INFANTRY CAP BADGES WORN BY RAC IN WW2

[rboorman]

In the tank museum at Bovington in the room of Remembrance there is a pictorial display of all cap badges worn by RAC regiments including those of the infantry who were 'tanked' during WW2 but retained their own cap badges. I suggest you contact the archivist (google tank museum and go from there) and ask for a definitive list.
dick B

As I mentioned in my post I did indeed contact Bovington and have a nice letter from them, they don't know themselves exactly what was worn by which Regiment, so the Badges in the in the Room of Remembrance are a educated guess only.
Regards,
Marcus.

[fearnaught]

Hi, picked this up today. It's a chromed Loyal North Lancs, could this be a RAC badge, though it's a pre-war badge? If not, any ideas?

[timburling]

Only just read this post, partly due to me collating the cap badges of all British Armoured Units in WW2. There is an excellent reference source in G.L.D. Alderton's book "Cap Badges of the British Army". The latest version lists all the Infantry regiments converted to armour who retained their parent regiment cap badges. There is also an excellent section on badge backings.

[leigh kitchen]

Not an expert on the subject by any means, but a while back I collated this info which may very well be in need of correction:

The Royal Tank Regiment, whose black beret was adopted for wear by virtually all of the units of The RAC, had expanded from 6 to 8 battalions during the late 1930’s, the 7th Bn being formed in 1937 & the 8th Bn in 1938. During WWII it expanded to 20 battalions.
12 of them, numbered from 40th – 51st Battalions, were converted infantry battalions, all of which adopted The RTR badge:
40th (previously 7th Bn The King's (Liverpool) Regiment)
41st (previously 10th Bn The Manchester Regiment),
42nd,
43rd (previously 6th Bn The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers),
44th (previously 6th Bn The Gloucestershire Regiment, converting to RTC in early 1938 & rebadging as RTR in 1939)
45th (previously 7th Bn Leeds Rifles, The West Yorkshire Regiment which had been combined with 8th Bn & converted to The 96th (Leeds Rifles) Anti-Aircraft Brigade Royal Artillery in 1936, resumed a separate identity in 1938, converted to RAC in 1940).
The remainder were similarly activated & converted ti aRAC in 1939:
46th,
47th,
48th,
49th, (a duplicate of 6th Bn RNF, in 1944 becoming 49th Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment RAC)
50th
51st.

In November 1941 & July 1942 a number of infantry battalions were converted to armoured units of The Royal Armoured Corps, some adopting the insignia of The RAC, others merely its black beret.

By 1942 year The RAC comprised 104 active regiments (33 of which were converted from infantry & 15 additional yeomanry regiments to the original 8) & 11 training regiments.

During the war the following infantry battalions were converted to RAC regiments:

107th Regiment previously 5th Bn The King's Own Royal Regiment

108th Regiment 1/5 Bn The Lancashire Fusiliers

109th Regiment 1/6 Bn The Lancashire Fusiliers

110th Regiment 5th Bn The Border Regiment (converted to armour in September 1941, retaining its Border Regiment cap badge until disbanded in 1943).

111st Regiment 5th Bn The Manchester Regiment (reformed as armour after returning to England following the fall of France in 1940, resumed the infantry role & the wear of The Manchester Regiment cap badge in 1943

112th Regiment 5th Bn The Sherwood Foresters (converted to armour in 1941, continued to wear the cap badge of The Sherwood Foresters, disbanded in 1944).

113th Regiment 2/5th Bn The West Yorkshire Regiment

114th Regiment 2/6th Bn The Duke of Wellington's Regiment

115th Regiment 2/7th Bn The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (served in the infantry role in France in 1940, converted to RAC in 1942, resumed the infantry role in 1944 & rebadged as 12th Bn The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment).

116th Regiment 9th Bn The Gordon Highlanders

141st Regiment 7th Bn The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)

142nd Regiment 7th Bn The Suffolk Regiment

143rd Regiment 9th Bn The Lancashire Fusiliers

144th Regiment 8th Bn The East Lancashire Regiment (redesignated 4th Royal Tank Regiment on 1/3/45)

145th Regiment 8th Bn The Duke of Wellington's Regiment

146th Regiment 9th Bn The Duke of Wellington's Regiment

147th Regiment 10th Bn The Hampshire Regiment (raised in 1940, converted to armour in 1941, continued to wear The Hants Regt cap badge).

148th Regiment 9th Bn The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)

149th Regiment 7th Bn The King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (converted to armour in October 1941).

150th Regiment 10th Bn The York and Lancaster Regiment (converted to armour in 1940, adopting the RAC cap badge, but resuming The North Staffs cap badge in 1944 although still remaining in The RAC).

151st Regiment 10th Bn The King's Own Royal Regiment – in December 1943 retitled 107th Regiment RAC, & discarding the RAC cap badge for that of The KORR).

152nd Regiment 11th Bn The King's Regiment

153rd Regiment 8th Bn The Essex Regiment (converted to armour in 1941, retaining the cap badge of The Essex Regiment).

154th Regiment 9th Bn The North Staffordshire Regiment (converted to armour in January 1942).

155th Regiment 15th Bn The Durham Light Infantry (raised in 1940, converted to armour in 1942, wearing the RAC cap badge in the beret but the Band & Bugles the cap badge of The DLI, all ranks wearing the badge of The DLI when walking out in the Field Service Cap).


156th Regiment 11th Bn The Highland Light Infantry.

157th Regiment 9th Bn The Hampshire Regiment (formed in 1940, transferred to RAC in November 1941).

158th Regiment 6th Bn The South Wales Borderers (reverted to infantry in 1943, resuming the SWB cap badge).

159th Regiment 10th Bn The Gloucestershire Regiment (converted to RAC in July 1942 & wearing The RAC cap badge, reverted to the infantry role in April 1943 & resumed its original designation & front & back cap badges).

160th Regiment 9th Bn The Royal Sussex Regiment

161st Regiment 12th Bn The Green Howards (returned to an infantry role in October 1943 as 161st (Green Howards) Regiment, The Reconnaissance Corps, wearing The Recce Corps cap badge).

162nd Regiment 9th Bn The Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment

163rd Regiment 13th Bn The Sherwood Foresters




The converted infantry battalions which retained their old badges were:
107th Regiment, previously 5th Bn The King’s Own Royal Regiment (which wore The King’s Own cap badge but in chromed metal instead of gilding metal & without the red backing). The regiment was disbanded in 1943, & in December the 151st Regiment RAC (previously 10th Bn KORR) was renamed 107th Regiment RAC & changed its RAC cap badge to that of The KORR.

108th Regiment 1/5th Bn The Lancashire Fusiliers

109th Regiment 1/6th Bn The Lancashire Fusiliers

110th Regiment 6th Bn The Border Regiment (converted to RAC in September 1941, disbanded in 1943).

112th Regiment 9th Bn The Sherwood Foresters (converted to RAC in 1941, disbanded in 1944).

141st Regiment 7th Bn The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)

142nd Regiment 7th Bn The Suffolk Regiment


143rd Regiment 9th Bn The Lancashire Fusiliers

144th Regiment 8th Bn The East Lancashire Regiment (converted to RAC in 1942, redesignated 4th Royal Tank Regiment on 1/3/45, it retained its East Lancs cap badge for a time prior to adopting that of The RTR).

147th Regiment 10th Bn The Hampshire Regiment

153rd Regiment 8th Bn The Essex Regiment (converted to armour in 1941).

155th Regiment 15th Bn The Durham Light Infantry
(which wore The RTR badge on the black beret, but The DLI
badge on the khaki Field Service Cap)

156th Regiment 11th Bn The Highland Light Infantry

160th Regiment 9th Bn The Royal Sussex Regiment

162nd Regiment 9th Bn The Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment

163rd Regiment 13th Bn The Sherwood Foresters

[leigh kitchen]

At least two ex 1/5 LF / 108 Regt. RAC men are included in this web site, both shown in photos to be wearing the LF badge in the black beret:http://www.lancs-fusiliers.co.uk/fea...rman_Prior.htm

[Peter Brydon]

As a matter of interest the 46th RTR were the Liverpool Welsh and were raised as a duplicate of the 40th ( Kings ) RTR.

They ( the Liverpool Welsh ) wore the badge in the photo on the shoulder strap and as an arm badge.

A friend has a much posher example edged with silver wire which may have been officers badges.



P.B.

[rac1944]

Originally Posted by leigh kitchen

Not an expert on the subject by any means, but a while back I collated this info which may very well be in need of correction:

144th Regiment 8th Bn The East Lancashire Regiment (later redesignated 44th Royal Tank Regiment)

Excellent list, lot of research in this, did spot one typo, 44 R Tks should read 4 R Tks (It changed title 01/03/1945)

[Mike Jackson]

Taken from our article in Militaria magazine. Mike
113_RAC__H26424[1].v2.jpg

[leigh kitchen]

Originally Posted by rac1944

Excellent list, lot of research in this, did spot one typo, 44 R Tks should read 4 R Tks (It changed title 01/03/1945)

Not my research I'm afraid, I just collated the info from various published sources...... the typo will be down to me though......

[Mike Jackson]

From our article in Militaria magazine. Mike
46 RTR Arm Badge.jpg

[Car_Commander]

161st Regiment (12th Bn The Green Howards) never wore either the RAC badge or the Recce Corps badge. Although their title changed in 1943 they continued to wear the Green Howards cap badge. The only element of 161 to wear the Recce cap badge was B Sqn (majority) who transferred across to the 43rd Recce Regt as the replacement A Sqn. They adopted the Recce badge (and khaki beret) to blend with their new regiment, although there are plenty of stories of their members still wearing their black berets with the Green Howards badge well into late 1944 until the 43rd were issued with black berets.

Les.

[Alan O]

Originally Posted by Car_Commander

161st Regiment (12th Bn The Green Howards) never wore either the RAC badge or the Recce Corps badge. Although their title changed in 1943 they continued to wear the Green Howards cap badge. The only element of 161 to wear the Recce cap badge was B Sqn (majority) who transferred across to the 43rd Recce Regt as the replacement A Sqn. They adopted the Recce badge (and khaki beret) to blend with their new regiment, although there are plenty of stories of their members still wearing their black berets with the Green Howards badge well into late 1944 until the 43rd were issued with black berets.

Les.

And here is the evidence of the GH badges on RAC berets. Undated unfortunately.

[rac1944]

Although the following dates won't pin down the photo exactly, hopefully they'll place it generally and also help with the timing of the Recce conversion/43R adoption.

161 RAC converted from 12th Bn, Green Howards at the end of July 1942, initially formed to be the A/C regiment of 42nd Armoured Div. At some point in late 1942 whilst at Scarborough they changed over to black berets. The regiment was officially transferred to the Recce Corps 12/10/1943 as 161 Reconnaissance Regiment.

As Les mentions, the regiment continued to wear both the black beret and the Green Howards cap badge. It is highly likely that 161 Recce was the first Recce regiment to wear the black beret, the black beret started being adopted by the Recce Corps in early 1944.

B Sqn 161 Recce was selected to replace A Sqn 43 R lost in the mine explosion which sank the Derrycunihy. The 161 Recce sqn arrived in France right at the end of July 1944 and 43 Recce wasted no time in bringing them into the Recce brotherhood. According to Fred Sylvester in It's The Same Brush..., the new A Sqn was issued with khaki berets and Recce cap badges about the second week of August 1944. So for approximately one week in August 1944 it would have been possible to see a large body of men of 43 Recce wearing black berets and Green Howards cap badges. Again, as Les mentions, some undoubtedly slipped through the net even after the issue of khaki/recce badges.

161 Recce remained in the UK serving as a reinforcement regiment supplying troops to NWE. They were disbanded in 1946.

43 Recce was one of those regiments which felt particularly strongly about its Recce heritage and stuck to wearing the khaki beret long past the official orders which would have come out in early 1944. Presumably reinforcements would have been sent over later in 1944 with black berets but the Regiment wasn't having any of it, so much so that their War Diary records an entry in November 1944 stating 'In no circumstances will the black beret be worn...except for maintenance.' Still sticking to the khaki beret, it wasn't until April 1945 that 43 Recce fully and officially (i.e. they recorded it in their War Diary) replaced khaki berets with black ones!

[Mike Jackson]

Originally Posted by Alan O

And here is the evidence of the GH badges on RAC berets. Undated unfortunately.

Why were the two soldiers in the image badged Green Howards wearing the RTR arm badge? I thought that this badge was, with the exception of the Westminster Dragoons, the exclusive preserve of the RTR? Or were they are pair of RTR battle casualty replacements who had hastily been rebadged Green Howards on arrival in their unit?