East Surrey Regiment cap badge

[High Wood]

This East Surrey Regiment cap badge may be a fake or an unusual variant, I cannot decide which.

The die used had some obvious flaws, particularly above the first R of Surrey. There are no vertical lines at either end of the scrolls, which is worrying.

There are vent holes behind the central arms but not behind the star.

The slider is interesting in that it is of the hair pin type, which I have not seen before on an East Surrey Regiment cap badge.

Is it a poorly made war time example or an out right fake?