A rare badge on ebay
 

Just to share.

Who is the seller? The third picture looks like a dealer that has put up a lot of good stuff recently but it seems they have nothing listed at the moment.

£2200/2300 it fetched, can't remember which price off the top of my head

Found it - eventually !

Closing price was £2730 - link to the listing is here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WW2-Polit...-/403292895951

Does anyone know how many staff would have been in the PWE?

Probably not very many wearing uniform as the Political Warfare Executive (PWE) was a secret department, when dealing with the outside world it used the cover name Political Intelligence Department (PID).

Tim

Thanks Tim

Note that there’s another of the same badge on that blanket
 

Not sure if the other variant is the same however.

Does anyone know the significance of the lapwing in the badge?. I am assuming that it has to do with the lapwing being also known as the peewit but that's just a guess, PWE and all that.

Yes, the Lapwing is also known as the Peewit or Pewee, so there's a play on "PWE" - Political Warfare Executive.

As I recall Len Coleman mentions it in his "Some Talk of Private Armies".

Thanks Leigh, it's nice to know some of my little grey cells are still intact. :)

Len Whittaker was the author Leigh. A great friend and teacher.
All the best
Mike

Yes, I don't know where on earth "Coleman" came from , I was thinking "Whittaker".
Brain and fingers don't co-ordinate well at 5 in the morning.

Evidence of the sign worn on BD - left arm only - can be seen at

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65...ttend-lectures

A wartime OSS film taken in Egypt.

Jon

Interesting Jon - thanks for posting