WW2 Rank Backing Colours

Gentlemen,

Can anyone help me out here please? I'm trying to establish when officers wore the colour backing behind their rank badges (pips and crowns) on Battledress.

ACI 1118 of 1940 lists the colours to be worn, and later amendments like the Recce Corps green (ACI 420 of 1941) etc, were also made. I can't find the RADC (green) as yet though!

Some examples:

RAC - yellow. RA - red. RE - blue. R. Sigs - blue. Infantry - scarlet.
RASC - yellow. Air Defence Corps - green. RAPC - yellow. Int Corps- green.

My question is: when did officers wear these colours behind their rank badges? What I mean is, were the standard khaki type the default working dress / battle order type and were the coloured backings worn at HQ level, on best order / parade ground dress, etc, or, as has been suggested...vice versa for battlefield identification?

Help?

Ken

[loupie1961]

Hello! Is your question related to British Army rank badges or South African Army? As South African Army is concerned, I have got in my collection a Leather Jerkin that has been provided with a cloth collar and rank epaulettes: the rank pips have got a red backing, so I guess backing were used in combat order, whereas brass or bronze pips for the parade ground, walking out BD and so on.

Originally Posted by Glosters Cloth

Gentlemen,

Can anyone help me out here please? I'm trying to establish when officers wore the colour backing behind their rank badges (pips and crowns) on Battledress.

ACI 1118 of 1940 lists the colours to be worn, and later amendments like the Recce Corps green (ACI 420 of 1941) etc, were also made. I can't find the RADC (green) as yet though!

Some examples:

RAC - yellow. RA - red. RE - blue. R. Sigs - blue. Infantry - scarlet.
RASC - yellow. Air Defence Corps - green. RAPC - yellow. Int Corps- green.

My question is: when did officers wear these colours behind their rank badges? What I mean is, were the standard khaki type the default working dress / battle order type and were the coloured backings worn at HQ level, on best order / parade ground dress, etc, or, as has been suggested...vice versa for battlefield identification?

Help?

Ken

Many thanks for that Loupie1961.
British in the main, but the info you provide does help. Thank you.
I've looked at quite a good sample of period (WWII) images now, and it does look like the 'unofficial' rule might have been that their was no rule! Maybe local level commanders decided what was and wasn't worn, and when? Unless someone knows differently...?

[loupie1961]

Originally Posted by Glosters Cloth

Many thanks for that Loupie1961.
British in the main, but the info you provide does help. Thank you.
I've looked at quite a good sample of period (WWII) images now, and it does look like the 'unofficial' rule might have been that their was no rule! Maybe local level commanders decided what was and wasn't worn, and when? Unless someone knows differently...?

You're welcome! I have asked because you have posted your question in the South Africa Military Insignia forum, but I guess that if you want to find out what the regulations were for the British Army, it would be better to opne a new thread in the British Insignia Forum. To tell the truth I have tried to finde out the same thing for the Indian Army, since many of the epaulette slip ons badged to officers of Indian formations seem to have the plain khaki worsted cloth pips, but there's the odd exception of pips with the usual backing: red for Infantry, green for Rifles and so on....

I'm beginning to think the general rule was that their was no rule. Maybe it was down to local level commanders to decide?
I've posted under a different topic (!) now, and if anything concrete comes in I will let you know.
Very best wishes and happy hunting.
Ken

[Rob Miller]

Here are a couple of threads from the past with similar questions and clues.

Rob

https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/fo...hlight=colours

https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/fo...highlight=pips