The distinctive maroon beret of the Parachute Regiment was first worn by the men of the Regiment when it went into action in North Africa in November 1942. The officers and men of the 1st Parachute Brigade, wearing this beret, were nicknamed the "Red Devils" by their German adversaries because of the fact that they were covered in red dust from the area in which they had been fighting (not for the fact they wore the Maroon Beret). A few knock-off dimestore British paras on my wargame table.