5th London Armoured Car Company (Sharpshooters)

[PeterA]

At my time with the Sharpshooters, 1959-65, the St Johns Wood contingent were based at Allitsen Road.

Henry Street was renamed Allitsen Road in 1938.

PeterA

[PeterA]

An interesting letter just in from Dan Taylor, curator of the Sharpshooters Museum:-

Hello Peter,

I thought you might be interested to hear that I made an admittedly small discovery on the badge used during the period when the Sharpshooters were 5th Armoured Car Company. One of the photo albums I’m scanning has a note made by the compiler – one LR Gaywood. He says against a group of photographs taken in 1921, ‘The unit then wore the “Tank Corps” cap badge in brass...’. Indeed, I’ve found a couple of photographs that appear to bear this out as the badge seems devoid of the title that runs along the bottom, making it likely to be an RTC badge. I’m not sure I’ve seen a brass example, so that’s something else on the wish list for the collection! The ORs of the time don’t appear to have collar dogs, though some officers do – though I’m yet to find an image clear enough to decide what they may be. Major Francis D’Arby, OC in the early twenties appears to have worn the brass RTC cap badge on a service cap – though I can’t be absolutely sure as the chin strap hides the bottom edge of the badge.

In the late twenties I’ve discovered another difference which I have not seen accurately recorded. Up until 1931 the cap badge was the standard sized XXIII version with ‘23rd London Armoured Car Company’ around the rim. OR’s seem to have worn this with silver RTC collar dogs, continuing into the thirties in this form, with the adaptation of the CLY version of the same cap badge. Officers and WOs are seen wearing the darker (bronze?) XXIII version of the badge well into the thirties – in some cases until the formation of 3 CLY in 1939. Anecdotally, it appears that the collar dog version was more typically used as a cap badge by them too. Our exhibited Inter-War service dress uniform is incorrect as it is an OR’s uniform but has the XXIII collar dogs, for which I have found no evidence. I’ll be changing them to RTC silver badges over the winter break.

Thanks again for your help – I hope this is of interest.

All the best
Dan

Curator
Kent & Sharpshooters Yeomanry Museum Trust
Reg Charity No273329