Cloth Patches: Divisional/Brigade/Other

[Iamsmudge]

Hi All,

I was wondering if British Infantry units routinely wore cloth patches to denote their Div/Brigade or other at all, in any all theatres. I've seen quite a few references to the instigation of a 'device, mark or sign' used to distinguish between divisions, most notably on this wiki page, which suggests that it was instantiated in 1916 and became more common by 1918. - Divisional Insignia of the British Army

On that same page it shows some of those div patches. Were any of those worn?

2nd Div insignia from page above.

The only patches I've seen, as a person new to WW1, are the ones shown on the excellent 'They Shall Not Grow Old'. In these clips it seems to be mostly officers with a patch on the back and some shoulder patches on some men. Images below: stills from - They Shall Not Grow Old

[FROGSMILE]

47 minutes ago, Iamsmudge said:

Hi All,

I was wondering if British Infantry units routinely wore cloth patches to denote their Div/Brigade or other at all, in any all theatres. I've seen quite a few references to the instigation of a 'device, mark or sign' used to distinguish between divisions, most notably on this wiki page, which suggests that it was instantiated in 1916 and became more common by 1918. - Divisional Insignia of the British Army

On that same page it shows some of those div patches. Were any of those worn?

2nd Div insignia from page above.

The only patches I've seen, as a person new to WW1, are the ones shown on the excellent 'They Shall Not Grow Old'. In these clips it seems to be mostly officers with a patch on the back and some shoulder patches on some men. Images below: stills from - They Shall Not Grow Old

Yes, they began to be worn around the time of the expansion of the Army and preparation for the Battle of the Somme in July 1916 and are strongly associated with (but not unique to) the war raised Kitchener battalions of the New Armies.  Not all divisional signs were worn on the arm, though, and it’s necessary to research each unit to ascertain exactly what they did.

There have been a number of published books and even CDs about the badges, the most recent being by forum member’poonaguard’ (David Bilton).  A good starter to get you into the subject would be the Osprey Publication by the late Michael Chappell.  It’s usually possible to find a preowned copy for a reasonable price online.

NB.  See the yellow horseshoe of the 37th Division below.

Edited 7 January by FROGSMILE

[Iamsmudge]

Thats great thank you, I'll try and track a copy down.