Anomalies
 

a bit like tan lining in maroon berets. there again, the Poles have always had a mind of their own. or were other forces involved ?

WW1 traits ?

Nutty!

Cryptic.

a veritable clutch of the straw. many moons ago I acquired a collection of WW2 Polish stuff, this slip-on being part of it, 2+2 = 5. stand up at the back who said " kitchen police ". five hundred lines by tomorrow.

" embroidered white on khaki K.P. (Korpus Polski) slip-on shoulder titles" ;)

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/a...1-a905010d670b

An interesting thread - good to identify
Mike

the circle made. if not circa WW1 and WW2 Polish, why not black lettering ?

I agree, off-white lettering generally in WW1 and black in WW2.

Perhaps made in white on khaki to match the cloth beret badge??

Tim

That seems a logical possibility, Tim. We need some contemporary photos of Polish troops in the U.K. at that time.

New direction ? :confused:

Found some posts from 2017 about this item on another forum , initially attributed to Korpus Polski , but final post states :

"have just found in a book devoted to the Second Polish Corps that KP stands for Kwatera Polowa and therefore this slip on would have been worn by the staff of general Wladyslaw Anders' Field Headquarters."

IWM has a page (unfortunately no photo) :

BADGE, COLLAR, POLISH, ARMY, KWATERA POLOWA, HEADQUARTERS

Physical description

A pair of green, wool collar tabs featuring the letters K.P. embroidered in white.

I would take the IWM description with a tad pinch of salt. shame there is no photo of the items which would indicate some form of authenticity.
without going too deep into the insignia of WW2 Polish armed forces , apart from Polish War Correspondent, rank was the only thing worn on shoulder straps. I am of the belief that this KP slip-on was early UK issue like the standard British slip-on shoulder title, but its representation and who was responsible for the procurement remains a mystery. but there again I am fallible.

I agree that the IWM is frustrating , lots of items have descriptions but no photos.

The fact that they mention KWATERA POLOWA and also "the letters K.P. embroidered in white" , does give pause for thought.

Would General Anders headquarters staff have had some form of insignia to identify them ? Would the normal dress etiquette have been observed during the Italian campaign ?

I bow to the superior knowledge you guys have but until a better identification is made I'll accept 'possibility' that the IWM got it right. ;)