Not contributing anything definitive, and responding in a rush without digesting all comments.
I have an example bought several years ago and recalled before seeing the post by Tinto it is a smaller (beret type) size. The dealer who sold it to me told me it was 4 Battalion WW2 NOT WW1.
I have never checked this out, or whether assertions at the time that it was worn in NW Europe are correct. Please excuse my lack of follow up - as I have not checked where 4th Bn served in WW2 and whether the assertions are plausible or correct. Neither could I contribute a reason as to why 4th Bn would wear a variant badge. It was a cheap buy at the time from someone I respected, long time deceased alas.
Hoping this is of interest - ANY THOUGHTS APPRECIATED
Mike
Not wanting to be too tardy, I did a quick Wiki:
The 4th Battalion was a 1st Line Territorial Army (TA) unit assigned to the 159th Infantry Brigade, part of the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division.[2] However, on 17 May 1942, the 4th KSLI, along with the brigade, were transferred to the become the motorised infantry element of the 11th "Black Bull" Armoured Division.[2] They spent many months training in preparation for Operation Overlord and the 4th KSLI, like the 2nd Battalion, also served with distinction in the North West Europe Campaign. In October 1944, Sergeant George Harold Eardley of the 4th Battalion was awarded the Victoria Cross for his part in knocking out multiple enemy machine guns.[17]
The 5th Battalion was a 2nd Line TA duplicate of the 4th Battalion formed in 1939 on the doubling of the Territorial Army as, by this time, another European conflict seemed inevitable. The battalion was assigned to the 114th Infantry Brigade of the 38th (Welsh) Infantry Division, a 2nd Line duplicate of the 53rd (Welsh) Division which the 4th Battalion was originally assigned.[2] The battalion remained within the United Kingdom on home defence duties. In 1944, the battalion was transferred to the 80th Infantry (Reserve) Division and later the 38th Infantry (Reserve) Division. With these two formations, the battalion served as a training unit for both the KSLI and the North Staffordshire Regiment, eventually sending over 100 officers and 4,000 other ranks to the front-line as trained replacements.[
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