INFANTRY CAP BADGES WORN BY RAC IN WW2

[Alan O]

Mine is exactly the same construction as the brass cap badge ie. no lugs appear to have been taken off to add the slider.

As far as what they wore once they re-badged to the RAC and lost the wm lion, there is only the k/c wm mailed fist RAC badge that fits the dates or am I missing something?

Alan

[Deejayuu]

If the 141st RAC are anything to go by the first WM badges were actually regulars badges plated in the field by the attached REME units. There is a paragraph in one of the books i have covering the making of the badges in the field in Normandy. Not sure which book but it is either Flamethrower or In at The Finish. Both works of fiction but based on factual events. I lent both books to an ex 141 RAC member who confirmed that the characters were fictional but the everyday life and events were close to reality. I am not sure when the wm badges were first worn. I have always understood that the converted infantry RAC units wore a plated badge being adapted from their parent regiment badge. As such the slider would be plated as well. Was the wm badge every officially sanctioned?
Cheers, Dave

[Alan O]

I am not sure. I do have an armd Pioneer regt badge and that is w/m with a brass slider. An identical one with Armd attributation was sold in bosleys last year. If this regt has wm ones (although plated ones could have existed) then why no the Buffs and Kings own?

Alan

[fearnaught]

Hi, when I said lugs, I meant the way the title was attached to the lion. Yours has the same at each end of the title whereas the brass one, at least the one I have, doesn't have this addition. I'm not sure what you mean by the buffs not being plated, this seems to be generally accepted as genuine for the 141st. I think there was a thread not long ago with this in it. Mike.

[Alan O]

Chaps,

Bringing a few threads together does anyone have a list of the ex-Inf cap badges worn by RAC units in WW2. So far I have:

1. East Lancs.
2. Border Regt (wm)
3. Buffs (wm)
4. 23rd London Regt.
5. Royal west kent

You also have the Guards armoured whose status I am not sure about. IG badges were ceratinly in use but were their others? Were they Guards Bde or RAC proper?

I am sure that there were more.

alan

[cbuehler]

I believe the Grenadier Guards did wear the black beret at some point as well, although this is from a somewhat foggy memory on my part.

CB

[Deejayuu]

Daft as it sounds i think the REME had a plated badge done at the same time the field plated badges were done!
Cheers, Dave

[fougasse1940]

Here's a list of all Guards and Infantry battalions converted to Armour during WWII.

1st & 2nd Bn. Grenadier Guards, 1st Bn. Coldstream Guards, 2nd Bn. Irish Guards; 5th Guards Armoured Bde, Guards Armoured Div.
4th Bn. Grenadier Guards, 4th Bn. Coldstream Guards, 3rd Bn. Scots Guards, 2nd Bn. Welsh Guards; 6th Guards Tank Bde.
7th Bn. The Buffs; 141st Regt RAC
5th Bn. The King's Own Royal Regiment; 107th Regt. RAC
10th Bn. The King's Own Royal Regiment; 151st Regt. RAC
11th Bn. The King's Regiment (Liverpool); 152nd Regt. RAC (wore RAC badge?)
7th Bn. The Suffolk Regiment; 142nd Regt. RAC
2/5th Bn. The West Yorkshire Regiment; 113th Regt. RAC (wore RAC badge?)
12th Bn. The Green Howards; 161st Rgt RAC (wore RAC badge?)
1/5th Bn. The Lancashire Fusiliers; 108th Regt. RAC
1/6th Bn. The Lancashire Fusiliers; 109th Regt. RAC
9th Bn. The Lancashire Fusiliers; 143rd Regt. RAC
6th Bn. The South Wales Borderers; 158th Regt. RAC (wore RAC badge?)
10th Bn. The Gloucestershire Regiment; 159th Regt. RAC
8th Bn. The East Lancashire Regiment; 144th Regt. RAC, later 4th RTR & RTR cap badge
2/6th Bn. The Duke Of Wellington's Regiment; 114th Regt. RAC (wore RAC badge?)
2/7th Bn. The Duke Of Wellington's Regiment; 115th Regt. RAC (wore RAC badge?)
8th Bn. The Duke Of Wellington's Regiment; 145th Regt. RAC (wore RAC badge?)
9th Bn. The Duke Of Wellington's Regiment; 146th Regt. RAC (wore RAC badge?)
5th Bn. The Border Regiment; 110th Regt. RAC
9th Bn. The Royal Sussex Regiment; 160th Regt. RAC
9th Bn. The Hampshire Regiment; 157th Regt. RAC (wore RAC badge?)
10th Bn. The Hampshire Regiment; 147th Regt. RAC
8th Bn. The Essex Regiment; 153rd Regt. RAC
9th Bn. The Sherwood Forresters; 112th Regt. RAC
13th Bn. The Sherwood Forresters; 163rd Regt. RAC
9th Bn. The Loyal Regiment; 148th Regt. RAC
? Bn. The Queens Own Royal West Kent Regiment; 162nd Regt. RAC
7th Bn. The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry; 149th Regt. RAC (wore RAC badge?)
5th Bn. The Manchester Regiment; 111th Regt. RAC (wore RAC badge?)
9th Bn. The North Staffordshire Regiment; 154th Regt. RAC (wore RAC badge?)
10th Bn. The York and Lancaster Regiment; 150th Regt. RAC (wore RAC badge?)
15th Bn. The Durham Light Infantry; 155th Regt. RAC
11th Bn. The Highland Light Infantry; 156th Regt. RAC
5th & 9th Bns. The Gordon Highlanders; 116th Regt. RAC

This is probably not completely error-free, so any comments and additions are welcome.

Rgds,
fougasse1940

[REME245]

10th Bn. The Gloucestershire Regiment; 159th Regt. RAC (wore RAC badge?)


I have a picture some where of my uncle wearing a Gloucestershire Regiment Badge on a Black RAC Beret.
From memory on his arm he had the formation badge featuring a tulip?

Originally Posted by fougasse1940

5th & 9th Bns. The Gordon Highlanders; 116th Regt. RAC (wore RAC badge?)

Absolutely not, they kept their tam o'shanter with tartan backiog and Gordon w/m cap badge

[Peter Brydon]

I was in correspondence with a former member of the 7th Kings/40th (The Kings ) RTR back in 1977. He said that the 7th Kings changed from the all white badge to the bi metal one in 1926.

We never,regrettably, discussed what badges were worn after conversion- what a wasted opportunity to pick up information-still kicking myself.

P.B.

[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.