I suspect many such variations are the result of local manufacture, in India or while overseas. Both Nos. 2 & 3 look to my failry untutored eye like 'standard' pattern but the first is indeed unusual and may be pre-War. I'm not sure, though I suspect somebody can say, when the slip-ons were introduced in the IA. Possibly before WWII, as at least some units had practical experience from the NWF of the perils of picking out officers by giving them distinctive dress or insignia.
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