ancient symbol of silence, security, and trustworthiness. The rose was adopted by the forerunners of the British intelligence services with the title of sub rosa.
• Grey - the origins of the grey used in the central stripe are obscure. The only association with grey so far traced, comes from World War I. The first commandant of the Intelligence Corps in 1914 was at one time a member of the 27th Light Cavalry Regiment of the Indian Army, a unit that wore a French grey uniform. By happy coincidence grey is an appropriate reference to the fog of war that the intelligence function strives to penetrate in order to find the truth.

  With thanks to George Pearson

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