It is well known, however, that the Regiments of the British Army do not always conform to the ‘Party Line’, particularly during wartime. There may have been other ‘unofficial’ insignia, such as the ‘theatre made’ badges referred to above, not supplied through the official channels. Although it is not the purpose of this paper to examine all examples of mistaken identity (let alone modern forgeries); they would include the ‘all GM’ Ox & Bucks LI which is, in fact, the badge of the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry. Territorial rifle battalions wore blackened GM badges and some such as the 5th King’s could be mistaken for a regular ‘all GM’ badge if its blackening had worn off (or had been otherwise removed). There are also regular ‘foreign’ badges such as what appears to be an ‘all GM’ Seaforth Highlanders badge which was worn by the Pictou Highlanders of Canada between 1923 and 1938.
[i] Similarly, a GM ‘Black Watch’ badge was worn by the 42nd Infantry Battalion (Royal Highlanders), a Montreal Regiment.
[ii]
[i] Canadian General Order 57/1923 and CGO 83/1938. See also Mazaeus, 1985, 90.
[ii] The date of this badge is uncertain, though see Taboika, 2007, 167-175.