Polish Boys Trained By Royal Corps of Signals - British & Commonwealth Military Badge Forum

Drummajor · #1 13-08-20, 10:40 AM

Hi, Forum members.
The, Polish Boys Trained By Royal Corps Of Signals pocket badge is purported to be a very rare WW2 badge, I have seen 1? maybe 2. Do you think this badge is being copied??

Phil.

mike_vee · #2 13-08-20, 10:56 AM

Don't know about fakes but there is a thread showing price difference for exact same badge sold by 2 different sites.

Bosleys sold it in 2017 for £480.00 then it was on Sarmatia Antiques site for £1,250 and finally sold on their eBay site for £1,450 !

https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/fo...h+Boys+Signals

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High Wood · #3 14-08-20, 06:22 AM

Having looked at both threads regarding this badge I have to wonder has its use been confirmed by documentary evidence as something doesn't add up.

If the Polish government commissioned the Royal Corps of Signals to train their boy's (young lads), it was presumably so that they could serve as signallers in the Polish Army. Therefore, one would expect them to have worn Polish Signal Corps badges.

If, in the Polish Signal Corps, there was some cachet in being trained by the Royal Corps of Signals and you wanted to announce it to your fellow Polish Signallers, it would make more sense to tell them in Polish and not
English.

If, you were serving in the Free Polish Forces alongside your British and Commonwealth allies, you had presumably received at least part of your training from the British Army, so why are there not similar badges for Polish boys trained by the Royal Artillery or Polish boys trained by the Army Catering Corps?

Why stop with the Polish? Where are the badges for Free French boys and the Belgian and the Dutch boys trained by the Royal Corps of Signals?

If these badges are legitimate, why have so few come to light?

Something definitely doesn't add up.

Drummajor · #4 14-08-20, 10:18 PM

Yes, a good point.
I have tried to find out some information about this badge, there is hardly anything.
I can find information on Junaki, (Polish Military Schools) but can not find any mention of the Royal Corps of Signals associated with them.
Wouldn't the Royal Corps of Signals history mention that they trained Polish boys??.
Searching by using the inscription on the badge only brings up the badge that has been mentioned in previous threads.

Phil.

High Wood · #5 14-08-20, 10:54 PM

I am beginning to think that the badge is a fantasy item. The sales description states that the badge was issued to those boys who had completed a signals training course in Cairo, so at best it was an unofficial souvenir badge. But it begs the question, what were Polish boys doing in Cairo in the first place?

Drummajor · #6 15-08-20, 09:06 AM

Yes. Thanks for that, I will try and find out more information, but I don't like my chances.
Phil.

mike_vee · #7 15-08-20, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by High Wood

I am beginning to think that the badge is a fantasy item. The sales description states that the badge was issued to those boys who had completed a signals training course in Cairo, so at best it was an unofficial souvenir badge. But it begs the question, what were Polish boys doing in Cairo in the first place?

According to an article I found , 300-400 exiled Polish officers served in the Royal West African Frontier Force.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/25779137?seq=1

PS. Great find Jerry !

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engr9266 · #8 31-10-21, 06:10 PM

Saw this collection for sale today 31/11 at Aldershot

Padre · #9 01-11-21, 09:41 AM

I am surprised with all the knowledge on here that no one has mentioned our own Polish military museum in London, the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum.

It is two or three doors down from the former Iranian Embassy (of SAS fame) in Princes Gate. The Museum is temporarily closed, but is otherwise free, and you are usually taken around by one of their guides.

The badge in question is genuine, the museum having an example, along with uniform and insignia from the Polish RAF Apprentice School in Egypt. The day I visited I was escorted around by an elderly gentleman who had been one of these apprentices. I was given a nice, and illuminating talk on the exhibits, all being donated items. I was also free to take photos of anything. I do know it was specifically pointed out to me (possibly as my guide was formerly one of them), and I took photos, and it has stuck in my mind. My photos are stuck on another computer, but they do have supporting photos and paperwork displayed with it.

As a last point, one of these was sold about ten days ago by C & T Auctions, £400.00 hammer. As with all items, 'it is worth what someone is willing to pay...'