The black woollen ball, curtly called the ‘Black Pom Pom’, is unique to the MADRAS Regiment and it gives a distinct identification to the ‘Thambis’.

It was Lieutenant Colonel (Later Brigadier) MK Sheriff, who as the Commanding Officer of 4 MADRAS (WLI) initiated the process when the Battalion was stationed in Delhi.

Lieutenant Colonel GF De’Souza, Commandant, The Madras Regimental Centre submitted his final proposal to the Post War Dress Committee on 19 November 1948 strongly recommending the adoption of the Pom Pom by the Madras Regiment as a whole.

It was General Sir Roy Bucher, the then Chief of the Army Staff and Commander-in-Chief, who gave the final approval to authorize the wearing of ‘Black Pom Pom’ by all the Battalions of the Madras Regiment. This approval was accorded on file on 07 January 1949 based on the recommendations made by Lieutenant General KM Cariappa (later General and Field Marshal) the then Vice Chief of the Army Staff and Chief of the Army Staff designate.

Thus the ‘Black Pom Pom’, a black woollen ball of two inch diameter, adorns the Madrassis head gear.