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Originally Posted by Hawthorn
JT,
Great photographs, another one here I picked up some time ago. Nice image with the two armbands and the Central Association VTC badge.
Simon
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Superb photo, Simon.
So this bloke is not only wearing the ‘George’s Wrecks’ brassard, but appears also to have attested under the Derby Scheme?
He’s suspended in a kind of paradoxical, social no man’s land on home turf… on the one hand (or arm) he’s displaying with his grey (khaki?) Derby Scheme brassard that he has been officially recognised as eligible and willing to fight, and on the other arm his red Georgius Rex armlet is telling the world he is not to be mistaken for a real soldier.
DS & VTC Brassards IWM LLT.jpg
There’s a fascinating article by Laura Ugolini titled ‘The Illicit Consumption of Military Uniforms in Britain, 1914-1918’, wherein she explores the motives behind the need for many people at that time to assert their patriotic identities through the acquisition and donning of military garments and accoutrements. An absolutely fascinating read.
JT