Cap badge help, which regiment?
 

Can anyone please identify the amorphous blob that is this man's cap badge? My first thought was Gloucestershire Regiment but it appears to have a crown at 12 o'clock. The photograph dates from 1940.

South Staffordshire Regiment

I was seeing it as a solid badge but wouldn't the south staffs have a scroll?

Looks like it has, the badge backed by an oval patch of Holland cloth.

Does the cloth backing have any significance such as denoting a particular battalion?

The Holland cloth originates from the 38th of Foot (1st S.Staffs) who from the early 18th century spent over 50 years on continuous foreign service, whilst in the West Indies their uniforms got in such a bad state that they started to wear ones made from Holland Cloth a type of sack cloth.
I'm sure the badge backing was worn earlier than the 1934 date that the King presented the Holland Cloth to the Regiment
Paul

Paul, Leigh and Griff many thanks for your help with identifying the badge for me. I had never heard of the Holland Cloth backing being worn by the South Staffordshires before and, despite having many photographs of South Staff's soldiers, not see one before either.

Simon

Simon,
Found the attached
http://www.blackcountrybugle.co.uk/H...ail/story.html
Paul

Paul,

many thanks. The fact that the Holland cloth backing wasn't introduced until 1934 explains why I have never seen it in Great War photographs of the South Staffordshire Regiment.

Simon

This one came with the badge and has been stitched round a stiff oval backing:

http://www.britishbadgeforum.com/for...ctureid=140341

Superb, thank you for posting. I have really learnt something on this thread.

I have came across one dealer/seller who was convinced the Holland Patch was to do with the 2nd Bn at Arnhem which obviously put a few £'s on the badge he was selling. An easy trap for the inexperienced to fall for I suppose
Paul

I would have preferred it to have only been worn by the 1st battalion during Operation Thursday. The sad thing is that I doubt that I will ever be able to put a name to the man in the photograph.

Paul,

I sometimes think that a great imagination is a better attribute for a dealer than knowledge/expertise.

Peter

Paul

The same rubbish is peddled about the plastic one. It is a scarce badge and the spurious linkage to AB Bns may help to explain why.

Alan