Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan O
Even odder is that the Regular Hampshires did not wear collars on their SD at all and their collar badges for other orders of dress was not that badge either. He appears to have the officers' cap badge design on both lapels.
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For the 1902 service dress the collar badge was decreed to be the same as worn on the forage cap badge, but in bronze. That was actually quite a common intent by the dress regulations intended to simplify matters in the field. Most regiments obliged, but some did not, either by not wearing collar badges at all, or by wearing a different design. The latter was especially common if the forage cap badge was large and so appeared overbearing on collars. As you have mentioned, the Hampshires regular battalions opted for the former, but some TF units and war-raised Service Battalions went their own way and wore collar badges as ordered. According to Colin Churchill the 1st Battalion did adhere to regulations, although whether that changed later on I don’t know, as there are photos of 1st Battalion officers without collar badges. Certainly when the regiment became Royal and then reduced to one battalion the apparent practice of the 2nd Battalion, no collar badges with SD, was adopted.