Best book for Cloth Shoulder titles

[rockape560]

hi guys,

this is probably a silly question but just wanted to know if anyone could reccomened a good book on cloth shoulder titles.

many thanks,

philip

[wright241]

Originally Posted by rockape560

hi guys,

this is probably a silly question but just wanted to know if anyone could reccomened a good book on cloth shoulder titles.

many thanks,

philip

I have never seen a single book on these badges. I do have the first 50 issues of Military Illustrated and those, along with the MHS journals, plus the Crown Imperial issues are the nearest thing there is. The MI issues were/are pretty good - they did a couple of issues on the Commando badges etc and a few regiments, but nothing like Westlake, or KK, covers ST's in the same way.

[Neil M.ex14/20H.MAN A.C.F]

Hi Phillip
The best one is British Army Cloth Insignia published by Arms and Armour Press.It's out of print but second hand ones are not to difficult to get hold of.

[Peter Brydon]

I have a copy of the book mentioned, but I would not say it is particularly good being rather basic .If you are after a book on cloth shoulder titles, the ones in the book are illustrated in black and white and wont help on titles where the units are not immediately recognisable by the wording on the titles themselves

I would suggest joining The Military Heraldry Society ( there is a link on the Forum somewhere ). Quite a number of back issues of The Formation Sign the journal of the society are still available and the articles in the journal will help in identifying unknown cloth shoulder titles and other cloth badges.

P.B.

[David Tremain]

Brian Davis's book mentions cloth shoulder titles in one section of his book (see Bibliography/Further Reading on this forum), but I would agree, the only thing I've got is British Army Cloth Insignia. Perhaps this is a cue for someone to (a) start posting a definitive album as a Forum Project, and (b) someone to write a publication on it. Being in Canada, I don't have access to whatever Army Orders that would be necessary to do the research, otherwise i'd love to do something like that. It's certainly an area that requires more information and clarification. See my posting earlier about why some regiments had two different shoulder flashes in different colours, as an example. Then there's the types of backings, printed versus woven, etc. It could make for an interesting project. David

[Bill A]

Certainly there is a need, but it is far more difficult to research and write a cloth reference book even with access to ACI's etc, as needed. Even with approved patterns, and authorizations, the very nature of the insignia has allowed for a huge range of unofficial titles and patches. A gargantuan task, but using modern technology, it could be fantastic resource.

[AndyC_65]

Am resurrecting this thread to see if there's been anything in the last 4 years?

I basically have the same question - is there a good reference book on cloth shoulder titles?

I'm new to cloth shoulder titles, and am confused by:-

1. The dates in which shoulder titles were first introduced
2. The dates of use of the printed version?
3. Woven badges with Serif font - Why? Officers?
4. Silk thread - again, why? Officers - or perhaps private purchase?
5. Backings - how can you date a cloth shoulder title by the backing?
6. Why the change from Red & white for infantry to various colours?

I'm sure I have loads more questions - but I'm basically looking for somewhere to sate my quest for knowledge on cloth shoulder titles.

Many thanks in advance.

cheers,

Andy C

[Bill A]

I believe Jon Mills is working on such a project for British titles, and someone is working on the same for Canadian cloth shoulder titles. Shameless promotion. http://www.servicepub.com/

[badger123]

All good questions Andy, I'm not sure there's a tome that answers all of your questions though.

It seems to be there whilst there are some excellent books about badges and insignia, there are still vast gaps in the information available to us.

My own opinion is that collectors like us can go a long way to fill these gaps by publishing what information we have.

Ivan

[Mike Jackson]

John Waring's Identification Pamphlets Nos 1 and 2 for British titles (and formation signs of course). Not absolutely comprehensive but very good given they were written in the 1960s. Join the Military Heraldry Society! Mike

[paj1]

From D-Day to VE-Day The British Soldier
By Jean Bouchery
Has a Whole Chapter on Shoulder Titles and is well worth buying
Julian

[Bill A]

Hi Julian, I would be careful using Bouchery. The Canadian Soldier book has far too many errors to be a good reference for Canadian formation signs and titles. I am not sure about the British Soldier book.

[paj1]

Bill
I know no Book is ever 100%
But as an overview of uniforms and equipment 1944-1945
I Think its worth adding to your book collection
Julian

[Bill A]

Understood and agreed. I have both books. I was just adding a caution. Unfortunately, the cloth section of the Canadian book is not reliable.