RAE collar question
 

Which pattern of 'flaming bomb' collar badge did Royal Australian Engineer officers wear on mess dress in the early to mid 1960s? I know that at some stage there was quite a large one (49mm) used by RAE officers, but it seems a bit of an unwieldy size for mess dress. Any clarification would be appreciated.

My understanding is that the normal RAE officer/WO I nine-flamed 49mm grenade was that worn on officer's mess dress, as did the RAA officers with their 47mm seven-flamed grenade. There was a fair amount of space on the lapels of those mess dress jackets.

Worn centrally on the lapel with the highest point of the badge 7 inches below the junction of the collar and the forward edge of the shoulder strap [Dress Manual 1963].

Keith

That's very detailed information, Keith -- many thanks. I have the 1962-dated mess jacket to Lt Col M D Jellie, RAE. Not only was he a member of the RAE troop attached to 1st Australian Parachute Bn in WW2, but his son Alan was KIA in Vietnam while serving in the Army Aviation Corps 161 Sqn, shot down in a Pilatus Porter on 3 Dec 1969. I would like to restore the collar badges which are missing; you're certainly right about the amount of room on the lapels for such a relatively large badge.