Cloth Beret Badges For Soldiers - 1980's
 

Hi Guys,

Does anyone have examples of the following cloth beret badges for soldiers (not officers) from the 1980's era:

9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales’s)
Royal Corps of Signals
The Queen’s Regiment
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal Regiment (Berkshire and Wiltshire)
Royal Corps of Transport
Royal Pioneer Corps
Army Catering Corps

Regards,

Chris

I'm not sure they're all 1980's, hi-res scans available if required.
I have a RCT in a slightly "rubbed" condition sewn on a beret somewhere

CLOTH BADGES
 

Chris, Is this what you are looking for?

R Sigs & RCT
I have no cloth badge for RPC or ACC. I have never seen any for these, I believe they only wore A/A badges.
Jerry

Thanks Leigh, Jerry.

The reason I ask is that there was a trial of cloth badges in the 1980's with such items to be used as a possible substitute for A/A cap badges. I have details of the request for the trial and the units, as supplied in post #1, to be covered. However, I have not been able to find a write up on the conclusions of the trial, if one actually existed, so was not 100% that the trial actually took place.

It seems though that at least some of the badges were manufactured. The Queen's Regt is a little different in that before the trial in late 1970's they unilaterally started using a cloth badge in place of the A/A item for soldiers. Chappies at the top not impressed and Queen's told to get back to A/A which may explain the two versions shown by Leigh.

I have no idea how to date cloth badges but good to see examples of five of the seven units so far shown which may point to the fact that the trial badges were actually made.

Regards,

Chris

Many units had cloth badges made for wear in N.I. so that the "shiny" ones did not make them a target.

I may be wrong but I believe that the taller of the Queen's badgespreceded the shorter version.
Are you interested in the Guard's versions of embroidered badges? The GG were using embroidered on felt grenades by 1974/75, the design being slightly different in colouring to the NCOs sleeve grenades although the latter were used on the beret due to shortages.
The Chesires wore a round, embroidered felt badge, I think in the 80's, it was unpopular and later used as a tracksuit badge for those who passed a ski course (so I was told when I phoned their RHQ).

I believe the Queen's Regiment, specifically 2 QUEEN'S adopted the cloth badge in 1972/3.
I have never seen a cloth beret badge for the DERR, RPC or ACC and would suspect that the trial did not take place. Indeed there were many more cloth beret badges already in use by the 1980s and opinions could have been sought from units by the ADC.

For other examples see my album https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/fo...hp?albumid=513

Wait out for counter-battery fire from Marc (54Bty)!

Tim

The Kings Own Royal Borders ORs wore their cloth badge for a long time. Early 80's ,maybe late 70's up until amalgamation. I asked about this when the depot Kings Division was at Strensall. I was told that the a/a badge was very weak where the crown joined the wreath so they adopted the cloth badge for use in the beret.

I'd forgotten about the KORBR, 1st Bn were wearing the woven badge on khaki beret by June 1976, when they arrived in W. Belfast.

QLR's wore yellow design on a dark blue vertical oval but I don't know when.

Forum member Snowdrop has produced a useful booklet
"Cloth Beret & Cap Badges of The British Armed Forces"
which he distributed as a download and in printed form.

Ian Kelly of Kelly Miltara (or was it Kelly Badges) published a small A5 version (8 pages?) earlier than that but never updated it.

I believe the round Royal Sigs badge was an ACF example as I have a round RAOC one worn by the Shropshire ACF

The mid blue round Royal Sigs has been mentioned on the forum I think as a trials pattern that was unpopular and not adopted. It seems to have later been adopted, by CCF?
It crops up on eBay and Kelly's.
I was looking for a copy of Kelly's booklet on cloth beret badges but haven't yet found one.
Cloth beret badges feature in some editions of Crown Imperial but they tend not to have dates of wear.

Thanks Guys,

There are indeed lots of cloth badges about. Regarding NI 'issue' - looking at the doco these were all unofficial and the ADC told units not to use them. The Grenadier Guards asked to have a cloth badge as they had previously reverted from A/A to brass (1969) and the black paint would not stick to the brass badge. ADC officially said NO!

What is of great interest to me is the absence of the DERR, RPC or ACC examples. These were directly specified by ADC to Stores and Clothing Research and Development Establishment (SCRDE) as part of the trial starting in 1981 for six months. It implies, together with lack of trial conclusion, that the trial did not in fact take place.

All other examples shown of interest but I suspect difficult to accurately date to the early 1980's?

Regards,

Chris

D E R R cloth badges were issued and worn before the introduction of the a/a badge There is an example in the regimental museum I was informed on my last visit to the museum this summer by an ex member of the regiment and a museum volunteer that they were collected and burnt on a funeral prior He thought that 1 or 2 may have escaped
David

Chris see Marlows auction 22/11/18 photos of lot 143 still on line for 1 that got away I missed it as I only glanced quickly at the lot Sold hammer price £50.00
David

Thanks David,

DERR A/A badge seems to have been around at least since 1966 when they were priced at 1 shilling and 3 pennies each but this may have been an interim collar badge with the cap badge authorised at least by 1970.

As such, were the cloth DERR badges you note pre the 1980's?

I know nothing about cloth badges but I bet they are very hard to accurately date.

Regards,

Chris

Chris may be wrong about when these were worn i.e pre a/a badges They could be from the 1980's trail All Was told the regiment did not like them If Find out anything I will let you know
David

From "Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment (Berkshire and Wiltshire)" by Martin McIntyre in association with the Royal Glocestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regimental Museum:

"In 1969 the Wessex Brigade was incorporated into the Prince of Wales's Division and a decision was made that regiments could revert to their former cap badges. As the regiment did not have one it adopted the collar badge worn at that time.............The Brandywine flash as shown was worn in the beret only. When the regiment was stationed in Osnabruck in 1978 a small-scale experiment was tried with an all-cloth version. This was quickly discarded".

Many thanks never thought of looking at my copy
David

Thanks David!

I'll keep looking for the trial results too and if I find anything I will report back.

Regards,

Chris

I was hoping to find an image of the cloth badge in wear but couldn't find one.
Interesting and unexpected to see "shiney" rather than blackened badges in wear in Bogside, NI by 1DERR in 1979. Could be that a ceasefire was in place so the unblackened badges were in use.
It could be that the battalion's impending move to NI in 1979 was the impetus for the short lived cloth badge introduced in 1978.

Chris,
I can recall the Royal Signals ones, being issued at the Army Apprentice College Harrogate, beginning of the 1980's, they were binned within a couple of weeks. I have however since seen a photo of them being worn by a TA unit around that time, unfortunately i do not have a copy, they were also not retained. Regards Mark

Hi Mark,

Very interesting as the time reconciles with the trial. Still no word on the results though. May be the trial did take place but was quietly binned?

Regards,

Chris

9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales’s) cloth beret badges
 

Hi Chris

Attached are the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales’s) cloth beret badges I have, I also had one in UN blue for, I believe, wear on the UN blue helmet cover (see separate image - it is AWOL at present if I still have it).

Hope it helps

Graham

Thanks Leigh,

I have a copy and interesting that no RPC or ACC entries that I can see.

Regards,

Chris

Hi Graham,

Lots of 9th/12th - if one was made for the trial I wonder which one it was?

Regards,

Chris

The bottom two where worn during Gulf War 1, and not just by the Lancers.

Marc

Chris just found a note in my files regarding the D E R R cloth badge . Worn by all ranks 1983-85 a cloth version of the standard badge trialled by one of the company's but quickly phased out I have just acquired an example of this badge removed from a beret -a scarce item
Still looking for a band cross belt plate /pouch bade in a/a
David

The cloth Queen's was worn by Wilson's School CCF during the 80s. The website/alumni pages show it quite clearly. I was badged RAF so had a proper badge, or so I thought until I joined the Royal Signals and wore a badge in earnest

Is this any good for this thread

Matt added some queens items in my album and gallery

Thank you old fellow. I will have a look see

Thanks David,

Maybe the trial did go ahead for some of the badges but I've not yet found any official results. If anyone does please contact me.

Regards,

Chris

Part of a cloth grouping on eBay a few days ago?

The black backed 9th / 12 th Lancers beret badge was kept in use for many years. A friend of mine served with them at Swanton Morley in the LAD ,they were still in use then. Maybe slight differences but generally the same badge.

Was this the one that was on e..y David ? I saw one in a lot with a cloth title and a couple of unrelated bits.

Leigh and Mike both correct
David

Chris added photo of cloth badge in my album

Thanks!

Not the most striking of badges.

Chris

I came across this image the other day, it shows what looks like the larger of the Queen's Regiment badges being worn by a patrol of 3 Queens in Belize (cover photo of the August 1977 edition of "Soldier" magazine).