As most bloggers quickly realize, it is a real challenge to keep coming up with new subject matter which will be of continuing interest to the
viewer. In addition even with reasonably good equipment, I’m not the best of
photographers. Specific apologies for shadow and glare on a couple of frames due to overhead lighting configuration and obstructions out in front, including a group of four descending miniature British paratroopers.
With that being said, thought I would present what some fellow
Scots refer to as a “Gallimaufry”, which translated means a hash of odds and
ends. Hopefully viewers will spot something of personal interest, somewhat
analogous to going into an antique militaria shop or sections of a museum. The subject matter ranges from
British and Commonwealth badges (predominately Scottish and Special Forces), to
a grouping of the special forces insignia of the former Soviet Union. The Soviet grouping was collected in the brief window of 1989-1991, and to the best of the author's knowledge is righteous, i.e. all pieces genuine.
It should be stated from the outset, that while there are a significant number of rather scarce genuine pieces, however the seasoned collector will immediately spot
some likely “fillers”, i.e., reproductions, due to the well established rarity of the real insignia. This is principally due
to the fact that in the condition they are in, the real article can only be found
in regimental museums or advanced private collections, and would be at prohibitive prices if made available to the
average collector. However, a significant number of these insignia were acquired in Great Britain on midshipman cruises as early as the summer of 1955.
Viewers are invited to check back, as I will be expanding
the number of photographs as well as descriptions for persons who may not be that familiar
with certain types of insignia. In addition if you have a question about a specific item, please don't hesitate to mention it in the comments, and I will try to respond in the same comments section.
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| An assortment of regimental titles and formation badges of the British Army and rating badges of the Royal Navy |
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| Various WWII British Armed Forces shoulder titles, formation badges, and skill-at-arms insignia |
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| Same frame from a different angle |
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| Another assortment of WWII British Airborne Forces and Combined Operations insignia, as well as Army Formation and Skill-at-Arms badges |
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| Same frame from a different angle |
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| A significant assortment of WWII British Special Forces insignia including Airborne Forces, Royal Marine Commando, Special Air Service, and Canadian Parachute Corps |
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| A look at some WWII vintage RAF brevets, British Army Skill-at-Arms badges, Shoulder titles and Formation insignia |
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| Same frame from a different angle |
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| An assortment of British Special Forces insignia including Royal Marine Swimmer-Canoeist qualifications (Special Boat Service), Fleet Air Arm Pilot's wings, Special Air Service Regiment, Chindits, Parachute Regiment brevets and Drop Zone badges, and Canadian Airborne insignia |
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| A grouping of insignia from the Gordon Highlanders and affiliated regiments from the London Scottish, to Canada and South Africa |
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| A close-up presenting a chronology of the cap badges of the Gordon Highlanders throughout the "Life of a Regiment" |
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| Predominately cap badges of Scottish Regiments of the Canadian Army, also included are the Canadian and Australian Army Intelligence Corps, Lord Stratcona's Horse and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police |
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| Basically the cap badges of the Scottish Regiments of the British Army |
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| A drum-major's baldric of the 1st Bn of the Parachute Regiment |
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| A detailed close-up of the baldric showing the battle honors "Bruneval", "Normandy Landing" and "Arnhem 1944" |
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| The blazon of a regimental side drum of the 1st Bn 92nd Gordon Highlanders |
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| Details of the uniform of a Lieut-Colonel of the 92nd Gordon Highlanders circa 1936 |
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| Further details of the same uniform |
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| Principally the special qualification badges of Royal Marine Mountain Leader, Swimmer-Canoeist, and other specialized qualification distinctions, as well as Royal Navy Rating badges |
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| A variety of special forces insignia of the former Soviet Union including Airborne Forces (VDV), Naval Infantry and Spetsnaz |
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| A grouping of Parachute Regiment, Glider Pilot Regiment, Special Forces, and Royal Marines, as well as Canadian Airborne Forces |
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| A variety of British and Canadian Airborne and Special Forces, also note the crossed lances of the Musical Ride of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police |
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| Another grouping of British special forces insignia including the Parachute Regiment, Royal Marines, Special Air Service, Canadian Airborne and the Royal Navy Submarine Parachute Assistance Group |
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| Airborne and Special Forces of Canada, as well as RCMP Emergency Response Team and British Gulf War insignia |
16 comments:
Hello, I am interested in a battle dress I have bought, it has royal signals insignia and a formation badge under it.The badge depicted is on your picture, another assortment of well British airborne forces and combined operations insignia, aswelk as British Army formation and skill at arms badges. The badge is green background, yellow outline with red cross and yellow crown. Please identify the badge for me, many thanks Nigel.
Hello Nigel,
It is the formation badge of the 48th Infantry Division, 2nd pattern. Hope that helps.
Best regards,
Jim
Hi Jim. I have some badges I wish
To identify. One of them is the top right on your
Collection - this is the dragon on red with a blue stripe
I have more if you can let
Me know an email address I am on Russel . Asquith @ gmail .com
Hello Russel,
The formation badge you are referring to is WWII Headquarters, British Forces, Hong Kong. My recommendation, if you are planning on continuing your collection, is to acquire a book(s) like "BRITISH ARMY CLOTH INSIGNIA 1940 to the present, An Illustrated Reference Guide for Collectors" by the late Brian L. Davis, Arms and Armour Press, 1985, ISBN 0-85368-709-9. Hope this is of assistance.
Best regards,
Jim
Hello, please could you help my 16year old son identify some badges he has acquired for his WW2 collection. They are both Parachute Regiment badges, one is khaki green background with light blue wings and white parachute, the other is a grass-green coloured background with black wings and black parachute. He has another badge which he believes to be Polish, it is a black standing lion outlined in gold, on a red and white background. Above the lions head is a crown, and to the left of the crown as you look at it is '8e'. To the right is a capital D. We would be very grateful for any help you can give identifying them, and also any advice you can give him as to what reference books would be useful in identifying badges, insignia, and other WW2 memorabilia. Many thanks, Jane.
Hello Jane and Son,
Will be more than happy to try and assist you in the identification of the insignia you have. I’m always very heartened to see an interest in military history by young men and women. Hope that you realize that I (or any collector) am at a “slight disadvantage” without being able to see actual photographs of the items, and I fully understand, as my blog doesn’t have the ability to receive them.
Given those limitations, your descriptions are very good. The first insignia sounds very much like the standard brevet which is awarded and proudly worn by every officer and soldier of the Parachute Regiment who successfully passes out of the training course, and completes the requisite number of jumps. It is worn on right shoulder of No.2 Service Dress, the current Jump Smock, Parachutist (other than in an active service environment), and the “Wooly Pulley”(Wool Jersey). My only problem is that the insignia has been essentially the same since its inception in 1940, so without seeing yours it is difficult to date. You may have already discovered the article, but it shows the correct location on No.2 Service Dress; http://arnhemjim.blogspot.com/2015/05/uniform-of-lieut-colonel-of-parachute.html . The second brevet is the subdued tactical version, which was originally introduced during the “troubles” in Northern Ireland in the 1970’s. Again, without seeing the specific insignia, difficult to date. The third insignia unfortunately is totally beyond my limited knowledge, but from your description would not discount the possibility of it being Belgian.
With regard to reference sources, would like to provide two different approaches. First there are several active and excellent forums which you may consider joining, and the membership of these forums would welcome new blood and young minds. In particular I would highly recommend The British and Commonwealth Military Badge Forum (http://www.britishbadgeforum.com/forums/). The membership includes a world-wide group of experts with a broad range of knowledge, which they are more than ready to share.
You are also absolutely correct in realizing the importance of a good reference library, and I have mentioned several very good ones in the following article; http://arnhemjim.blogspot.com/p/british-militaria.html . Additionally you may want to explore some of the past articles in this blog. See the following as to what might be of personal interest; http://arnhemjim.blogspot.com/2016/02/list-of-posts-on-arnhem-jim-blog.html .
Hope this reply proves to be of some assistance.
Best wishes,
Arnhem Jim
Hello, thank you for replying. Jack is so keen and intent on broadening his collection. He wants to study military history, specialising in WW2, so perhaps the forum you mentioned would be a good source of information. Are you in France,(only asking because of the .fr), as Jack has acquired his collection from brocantes and depot ventes in Normandy. Thanks again. Jane
Am very glad to be of assistance. Reside in the state of Arizona in the United States of America. As may be observed by some of the blog articles, served a number of years in the US Navy, parallel to my career in private industry. Being of Scottish ancestry has motivated personal interest in the Scottish Regiments of the British Army, as well as the British Airborne Forces in WWII. A word of warning collecting British Special Forces insignia which is conveyed throughout my blog, Be extremely cautious in the acquisition of any vintage pieces other than through established and reputable sources. Again best regards.
Hello,
Thank you for this forum and all information present.
I am French, A french piper and I am looking for information for a long time. I can not find an answer.
It is about the 1st special service brigade during the d-day in Normandy.
About arm badge we can see the "1 commando" "2 commando".... Badge.
In a book (the bill millin book) the piper of lovat We can read that on the d-day the arm badge of Bill millin is not a "commando" badge, but a "1 SS brigade" badge
he says that this badge was removed quickly because the French confused with the German SS.
I dont find any picture or information about this badge.
Could you please give me information if you know that.
Sorry for my bad english.
And thank you for your answers.
Christophe
Hello Christophe,
Unfortunately I don’t have a copy of Bill Millin’s book. My very best understanding is that in October of 1940 the Independent Companies and the Commando Battalion were formed into a Special Service (SS) Brigade. As you probably know, the Headquarters Company of the Brigade wore a black rectangular patch consisting of two white colored parallel fighting knives with red S’s forming the cross-guards of the knives. In March 1941 the Special Service Brigade was disbanded, and the then existing SS Battalions were officially reformed and designated No. 1 through No. 12 Commando, with corresponding insignia, in the form of a shoulder title(red number/letters on black).
The brigade's component units saw action individually in Norway and the Dieppe Raid (in France), before being combined under one commander for service in Normandy during Operation Overlord. On 6 December 1944, the Brigade was re-designated 1st Commando Brigade, removing the hated title Special Service and its association with the German Waffen-SS.
As you probably also well know Lord Lovat was a rather unconventional, i.e. eccentric, individual. It may well be that he afforded Bill Millin, as his personal bagpiper, some latitude in his uniform and insignia. However, I have reviewed every available picture of Bill Millin showing his insignia, without finding the earliest SS version on his shoulder, but given that the re-designation did not occur until well after D-Day, it is still possible he was still wearing then.
Guess that’s just a long-winded way of saying I’m sorry I don’t know, but hopefully does provide you with an accurate chronology of events and evolution of insignia.
Sincere thanks for your interest in the blog, and best regards.
Arnhem Jim
Hello Jim,
Many thanks fot theses information
I,give you a picture of th ebill millin statue in normandy.
you can see the shoulder title That I speak
http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2018/39/5/1538138183-bill2.jpg
Sorry for my english not very good
Christophe
Hi Jim an arm insignia in your pictures ...green background ..white thin circle with a thicker white X inside with the letters I.C above ... please tell me what it is as my partners grandfather was a despatch rider in the canadian army (cameron highlanders ) during ww2 . We have all his medals ..cap and badges but cannot identify this one ...yours hopefully. .eddy
Hello Eddy,
The badge is a British Army trade proficiency for a Driver (Mechanised Unit) with the I.C. standing for Internal Combustion. The Canadian Army may well have used the same badge. Glad to be a help, and sincere thanks for your interest in the blog. With best regards,
Arnhem Jim
Hello Jim, I am just completely stumped. I have been researching the badge on the shoulders of some Canadian Commandos for days, and cannot find it anywhere...I thus begging your superb educated knowledge on the matter. How would get a close-up image to you sir, please? Very best Nathan
Hello Nathan,
Hopefully you can appreciate my reticence to publish my e-mail address to the general Internet population. If possible could you in a written description, in a follow-on comment, (including citing colors), provide me with a virtual image of the badge which is puzzling you. Also what period in history are we talking about?
Warmest regards,
Arnhem Jim
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