Hamlet White feather

The single White feather as a symbol of cowardice comes from cockfighting and the belief that a cockerel sporting a white feather in its tail is likely to be a poor fighter. Pure-breed gamecocks don't show white feathers, so its presence indicates that the cockerel is an inferior cross-breed.

The symbol is particularly recognised within the British Army and in countries associated with the British Empire since the 18th century.

Contrariwise, in the United States it has come to symbolize extraordinary bravery and excellence in combat marksmanship, with its most notable wearer having been Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock, who was awarded the Silver Star medal for bravery during the Vietnam War. Its wear on combat headgear flaunts an insultingly easy target for enemy snipers.

White Feather

n August 1914, a few months after the start of the First World War, Admiral Charles Fitzgerald founded the Order of the White Feather with support from the prominent author Mary Ward. The organisation aimed to coerce men to enlist in the British Army by persuading women to present them with a white feather if they were not wearing a uniform. Many however see this act as hypocritical as women had no idea what life was like on the battlefields and were never asked to go and give up their lives for their country.

The campaign was very effective, and spread throughout several other nations in the British Commonwealth. So much so that it started to cause problems for the government when public servants came under pressure to enlist. This prompted the Home Secretary, Reginald McKenna, to issue employees in state industries with lapel badges reading 'King and Country' to indicate that they too were serving the war effort.

The white feather movement was the inspiration for the Weddings Parties Anything song Scorn of the Women, which concerns a man who is deemed medically unfit for service when he attempts to enlist, and is unjustly accused of cowardice.

Hamlet White Feather

The book The Four Feathers was written by A. E. W. Mason and first published in 1902. It tells the story of the fictional character Harry Faversham, an officer in the British Army who decides to resign his commission on the eve that his regiment is dispatched to fight in Sudan (the 1882 First War of Sudan leading to the fall of Khartoum). Harry's three fellow officers and his fiancée conclude that he is resigning in order to avoid fighting in the conflict and each send him a white feather.

Stung by the criticism, Harry decides to sail to Sudan, disguises himself as an Arab and looks for the opportunity to redeem his honour. He manages this fighting a covert war on behalf of the British, saving the life of one of his colleagues in the process. On returning to England he gives back each of the feathers.

The romantic idealism of the novel has been popular for over a century and it has been the basis of at least six feature films between 1915 and 2002, the most recent being The Four Feathers starring Heath Ledger.