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.
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