WW! Cloth Worn

[Postwarden]

Some examples of the numerous - and so far unrecorded in comprehensive published form - cloth badges worn in WWI.

Jon

[High Wood]

1) 37th Division
2) 34th Btn M.G.C 34th Division
3) 17th Division
4) 4th Lancashire Fusiliers?
5) unknown to me

[leigh kitchen]

First one - is that the yellow hose shoe of 37th Div?
Second one - 34th Div?
fourth one - a 42nd Div unit?

[leigh kitchen]

Beaten to it - I spent too much time trying to identify the ones I didn't have a hope of identifying.......

[manchesters]

no. 4 is the 4th Company of the 42nd (East Lancashire) Div. A.S.C.

regards

[leigh kitchen]

Thanks Button.
I hadn't identified the cap badge.

[manchesters]

Its particularly difficult to ID these due to the photographic effect of those days that makes colours look opposite to what they are.

For instance the 4 is yellow and the thin inner diamond is white, all on a dark background.

regards

[Postwarden]

Glad to have provoked some interest. The last photo has so far defied all attempts to decode it.

Jon

[manchesters]

Jon,

Is it plausable that for OpSec he or the photographer has taped over the two cloth badges for the photo?

regards

[leigh kitchen]

The "covering" fabric is sewn on, it doesn't look to be a temporary aarrangement.

[manchesters]

I only see stitching on the backing cloth. ie - the badges, none on the coverings and in fact they are lifting at a couple of the corners.

regards

[Mike Jackson]

Originally Posted by Postwarden

Glad to have provoked some interest. The last photo has so far defied all attempts to decode it.

Jon

Not to mention the myriad and in some cases fascinating, unit signs painted on vehicles etc. I'll post a few examples later. Mike

[leigh kitchen]

Originally Posted by Postwarden

Glad to have provoked some interest. The last photo has so far defied all attempts to decode it.

Jon

Closest I can work out is 8th Div - 23rd Bde wore arcs, 24th circles, 25th squares in regimental colours.
Obviously, the flaw with that suggestion would be that this man would be in the 23rd & 25th Bde at the same time.....

[Mike Jackson]

Originally Posted by Postwarden

Glad to have provoked some interest. The last photo has so far defied all attempts to decode it.

Jon

Jon,
Have you discounted the design and description in John Waring's JW2/D 174? Mike

[leigh kitchen]

Originally Posted by manchesters

I only see stitching on the backing cloth. ie - the badges, none on the coverings and in fact they are lifting at a couple of the corners.

regards

There are definitely lines of fine stitching around the edges of the overlays, a couple of millimetres in from the edges.
I see what you mean about the overlays being a little proud of the backings, if it were a recent photo I'd suspect Velcro, it's as if they could be attached by studs / hooks & eyes, which doesn't seem likely.
Could be that the borders are just khaki tunic fabric backings that the single colour insignia are attached to? The backing fabric looks a little frayed, roughly sewn around the edges.
Badges cut from an old tunic complete with the with tunic cloth backing left as an edging & roughly applied by tacking that edging to the new tunic?