Thread: Badge Backings
View Single Post
  #4  
Old 27-08-08, 09:29 AM
Alan O's Avatar
Alan O Alan O is offline
Super Moderator
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 12,786
Default

Chris,

The Inf backings result from one of their forebear regiment uniform facings. All of the Bns have been amalgamated at some time and usually they retained some bit of the dress of the older antecedents. For example the RGBW kept the scarlet backing of the DERR who in tune had kept it from the Berkshires. The same with the cavalry uniforms. The QRL wear a red backing on their 17/21 pattern mottos to show that they come from the 16/5th Lancers who were known as the Scarlet Lancers due to the colour of their uniforms.

The backings themselves often reflect the facing (ie lapel colours) of the old pattern C18th tunics. In the case of the LI the red backing comes from red piping on one of their predecessors Rifle green uniforms. Your QLR badge has the yellow facing of one of the Lancashire Regts from which is was made up.

It is not always uniform facings as supposedly the South staffs (later the Staffordshire Regt) wore a hessian (sackcloth) backing to reflect the time they spent in the west indies (some 40 years) when they had to patch their worn out uniforms with local cloth.

Hope this is on interest.

Alan
Reply With Quote