From the mountains of Crimea to the trenches of the First World War, moustaches have accompanied British soldiers in the toughest of terrains.
Though it is no longer mandatory, some of the country's best facial fur can often be spotted on military personnel.
Now one regiment has announced the winner of its annual competition to grow the greatest one in November.
The Welsh Guards revealed Lance Sergeant Jimmy Pickersgill-Jones was crowned best on parade by the public.
The squaddie, known as PJ, saw off five comrades - who have not been named - to take the coveted title in aid of the Movember charity.
His razor sharp ginger tash won the most votes across the regiment's social media platforms yesterday.
The Welsh Guards wrote on Twitter: 'The winner of this years Welsh Guards moustache competition goes to........ LSgt Pickersgill-Jones (AKA PJ).
'Well done to him for getting the most votes across all our social media platforms. Fantastic effort and well earned, wear that moustache with pride! Cymru Am Byth.'
They also shared a picture of the soldier posing with his moustache and pointing down the lens of a camera.
Five others were put forward for the competition, with their pictures shared on social media but not their names.
One was a bald squaddie with a smart blonde tash slightly overhanging his bottom lip.
Another photograph was of a soldier in full fatigues, a helmet and glasses, under which his wavy moustache flowed.
Meanwhile a brown-haired man's effort saw him up turn the ends of his facial fur in the style of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot.
Another ginger squaddie sported a well-trimmed attempt with the rest of his face well shaven.
And the final competitor showed him appearing to be on exercise with a subtle brown tash jutting out from his upper lip.
The Welsh Guards shared pictures of the six servicemen on December, having concluded the end of the Movember competition.
They said there were fewer competitors this year due to a large number of the regiment deployed overseas.
They wrote: 'Movember Complete! Not as many candidates as last year mainly because we have so many personnel deployed overseas. So which is your favourite?'
The British Army still keeps tight regulations on facial hair on its servicemen, with moustaches expected to be kept trimmed.
Beards can be allowed but soldiers have to be given permission before growing them - usually on medical or religious grounds.
Squaddies were first exposed to moustaches while fighting the French during the Napoleonic Wars at to start of the 19th Century.
Some British officers followed the style despite the mood back home remaining against them into the 1830s.
Governor-General of India at the time, Lord Dalhousie, supposedly said he 'hates to see an English soldier made to look like a Frenchman.'
But they turned favourable from the 1850s and the Commander in Chief of the Bombay army of the East India Company even made them mandatory.
In the Crimean War their benefits were spotted as an easy way to guard against some of the extreme cold they faced at the likes of Balaklava.
Just four years later they became compulsory in the British Army and was seen as synonymous with England and her empire.
Lord Kitchener, who appeared on numerous posters urging Britons to go to war in 1914, was one of the most famous examples for his long tash.
During the war the priority of maintaining a moustache led to the decline of its appearance on the top lips of soldiers.
Meanwhile due to the low age at which men were being sent to the front, many could not grow one.
There were also fears over whether having facial hair stopped masks forming a seal around a soldiers face - leaving them open to poisoning from lethal mustard gas.
Moustaches were no longer mandatory in the British Army from October 1916 - halfway through the war.
