Desert Rats
 

A pair of woven 7th Armoured Division formation signs I picked up while visiting the UK recently. They came in a wooden box with the 'Desert Rats' jerboa emblem inlaid on the lid, a pair of GVIR King's Crown RHA collars (could also be beret badges as I believe they wore them as such) and a pair of brass RHA shoulder titles. Will try to post pictures of the rest soon.
David

Nice pair, of Italian manufacture if I'm not mistaken.

Luc, what makes you say they're Italian?

David

I think they look more like the Brabant type, also I'm not sure if they started to wear the rat on black until they came back to UK to refit for D Day
Lee

Lee, pardon my ignorance, but what's the "Brabant type"?

David

It's a term for a type of woven insignia made in either Belgium or the Netherlands towards the end of WW2, some types are thicker than others.
Lee

I am prepared for the incoming.

With a lot of British WW2 formation badges there are a number of variations in manufacture;

1. Machine embroidered with a backing cloth, of which the cloth varies.
1a. Hand embroidered in thread.
1b. Hand embroidered in wire.
2. Printed, the design normally bleeds through to the rear.
2a. Printed version over embroidered by hand.
3. Machine embroidered with a paste, glue or starch covered backing.
4. Brabant weave, made after the liberation of the Netherlands area of Brabant.
4a. Similar to Brabant weave with a more detailed back.
5. Bevo weave, same manufacture as the German badges made by BeVo-Wuppertal.
6. Silk woven, similar to Bevo but a thinner and lighter material.

Marc :)

Thanks Lee and Marc for clarifying that. I had no idea there were so many variations. I will now have to attach my other pair of 'Rats' which I've had since the Sixties and try to fit them into one of Marc's categories.
David

Attached is my other pair obtained in the Sixties. They seem to be embroidered on heavy felt.

David

These look to be the type that were embroidered into a large sheet of cloth and had to be cut out.

Marc :)

The two types I have, the 3rd pattern embroidered on felt (the pair), introduced in Nov 43 and the Bevo type introduced in 48.

Jerry

Jerry, the two I just posted look like your first two. Thanks, Marc, for your comments about the embroidered sheet.
David

Very similar, but with a different backing fabric.

Jerry

They seem similar to these Italian made badges.

They are fairly similar but I'm sure 7th Armoured were back in UK before Italian production started, I think it was late 44
Lee