Printed Pegasus Patches - Colour Variations

[tcrown]

I recently acquired two unissued printed Pegasus patches. I was quite surprised about the dark maroon colour compared to my other two pairs of patches which are mounted on BDs and obviously have been worn. Same surprise on the sky blue although not the same on both patches, one being more turquoise type of blue. It is possible that after a few days of exposure to sunlight or rain, the colours have faded to a more reddish type of maroon and the blue turning to almost white. Quality of inks used could have been a factor.

If I refer to Ken Joyce’s excellent book on the Canadian Battalion, several variations of patches have been recorded due to the large number of printing firms that were involved in the manufacturing process from 1942 to 1945. ‘These include slight differences in the silhouette of the Bellerophon on Pegasus as well as variations in the shade of colour used.’ (ref. p114)
All the patches that I have were printed on Drill No #2 cotton coarse weave.

I have attached a few photos as well as close-up of particular details.
I’d like to have other opinions and collectively maybe we can find some of the variations Ken Joyce referred to.

Thanks.
Pierre