British & Commonwealth Military Badge Forum

Recent Books by Forum Members

   

Go Back   British & Commonwealth Military Badge Forum > South African Military and Police Insignia > General Topics

 Other Pages: Galleries, Links etc.
Glossary  Books by Forum Members     Canadian Pre 1914    CEF    CEF Badge Inscriptions   Canadian post 1920     Canadian post 1953     British Cavalry Badges     Makers' Marks    Pipers' Badges  Canadian Cloth Titles  Books  SEARCH
 
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 04-09-21, 01:24 PM
GatinhoDeGato123 GatinhoDeGato123 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2020
Posts: 62
Default Help needed with Indian & Malay Corps

Hello everyone, I recently bought 'The Unknown Force' written by Ian Gleeson, which covers the history of the black, indian and coloured soldiers of South Africa through several wars, most notably the first and second world wars. It contained alot of pictures of NMC and CC troops, but to my surprise, only one or two of IMC troops.

I see that the CC had their flash on the side of the slouch and pith, same goes for the NMC, except the NMC sometimes has both their badge and flash on the slouch, or just the badge.

This brings me to the question, was it the same for the IMC? I've attached a picture below of a group of IMC soldiers wearing both pith helmets and slouches, in regards to the pith, it's quite clear to see that their regimental flash is on there, and the badge on the front. It is, however, harder to make out what is on the side of the slouch due to the way the man is facing. Any help would be appreciated!
Attached Images
File Type: jpg IMCp.jpg (42.6 KB, 38 views)
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 04-09-21, 07:10 PM
Brian Conyngham's Avatar
Brian Conyngham Brian Conyngham is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Durban South Africa
Posts: 1,238
Default

From what I can ascertain (I'm not an expert, just been collecting for a number of years) the dress code amongst South Africans in general was a lot laxer than many other commonwealth forces, especially in the combat zones.
I do however suspect that all troops had to follow a dress code when on parade etc it would have been the same for all troops on the pith helmets, relevant regimental badge in front and flashes on sides. Slouch hat (not that common) would have badge on upturned side with a possible backing.

Brian
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 04-09-21, 07:14 PM
Brian Conyngham's Avatar
Brian Conyngham Brian Conyngham is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Durban South Africa
Posts: 1,238
Default

The IMC and CC also wore caps, see link below:

https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/fo...ad.php?t=85384
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 05-09-21, 09:19 AM
GatinhoDeGato123 GatinhoDeGato123 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2020
Posts: 62
Default

Greetings Brian, I do believe you are correct with this. On one picture from the book, I saw two NMC soldiers with both their badge and backing (which looks like a plain strip of brown cloth) on a slouch. There's quite a few CC pictures in the book, most of which contain pictures of them wearing the slouch with just their flash. There is one picture in the book which could be the IMC, but it's extremely hard to make out, because the badge is so small and has very little detail.

On the picture I sent earlier, if you look close enough, I think you can see a little bit of a backing, somewhat. If I'm not mistaken, it could be green, which was on the right side of the flash (and on the right side of the slouch too in this case), leading me to believe that indeed, the IMC had the same as the CC or NMC. Still, it's very hard to know if they also placed a badge on there or not.

In regards to the caps, I am indeed aware of that. Though, I see very little pictures of it in the book. I saw a picture of CC troops awhile ago outside some sort of tent in East Africa, and one guy was wearing one of those caps.

Besides all this, I also managed to find two pictures of NMC troops on parade and wearing pith helmets, and indeed, it does look more organized in those sort of events.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
imc, indian and malay corps, south africa, ww2, wwii

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

mhs link

All times are GMT. The time now is 01:30 PM.


Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.