Ukrainian drone operators put on their new caps – by order of the Peaky Blinders
Members of a Ukrainian unit who call themselves the Peaky Blinders have received a consignment of newsboy caps from the makers of the period crime series – with one of the caps even being signed by Cillian Murphy.
In contrast to the fictional Thomas Shelby and his Birmingham-based crime family, the Ukrainians are all volunteers belonging to a covert unit that specialises in drone warfare.
While the Blinders in the TV series have razor blades stitched into the peaks of their caps to slash and blind their opponents, their Ukrainian namesakes employ electronic jammers to blind their Russian enemies in a very different way.
The Ukrainian unit started out as a militia force, with the volunteers identifying with some of the characters from the BBC show.
They even wore flat caps in homage to the period series.
And according to The New Voice of Ukraine media outlet, Peaky Blinders producer Steven Knight reached out to the unit.
He sent 30 newsboy caps from the UK made by Garrison Tailors, the firm that supplied the original caps for the cast, and Murphy, who plays Shelby, signed one of them.
Photos of the Ukrainians wearing their new caps and Peaky Blinders hoodies in Kharkiv were quick to appear on Ukrainian social media – the images having been taken by Blinders unit Sergeant Yaroslav Chyzhenko.
"The Peaky Blinders, the famous Ukrainan drone unit, gets presents from... Peaky Blinders… signed by none other than Ciliian Murphy himself," Illia Ponomarenko wrote on X.
"The Ukrainian Peaky Blinders drone unit received authentic hats from Steven Knight, the creator of the hit British TV show it is named after," said Anton Gerasghchenko in a similar post on his X channel.
"The hats were even signed by the star of the series, Cillian Murphy. The Peaky Blinders unit is currently defending Ukraine on the frontlines."
Ukraine's Peaky Blinders unit is believed to have come to the attention of Knight and Murphy after a BBC team went to Ukraine to report on its activities earlier this year, ultimately leading to the delivery of the caps.
The newsboy cap, which has a fuller, rounder body than a regular flat cap, was popular in the early 20th century and was mainly worn by working-class males, especially newspaper boys.
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