WWII White Service Stripe
 

Has anyone ever seen a white WWII Service Stripe?
My understanding is that the small red inverted stripes were worn on the lower right BD sleeve during WWII, but I have had two bits of conflicting information.
1) White Stripe indicated service in a previous war, i.e., WWI
2) White Stripe indicated wearer was a regular or TA soldier prior to war being declared.
Can anyone clarify please?
Many thanks,
Ken

Are you thinking of the "service stripe" inverted chevrons worn on the lower left sleeve?

Oh blimey.
I thought Wound Stripes were lower left and Service Stripes were lower right arm?
Ken

Wound stripes (vertical strips) and service stripes (inverted rank chevrons) as in length of service in the army lower left, the wartime service stripes (small red inverted chevrons) lower right.

That's what I'm after Leigh, the WWII red Service Stripes on lower right arm.
Two different people have told me of a white one, which goes at the bottom of the red ones. Is that right?

I think the Canadians had a white chevron.

Marc

Indeed, the Canadians had a white service chevron for one year's service before 9 September 1939.

Rgds, Thomas

Thank you Marc / Thomas.
But not British Forces?
Some people are calling them War Service Stripes, one for each year after 1940, and others are saying they are Overseas Service Stripes. I've found a picture with Home Guard wearing them so I very much doubt they can be for overseas service?
Ken

The extract below from my forthcoming book may shed some light on the subject.

Jon

In February 1944 the Army was told that two First World War dress distinctions abolished in 1922 were to be reintroduced. Three years earlier the Army Council had turned down a suggestion from Australia’s Military Liaison Team in London that wound stripes and service chevrons ‘similar to those worn during the Great War’ should be introduced as the involvement of civilians ‘dealing with enemy action against Great Britain’ made it difficult to discriminate between military and civilian services. With labour and materials needed for more essential tasks, the Council concluded their revival was not desirable .

Discussions in April 1943 on the introduction of war service medals noted the Prime Minister’s suggestion that ‘the issue of chevrons for every year of service abroad…would be greatly appreciated by the soldier’ a proposition the Admiralty robustly opposed and neither War Office nor Air Ministry favoured, all stressing the administrative difficulties involved. Strongly advocated by Winston Churchill ‘War Service Chevrons’, accepted by the Army Council as preferable to a home service medal, were approved in June 1943. On 27th July COD Branston was told to issue a manufacturing contract as soon as a design for the chevrons, one for each calendar year of war service, was finalised. Dismissing as open to criticism the use of different coloured chevrons for service in each theatre of war as operations in very many theatres had ended in evacuation, the final design, a khaki background with scarlet inverted chevrons of a ‘hue similar to the gorget patches worn on the khaki uniform’ was approved in August. As woven chevrons could not be produced quickly it proved ‘necessary to rely entirely on printed chevrons’, to be issued as single or sets of two, three or four chevrons ready to sew on rather than cut from strips. The Army’s initial order for 9.9 million sets, approximately half of which were three bar chevrons, was to be delivered by November 1943. Following their February 1944 introduction a War Office telegram to all Commands instructed that priority for issue was to be given to units of 21st Army Group. Three months later Branston was instructed to arrange provision of five bar war service chevrons, service up to 2nd September 1945 qualifying for their issue. Privately purchased embroidered and woven chevrons were widely worn. Wound stripes, introduced at the same time consisted of a one and a half inch length of gold braid worn vertically on the left forearm to indicate each wound received were not liked, one regiment noting that ‘These advertisements ‘were no more popular …than they had been in the First World War’. A single red braid stripe worn to the rear of the gold strip indicated wounds sustained in previous wars.

Out of curiosity, my grandfather served with the Royal Artillery from September 1939 (with the BEF in France to the very end with 92 Field Regiment). He had joined the TA or, rather, rejoined it in 1934 having originally served in the TA from 1923 to 1927.

As I am trying to put together a collection of items to best represent his service, and have most of what I need, should I be looking for a set of these chevrons or is it an unknown, i.e. he may not have worn them as it was a personal choice, or did one have to wear them?

And I presume that if he could have worn the chevrons, that he would have been entitled to the five bar version? He was posted to 21 Army Group in March 1945 and I believe he was released in December 1945.

Sadly I have no photos of him in uniform that would help me.