Small Home Guard shoulder title

[Sonofacqms]

I have this small Home Guard shoulder title which when compared to the normal title is much smaller, by the size it looks as though it was made for a child, but would such a thing have been made back in the dark days of the early forties when things were in short supply for the Home Guard and other military units.

The title looks well made and has by the looks of it been removed from a uniform, I would value thoughts and ideas on it.

Regards Rob

[engr9266]

A makers variation perhaps ??

Jerry

[Postwarden]

Battle dress began to be issued to the Home Guard in the autumn of 1940 but the official printed (or painted) titles did not start to be issued until January 1941.

In the interval numerous variations of the Home Guard title were produced and sold to any units who wanted to wear them. Your second example is one such unofficial version - there were lots more.

Jon

[Sonofacqms]

Thanks for the replies chaps, I have several different variations of Home Guard embroidered titles and a few printed ones, but the size was the thing with this title, as you say Jon, a variation that I have not seen before.

Rob

[ARPCDHG]

Originally Posted by Postwarden

Battle dress began to be issued to the Home Guard in the autumn of 1940 but the official printed (or painted) titles did not start to be issued until January 1941.

In the interval numerous variations of the Home Guard title were produced and sold to any units who wanted to wear them. Your second example is one such unofficial version - there were lots more.

Jon

Were the official printed titles introduced as early as January 1941, Jon? Most of the records and photos I've seen suggest a date around mid-1941.

[Postwarden]

Well spotted. I should have checked my sources. This is what it says in In The Space of a Single Day.

Jon

In February 1941 a WO letter to Territorial Associations announced that the armlets of the force’s initial stages were to be replaced by an Ordnance issue shoulder title. Production of these was running at 50,000 a week by early March and supplies started to reach units, distributed through the TAAs, in April and May 1941. Three million had been delivered by 6th May, when it was reported that two additional manufacturers had been asked to supply a further two million apiece. A total of four-and-a-half million had been issued by 1st July 1941.