Highland Light Infantry
 

Has anyone seen or for that matter have any cloth shoulder titles for the Highland Light Infantry?

I have never encountered either the white on red cloth title as worn by other Scottish Regiments or the black on Khaki slip-ons whether printed or embroidered.

Or did they just not wear cloth titles?

Rob

Rob,

The attached is an extract from Brian Davis` book on WW2 uniforms and insignia and shows Regimental designations of Regiments and Corps introduced by ACI 905 of 1943.

Peter

HLI
 

Peter,
Many thanks for your information, I will now have to find out which Tartan.

Rob

It was Mackenzie tartan.
As per these badge backings but slightly smaller & of single, not double thickness.

Tartan
 

Leigh, many thanks for your help, I love the badges mounted on the tartan.

Rob

I think the old frayed edged patches look far better than the modern merrowed nylon or whatever they are versions.
The same tartan was used by the Seaforth Highlanders as badge backing & "shoulder title" but with the red & white "cross" set as a diagonal on the square (various battalions have worn the cross vertical & horizontal, squares, rectangles, inverted triangles).

Herewith an image of the HLI printed slip-on title worn before the introduction of red and white titles or tartan patches.

Extensive digging including unsatisfactory dealings with the regimental museum has failed to find an embroidered example.

Jon

Printed HLI slip-on
 

Jon, many thanks for putting up the image of the printed HLI slip-on, I would imagine as these are scarce that maybe a few were made as a trial run and then decided they were not for the HLI as tartan strips looked better.

Only a theory, but fashion is a very persuasive factor with people.

Regards Rob

Around 40-years ago I was told that those slides were in part intended as quick and easy (and cheap) titles for greatcoat shoulder straps, when the cost of stitch on types could not be justified and metal types inconvenient. Apparently the slip on nature allowed folding for carrying and storage without fuss. I don’t know the veracity of this and we know they can also be seen stitched on upper arms of SD sometimes, but it always struck me that the greatcoat rationale made sense.

Cloth arm titles or regimental designations as they were originally known were never worn on greatcoats.

Slip-on titles were introduced with battle dress in place of the brass ones worn on service dress. They exist for all regiments and corps. They were never very popular and in the early days of BD brass titles were often retained as the cloth ones were initially in short supply.

Many regiments ignored them - the cavalry rarely wore them - and many regiments wore the Guards-style of title in their place, an unofficial practice much frowned upon by the War Office.

After the introduction of arm of service strips their use at home was officially restricted to infantry regiments. An Indian-made version was worn by British regiments serving in India from about 1942.

Jon

Thanks Jon, very interesting. There were some very similar khaki slip on titles during WW1, but the lettering was in white. I have always thought that they were probably the inspiration for those of WW2.

The two styles from both wars for comparison.

Jon

Thanks again Jon, very illuminating.

I wonder what regimental distinctions were worn on the shoulder by 156 Regt RAC(ex 11 HLI) in 36 Army Tk Bde. I believe that they wore the regimental bonnet badge, but on a black beret? Mike