Why do the drummers in some bands wear checked hats and the pipers wear plain?
In some regiments of the the British Army, the Pipers were personal employees of the Commander of the Regiment rather than the Crown, while the Drummers were always soldiers employed by the Crown. The soldiers employed by the Crown wore the checked (more properly called “diced”) hats. Some military and even civilian bands maintained this distinction long after it had any basis in reality, though the practice is now dying out.
