Iraq levies
 

The Iraq Levies
Badges and Insignia

The Iraq Levies started life as a small unit of 80 horsemen called the Muntafiq Horse or Arab Scouts raised during the Great War. From the time of it’s first formation until it was formalised in 1919 it went under a number of names and its history is to say the least confusing.

Uniforms were issued but there doesn’t appear to have been a great deal of standardisation and certainly no badges have been identified as particular to that period. British officers probably wore the uniforms of their parent unit while local troops wore whatever could be obtained for them. Head-dress appears to have been either an Arab head cloth or Indian style turban without any badge. In the early stages of the unit’s existence the majority of local troops were Arab with some Kurds. However a considerable number of Assyrians began to enlist and by the time of the campaign against the Kurds in 1919 there was a full battalion of them.

In 1922 the unit’s adopted badge was a pair of crossed Iraqi daggers, hilts up and blades curving outwards with a crown surmounted by a lion between the hilts. Officers in service dress wore the usual British service dress cap with this badge.

With the formation of the Iraqi Kingdom in the 1920s the British agreed to stop the recruiting of Arabs who were needed for the new Iraqi Army and the Levies became more and more Assyrian in character.

Quite soon the crown and lion was dropped from the cap badge and a simple pair of crossed daggers was adopted. These were locally made, the officers from cast silver and the other ranks from a copper rich brass. The formal head dress was originally an astrachan fur busby but later a slouch hat turned up on the left was adopted in it’s place. The cap badge usually had a single stick pin fastening - presumably so it could be put on and off with minimal damage to the hat. Since they were handmade in the souk the badges exhibit considerable variation in size and the amount of decoration. Officers badges can vary from quite plain to elaborate niello inlay.

A smaller badge with lugs was worn on the airborne beret during WW2

The crossed daggers can also be found with a variety of letters and numbers attached. These are not fully understood.

Slouch hats were worn with a khaki pugree which had a coloured top fold and a correspondingly coloured feather plume
2nd Bn - Red
3rd Bn - White
4th Bn - Black
Depot - Yellow
MG - Blue

The photos show an officer's silver badge and a soldier's brass badge.

Collar badges, Shoulder badges, buttons
 

Collar badges do not seem to have been worn although a badge consisting of an oak leaf wreath circle and the letters IL has been seen.

There was however a special shoulder badge consisting of a single dagger worn point to the rear and turned down where a shoulder title would have been expected. These were again silver for officers and copper brass for ORs. They exist in a bewildering variety of shapes and sizes. Fastenings also vary from brooch fittings to conventional lugs. Badges may be cast or die struck. In common with all levies badges these daggers all show an inverted shield shaped or triangular pommel. Daggers with T shaped or round pommels belong elsewhere.

Buttons appear to have been the usual British GS pattern but there is a button which corresponds to the collar badge mentioned above.

Officers shoulder badges; OR left shoulder badge.

Raf levies iraq
 

In 1933 the title of the force - by now almost exclusively Assyrian in nature - was changed to the RAF Levies Iraq following the hand over of responsibility for the internal security of Iraq to the Royal air Force. Army officers continued to be seconded to the force and it retained an army character.

The Levies went into the Second World War wearing the same crossed daggers badges it always had. However in 1943 the unit was assimilated more closely into the RAF and a new set of badges was issued. These were also locally made of the same copper rich brass and consist of a circlet with the new name, an eagle above and the crossed daggers superimposed. There are at least three varieties of the RAF Levies Iraq badge. The most commonly seen is the version on which the word Iraq is replaced by a spray of palm leaves. Sadly most or even all that come up for sale are fakes.

There is also a question of just how many of these badges were ever worn. Pictures of them in wear are rare.

At the same time the unit adopted the RAF sleeve eagle badge for ORs. The version worn appears to have been the red on khaki drill version, even with battledress.

Officers had a button showing the RAF eagle above crossed daggers.

Photos:
RAF Levies with Iraq - this one is genuine
RAF Levies without Iraq - this is probably a fake
RAF Levies - silver version with pin fastening sold recently on eBay

The Iraq Paracute unit
 

Soon after the formation of the Parachute Regiment in the UK the Levies were tasked with raising a company sized parachute unit. This wore the red beret initially with a reduced size daggers badge. Later they wore the RAF Levies badge and photographs also show the standard Parachute Regiment badge in use as well.

Other insignia was the same as in the Parachute Regiment/Airborne Forces.

The Parachute unit saw service in Palestine and Greece.

Other items
 

Local silversmiths were always keen to provide trinkets for solders and their wives and sweethearts (may they never meet).

Here are a couple of pairs of Levies cuff links.

Disbandment
 

In 1958 Britain scrambled out of Iraq in face of increasing local hostility. The Levies were disbanded - some joined the Iraqi Army. Very many emigrated to America but mainly to Australia where they can still be seen on parade on Anzac Day.

RAF Levies without Iraq look ok ?

I don't think so. it was sold as a copy. It's a different colour to the known genuine ones. But who can tell? In one sense they are all copies since they are all sand cast.

http://www.assyrianlevies.com/
Eddie, the above url is an excellent site. It is run by an ex Aussie Soldier who is decended from one of the Iraq Levies. Def worth a look if you have not seen it. Some excellent photos.
Rgds
Cliff

Cliff

I agree that it's a great site. But it's very Assyriocentric and virtually ignores anyone else who served in the Levies. The pictures are great and you'll find all the things mentioned above on display.

Iraq Levies
 

Photo of front and rear of RAF Levies badge sent ot me my an ex member of the RAF who saw my collection of badges and patches and was kind enough to post the one he had on to me.So I have to conclude that it is a genuine one. John

Hi, mine has the same flaws as your's Eddie; F and A in Iraq. My questions are 1/ mine has a red backing, any significance? 2/ and were they ever armoured at any time? Thanks in advance Mike.

Hi

Speculation I am afraid but a red backing might relate to the red hackle worn originally in the Slouch hat by 2nd Bn?

And given the RAF's love of armoured cars I suspect there may well have been an armoured element.

Eddie

Hi, thanks for that, I'll hang on to it. Hope springs eternal. Mike

The Levies were disbanded post WW2 and the RAF Armoured Car Regiments in Iraq formed about the same time. The GSM Palestine to the Parachute Company SGT I have in my collection has no unit name but RAF style naming.

The only Iraq based unit to earn a GSM Palestine (1945-48) was in armour. I believe some of the Levies likely moved to the RAF armoured units (RAF Regiment) but no evidence yet.

Shaun