WW2 badge query
 

Hi,
My uncle was killed in 1944 whilst serving with the 4th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry in Normandy. On his headstone the SLI crest contains the roman numerals Xlll.
Can anybody please tell me what the numerals 13 signify?

Many thanks in advance,
Geoff Whitmore

Hello Geoff, welcome to the Forum. Your account is active and open for posts.

The SLI was created in 1881 by merging two Regiments of Foot or Light Infantry as they were then known.

The senior one was the 13th Light Infantry and it remained as part of their traditions a numeral on badges, stationary etc .

regards

Were the 13th not a 2 battalion regiment at the time of the 1881 reforms, thus escaping amalgamation?

Possibly Leigh, I am unsure of the specific Regiment just generalising about the 1881 changes.

I think the poster will understand.

regards

Yes, thus the XIII applied to both regular battalions of the new regiment.

Thank you for your replies, much appreciated. Another question though. Having now read up a little on the 13th Foot and the siege of Jellalabad I see that the 13th were awarded the title 'Prince Albert's own' on their return to the UK.
If I am right it appears that the regimental badge dropped the numerals Xlll in place of the letters PA and this remained the Somerset Light Infantry's crest into and through the 2nd world war. So I'm wondering why the CWGC have used the very old version of the regimental crest on the SLI headstones and not the later version which would have been in line with when my uncle fell?

Thank you everybody.
Can anyone think why the CWGC would use the old Somerset Light Infantry badge with numerals on the headstones of WW2 graves rather than the newer badge with the letters PA which was in use at the time of the second world war?

Welcome to the Forum. I don't know the answer to your specific question, but the CWGC sometimes use a bit of artistic licence with the badge designs used on the gravestones.

Rgds, Thomas

Not an expert on this by any means, but I believe the CWGC use the regimental crest, not the cap badge. I guess, in the vast majority of cases these are one and the same, but there are other exceptions, The Royal Flying Corps for example. I believe, in the case of SLI, the crest has XIII, not PA. https://secure.nottinghamshire.gov.u...e/Details/9968 Best regards, Mike

Having said that....a quick google shows there are also RFC gravestones with the RFC cap badge, so maybe back to the artistic licence theory? Mike

Thank you very much everybody for your replies, much appreciated.