Uniforms Act 1894


The Uniforms Act of 1894 is an Act of Parliament to regulate and restrict the wearing of Naval and Military uniforms in the United Kingdom.

The Act

The Act makes it an offence for military uniforms to be worn without authority:
The Act does not include the wearing of honours, medals and decorations.

Definition of Naval and Military Forces

The restrictions concern all:
As members of the Cadet Forces also wear military uniform, it would seem that the Act would also prohibit unauthorised use of Youth_organisations_in_the_United_Kingdom#Military_cadet_organisations|Cadet Forces] uniforms.
The Act also says that '"Her Majesty’s Military Forces” has the same meaning as in the Armed Forces Act 2006;
“Her Majesty's Naval Forces” does not include any Commonwealth force"'.

Consequences

The Act makes any unauthorised use of said naval or military uniforms publishable by:

Arrests, Charges and Convictions

In 2012, the Ministry of Defence Police arrested one person, in Devon, for wearing a Royal Navy uniform.
In 2016, the Metropolitan Police made an arrest for oen person "wearing military insignia without authority".
In 2017, one man in Derbyshire was fined £500, after pleading guilty to Section 2 of the Act and wearing a uniform that he was not authorised to wear.
The Crown Prosecution Service reported that between 2017 and 2017, that seven people in England and Wales appeared before magistrates, charged with breaching the Act.

See Also

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