Z Force patches

[James S]

I've really enjoyed this thread. Both my wife's grandfather and my great uncle served in Iceland during the war. My wife's grandfather served with the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa and my great uncle, a Dieppe Veteran, with the "Royals". I haven't had any luck finding clear pictures of them wearing the polar bear patch, but I can offer up these two shots of my wife's grandfather, taken while he was serving in Iceland.

Cheers,
James

[James S]

Here are images of different variants of the Z-Force/49th West Riding polar bear patches in my collection.
Cheers,
James

[Hinrik WD]

Dear James,

Thank you very much for sharing these photos. I am home in Iceland now and will try to verify that the printed patch in your collection is the "Sparta" version.

Reg

Hinrik

[Hinrik WD]

James, the printed version and "Z Force" patches you have are made in Iceland. I just heard from Bill and he confirmed the Z Force badge side of it.

I have 5 new patches in my collection, including another set of the metal bears which is also beleived to be theather made.

Reg

Hinrik

[Hinrik WD]

Originally Posted by Bill A

Hi Hinrik, This is a link to the discussion about your tunic. http://www.network54.com/Forum/28173...7499/Button+ID

Regarding my Canadian tunic with Polar bear buttons, I can confirm that they are made in London by a company called "J.R. Gaunt and Son"





Regards

Hinriik

[Bill A]

Several memos and letters from LAC have confirmed Hinrik's theory. The patches for Z Force were obtained in Iceland, and were from a local source.

[Hinrik WD]

Bill, that is interesting because all the Z Force patches I have seen and collected photos of, are identical, indicating some embroidery machinery being use, which I quite frankly a bit surprising as I have many polar bear patches that clearly are handmade making them look different.

If anyone can help me obtain copies of these documents I would be greatful

Reg

Hinrik

[Bill A]

??? Hinrik, I was under the impression that these were the printed pattern that were made in Iceland.

[Hinrik WD]

The printed version as shown above is a "Sparta" patch, made by the Sparta boys clothing shop, Laugavegur street which was closed many years ago. They were printed in a batch of 8. But there are also stories here that local seamstress women hand embroided patches and sold to the troops. I have bought a pair of uncut Sparta patches from the estate of a US Navy sailor who just bought them as a souviner, as he was not authorized to use them.

I thought you said the "Z Force" marked patch was made in Iceland?

[James S]

Bill, nice confirmation on the printed version of the "Z Force" patches being made in Iceland. Was this printed version produced exclusively by "Sparta"? Hinrik, are you saying that other patterns are known to have been sourced locally as well? It has always been my understanding that the title embroidered with "Z FORCE" was locally made in Iceland.



There seems to be so many different variations of the "Z Force" title. This makes sense, given its wide use by both the British, Canadians and Americans. Many patches appear to be "theater made". One might assume that these hand-embroidered titles were most likely produced in Iceland, and the more uniform patterns produced back in England for the 49th West Riding Infantry Divsion.

There are some interesting examples of this title in the IWM collection.
Search: "Iceland Force" under "Name/Title Of Item" http://www.iwmcollections.org.uk/qryMain.php
There are no Polar bears in Iceland? Foxes Glacier Mint wrapper?

Hinrik, I'd be interested in knowing more about the metal bears, such as who wore them, their provenance etc. Are they maker marked? It would be great to see more detailed photos if they were available.

Cheers,
James

[Bill A]

Hi Hinrik, The reference to the patches being made in Iceland appears to be for the printed ones. The hand embroidered ones were likely made by several sources, and likely private purchase in Iceland.

[Hinrik WD]

James,

There is no doubt that some of these printed patches are made by the Sparta clothing shop. My friend was able to obtain an uncut 8 patch sheet from the wartime owners of the shop some 30 years ago. He tried to get the original print plates, but they were lost. I am pressing my friend to find his sheet so I can photograph it and compare to other patches, but like myself he has boxes and boxes of stuff in a few storage rooms.

As for the metal bears, I have 2 photos showing them in use, one by a British solider, the other a USMC man, so that could indicate they were also made in Iceland. I have heard that a few times. These are so rare that I have not yet wanted to remove the bear from its cloth to inspect for a makers mark. I now have 2 sets of these, one with damaged cloth, so I might remove the lower 2 threads so I can flip the metal bear over to look for markings.

There are no Polar bears in Iceland. Acationally the drift over on icebergs from Greenland, but then pose a great danger to the local population and sadly have been killed.

I am not home right now, but I will look into this when I get home.

Reg

Hinrik

[biffrocks]

Hi
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the posts and seeing the pictures of the flashes, I managed to pick up this morning some badges, medals, photos and paperwork to a Sapper Arthur Thomas Edwards who served with the Royal Engineers. I am guessing from the badges and photos that he served in Iceland. The paperwork includes his diary from 1940 and entry to France with the BEF and his evacuation from Dunkirk as well as the photos of what I believe to be of somewhere in Iceland, if anyone can help as to what unit of the R.E. he was in and where the photos were taken.

Hope you enjoy the photos

Rob

[biffrocks]

Some more pics for Arthur Edwards

[biffrocks]

Last few pictures for Arthur Edwards