Quote:
Originally Posted by grenadierguardsman
Chaps I'm after a pair of the above shoulder titles/tabs please. And does anyone know what exact cloth badges were actually worn.
Andy
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Steer clear of any titles saying No.8 COMMANDO - there is no known thing. The truth is various reproductions exist but like the rest of the UK raised Commandos who made up Battalions of Layforce (7, 8, 11 ie A B C Battalions respectively) they were disbanded before standard Red on Black standard patterns were issues (with or without unit numbers) Thus you can discount ANY No.7, No.8 or No.11 COMMANDO red on black titles you see. I have a photograph of a member of No.7 Commando wearing a generic 'COMMANDO' title - but this is thought to be a post war image.
As for PRE standardised (red on black) titles - I have seen several purporting to be No.8 COMMANDO - black on grey, black on blue, and a host of others. There is no evidence of any title being issued and with a good network of contacts and experienced specialist collectors to draw upon, the consensus is they in deed never existed. Ignore what you see in some books - the answer is always research, research, research - and to date the serious Command collecting community would urge caution given a total lack of evidence. I do recall the adage 'absence of evidence is not evidence of absence' but talking to fellow collectors and veterans leads to a fairly certain conclusion. One can not rule out the odd theatre made version - but given disciple in the unit - it is doubt any wear would be sanctioned.
Hoping this helps - Mike