The Badges of Kitchener's Army

By David Bilton

Badges of Kitchener's Army is based on thirty years research in museums, archives and collections. It is an exhaustive study of the development of the battalion, brigade and divisional signs of the thirty divisions raised by Kitchener's appeal for men. While the divisional signs are well known, there has been little authoritative work on the signs worn by the infantry battalions. The book will illustrate the unique cap and shoulder titles used, as well as cloth signs worn to provide easy recognition in the trenches. Each service battalion, of each regiment has a listing, which provides a brief history of the unit and detailed information on the badges worn.It is prodigiously illustrated and contains much information, like why a shape or color was chosen, when it was adopted, what size it was, whether it was worn on a helmet, what color the helmet was and even what colors were used on horse transport; the majority of this rich and detailed information has never been published before. What helps make the information accurate and authoritative is that much of it comes from an archive created at the time and from personal correspondence with hundreds of veterans in the 1980s, many of whom still had their badges and often had razor-sharp recollections about wearing them. The book will also provide some comments from these veterans. A further unique aspect of the book is that it will look at the uniforms and badges worn before the battalions left the country, providing much new information that will enable people to identify any photographs they have lying around.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Aug 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9781473873537

David Bilton

David Bilton is a retired teacher who spends his time looking after his family, working as a University lecturer and researching the Great War. He is the prolific author of numerous books about the British Army, the Home Front and the German Army. His first book, The Hull Pals, became the BBC 2 series The Trench. Since he started writing he has contributed to many television and radio programmes. His interest in the Great War was ignited by his grandfather's refusal to talk about his experiences in Gallipoli and on the Western Front.

Book preview

The Badges of Kitchener’s Army

This book is dedicated to Private Charles Henry Bilton, 10999, 6th East Yorkshire Regiment, an early volunteer, and to the remaining 2,466,718 men who volunteered for the Army between August 1914 and 31 December 1915.

My paternal grandfather, just before he embarked for Gallipoli. Although he would not talk about his experiences, in his late sixties he could still recall every badge worn by the 11th Division, throughout the war.

The Badges of Kitchener’s Army

– Infantry

David Bilton

First published in Great Britain in 2018 by

Pen & Sword Military

an imprint of

Pen & Sword Books Ltd

47 Church Street

Barnsley

South Yorkshire

S70 2AS

Copyright © David Bilton 2018

ISBN 978 1 47383 366 1

eISBN 978 1 47387 353 7

Mobi ISBN 978 1 47387 352 0

The right of David Bilton to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Background

Divisional Signs

Brigade Signs

Regiments

Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment)

Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment)

Buffs (East Kent Regiment)

King’s Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment)

Northumberland Fusiliers

Royal Warwickshire Regiment

Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment)

King’s (Liverpool Regiment)

Norfolk Regiment

Lincolnshire Regiment

Devonshire Regiment

Suffolk Regiment

Prince Albert’s (Somerset Light Infantry)

West Yorkshire Regiment

East Yorkshire Regiment

Bedfordshire Regiment

Leicestershire Regiment

Royal Irish Regiment

Alexandra, Princess of Wales’s Own (Yorkshire Regiment)

Lancashire Fusiliers

Royal Scots Fusiliers

Cheshire Regiment

Royal Welsh Fusiliers

South Wales Borderers

King’s Own Scottish Borderers

Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

Gloucestershire Regiment

Worcestershire Regiment

East Lancashire Regiment

East Surrey Regiment

Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry

Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding Regiment)

Border Regiment

Royal Sussex Regiment

Hampshire Regiment

South Staffordshire Regiment

Dorsetshire Regiment

Prince of Wales’s Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment)

Welsh Regiment

Black Watch (Royal Highlanders)

Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry

Essex Regiment

Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Regiment)

Loyal North Lancashire Regiment

Northamptonshire Regiment

Princess Charlotte of Wales’s (Royal Berkshire Regiment)

Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment)

King’s Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry)

King’s Shropshire Light Infantry

Duke of Cambridge’s Own (Middlesex Regiment)

King’s Royal Rifle Corps

The Duke of Edinburgh’s (Wiltshire Regiment)

Manchester Regiment

Prince of Wales’s (North Staffordshire Regiment)

York & Lancaster Regiment

Durham Light Infantry

Highland Light Infantry

Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany’s)

Gordon Highlanders

Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders

Royal Irish Rifles

Princess Victoria’s (Royal Irish Fusiliers)

Connaught Rangers

Princess Louise’s (Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders)

Princess of Wales’s Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians)

Royal Munster Fusiliers

Royal Dublin Fusiliers

The Rifle Brigade

Museums

Regimental, Unit and Campaign Associations

Veterans

Bibliography

Acknowledgements

There are so many people to thank for assistance with this book that if I leave someone out it is not intentional and I sincerely apologise.

This book would not have been possible without the help and early guidance of Mike Hibberd, a curator at the Imperial War Museum, now retired, who allowed me to examine the extensive collection held by the museum and to read the correspondence collected by the, then, National War Museum in the latter part of the war. This provided the foundations on which to build this book. What is amazing about this correspondence is that in the middle of 3rd Ypres, so many C.O.s and Adjutants found the time to provide so much information.

To many it was important that such a record was kept. Lieutenant Colonel W. Peacock, commanding officer of the 9th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers wrote on 29 July 1917: ‘I shall be very pleased to give you any further information you require, or to do anything in co-operation with you, to make the Regimental Sections of your Museum a complete and lasting record of the achievements of the Regiment to which I have the honour to belong.’ Unfortunately not all felt that way and there are many gaps.

1917 envelope used to identify both the date of receipt and what badges had been received.

Following this request, GHQ in France collected the badges and sent them to the museum. These were then catalogued by a museum curator in a standard envelope that might contain a document or a badge or both or more. The front was transcribed with the unit and often further details about the badge.

The badges were supposed to be collected by GHQ but some units sent them directly. On receipt of this order, after having sent the badges, the adjutant of the 8th Royal Sussex wrote to the National War Museum: ‘will you please return those sent, and I will forward them through the Quartermaster general, Adv. G.H.Q., from whence they will be transferred to you at the end of the war.’ I have included some comments but have not always stated where the information has come from in order to avoid repetition.

Further information came from the many regimental museums across Britain, from the identification pamphlets produced in the 1970s by Major Waring, founder of the Military Heraldry Society and from the many enjoyable hours spent reading through folders, compiled by Haswell-Miller, among others, held by the Ogilvy Trust (now AMOT) that contained much interesting information.

While most of the photographs and some of the badges have come from my own collection, many individual collectors have also provided photos and information. Unfortunately over the intervening years their names have become detached from their help – sincere apologies. Three names stand out for their help with the later stages of the project: Alan Jeffreys at the IWM who allowed me to photograph their badge collection (without this assistance the book would have contained far fewer images), Jon Mills, a fellow member of the Military Heraldry Society who contributed many photographs to help highlight badges, and Bob Smethurst who let me photograph his badges and copy his photographs – thank you so much.

Many other collectors and libraries happily contributed: Robert Andrews, Tony Ashworth, John Bodsworth, Jerry Bond, Ted Croucher, John Gregory, Paul Hannon, Mark Holden, Martin Kerry, Norman Litchfield, R. J. Marrion, Chris McDonald, Barrie Morris, Graham Stewart, Terry Sampson and the Taylor Library. Further assistance was provided by A. Jackson, T. Scala, T. Chadd, R. Litchfield, G. Tyson, H. Rook, L. Cable and B. Golding. Special thanks to my daughter Esther for help with Photoshop and image manipulation in Word.

As images have been sent to me by many people, far more than listed, some of whom did not want to be acknowledged, I cannot guarantee their original ownership. Keeping track was made even more difficult when my computer died, taking much information with it – hence the delay in the book appearing. I apologise beforehand for any inadvertent use of copyright photographs; please forgive such, this will be corrected in the second edition.

What made this research especially interesting was the contact with the men who wore the badges, starting with my grandfather who gave me details of those worn by 11 Division. Then twenty years later after trawling through Who’s Who I was able to track down hundreds of old soldiers, men aged 86 to over 100. Not only were the vast majority keen to help but incredibly most could recall their badges, often those of other units as well, one or two still had their badges, one had their complete uniform but interestingly, not one had a photo that showed them wearing the badge. Many were also keen to provide personal stories of their experiences. I have included some of their responses in the text.

It has been a very enjoyable experience. Thank you everyone who has contributed to the most complete collection of information on the badges of Kitchener’s infantry.

Introduction

The purpose of this book is to answer many of the ‘who, what, where, and when’ questions about the badges worn by Kitchener’s infantry. While the primary purpose is to provide an historical record, it will also be useful for re-enactors, collectors, family historians and those with an interest in the Great War in general. I have deliberately not included anything other than a brief regimental history of the battalions in order not to detract from the main purpose of this book – a record of the badges. The brief history is to put the badges into context.

This book is the result of thirty years of research using books, papers (including correspondence during the war – see below), articles, photographs, uniforms, museums, collectors and most importantly the veterans themselves – hundreds who gladly racked their brains, seventy years after the event to recall the minutiae of their uniforms; fortunately many of them could. Where there is no evidence, logic has been applied as many of the divisions used specific patterns and colours to denote brigade and then the battalion; sometimes even the man’s company.

The focus of this book is on the badges worn at divisional, brigade, battalion and company level by infantry. To cover the supporting arms of the army will require a further book. Each Regiment wore a specific cap badge and shoulder title, and unless otherwise stated, all battalions wore the same cap badge and shoulder titles with officers wearing their version of the cap badge, usually the same but better quality, and with collar badges. The standard regimental cap badge is shown at the beginning of each section but any special battalion cap or shoulder titles are incorporated into the main text. Also included are details of special badges, created to identify particular groups of soldiers, sometimes worn for just a brief period and wherever possible, helmet signs are also included. The regiments are listed in their order of precedence.

While nearly all the divisions of the British Army adopted a scheme of cloth or painted insignia/badges/flashes/patches, in some way, it is not correct to assume that they were worn. Lack of time, a shortage of paint or cloth and a lack of interest meant that many did not wear them – looking at a photo of soldiers in an identified unit in a trench, how many of them are wearing a cloth badge? Many flashes were of a simple geometric design but the skill of the wearer could well change the shape and the positioning of the badge.

Some of the badges that exist today were designed for use during the war but were not generally worn. After the armistice, when there was time to think about things like badges, many were suddenly mass-produced and placed on uniforms or sold as souvenirs. An example of this is the 40th Division sign that was sold in strips after the armistice. Some badges were proudly worn and regimentally designed, while others were thrust upon them. Others had a special story. One veteran recalled being tasked with having them made by a local seamstress; others merely found an appropriate piece of cloth that was roughly the correct colour. In some units they were made by the battalion tailor and sewn exactly into place as in the 10th Hampshire Battalion: ‘the badges are purely a battalion marking, are made and kept up by the battalion tailors during service.’ In many battalions it was the responsibility of the individual soldier to sew them on: many didn’t bother. The question of whether or not a badge was worn or not is shown by the Royal Welsh Fusiliers back badge: officially sanctioned for wear, it is rarely mentioned by veterans. In all the correspondence it is only mentioned twice; once by a wearer and once by a veteran of 18 Division who told the writer that ‘Welsh fusiliers wore a ribbon on the back of their tunics.’

At divisional level, many of the signs designed were intricate and were professionally manufactured. Below that organisational level, the designs tended to be simple geometric shapes using both colour and shape to identify brigade and/or battalion. In some brigades, regimental colours were used but most followed a specific colour for the brigade and shape for the battalion, although in some it was the other way round.

Some badges were worn only for specific actions like that of the 8th Royal Fusiliers at Arras. Others were more short-lived: during a night attack on 24/25 April 1917, the 10th Devons wore a large blue capital D. For the first day of the Somme many units wore special indicator patches, some common to the division, some to indicate the position to be taken, and others to show the battalion position. On 22 June 1916, Lt. Col. Arden, DSO, C.O. of the 25th NF issued Operation Order No. 25. ‘All units of the division will wear distinguishing marks, an equilateral triangle of yellow cloth 16ʺ sides attached to the back base upwards. The 19th Division are wearing a square of yellow cloth 16ʺ sides attached to the back.’

Other badges were born of necessity or expediency. The ‘practice of wearing tartan patches on khaki balmorals and Tam o’Shanters seems to have originated with units of the 9th Scottish Division in 1915, when in lieu of cap badges they were worn as battle patches in the trenches and later were retained as backings to the regimental cap badge.’

The National Archives contains further information on distinguishing marks. The preliminary directive for the Somme (95/2354 61543) clearly indicates what the men of 93 Brigade were to wear, as well as their usual badges. ‘Men carrying wire cutters will have a yellow band round the right arm. Troops allocated to each band (position to attack) will be distinguished by a piece of cloth the same colour as the band (shown on the plan) tied to the right shoulder strap. Runners to wear distinctive badge.’

At the start of the war the only badges worn were metal cap and shoulder titles for other ranks, with officers wearing badges on their collars and cap. In the Middle and Far East, hackles were worn by some units or coloured lines in the pagri of the sun helmet. During the course of the war, metal titles, to save brass, were replaced by cloth shoulder loops but unlike in WW2, the cap badge continued to be metal, with many being produced in an economy version. Below is some of the correspondence about this change.

Photo taken in Musée Somme 1916, showing Orange Order sashes being worn.

With the ever-increasing size of the army it became necessary to be able to identify individual battalions. The earliest cloth identifiers started appearing in 1914 among the newly raised battalions of Kitchener’s Army, and continued on until the early years of the occupation of Germany.

The badges that appeared were new, designed to identify one unit from another, in an army that was far bigger than any that had previously existed in British history. However, one of the new Service Battalions had existed in Ireland since 1911 and started the war in uniform and with its own cap badge, buttons and titles: an attempt to take them away was strongly resented and resisted. These Young Citizens Volunteers became the 14th (S) Battalion Royal Irish Rifles. They had been raised in Belfast in an attempt to force the British government to recognise the Irish Territorial movement. Heeding Kitchener’s call the YCVs volunteered as a complete unit for overseas service.

There is considerable uncertainty about whether or not some of the Orangemen wore their sashes during the battle of the Somme. Martin Middlebrook, in his book First Day on the Somme, provides some corroboration so I have included a photograph which was taken in Musée Somme 1916, purporting to show officers wearing the sash.

Most of these identification markings were worn on the upper arm, but some were worn on the epaulette and others on the back of the tunic or collar. Many units also wore them painted on their helmets; others sewed them onto the cloth helmet cover. By the end of the war, the uniform of a correctly badged soldier could indicate to a trained observer, his division, brigade and battalion, his function and in some cases which company he was serving in.

That these had become more or less an accepted necessity is shown by a request from the A.Q.M.G of XI Corps on 2 November 1916. He wrote: ‘It is now more or less a general practice for infantry to have a distinguishing Division or Brigade patch of muslin or cloth sewn on to the jacket.’ He then requested details of the patches worn by the two divisions serving in the corps. It was simply a housekeeping request: he wanted the information so that they could be ‘officially sanctioned in order to enable the materials to be provided from the base’.

As well as the cloth badges worn to indicate a soldier’s unit there were other cloth adornments wrapped round or stitched to his tunic. Stripes, crowns and laurel leaves indicated rank; letters in laurel leaves indicated his trade/speciality as did coloured bands and brassards. Inverted stripes were the sign of a well-behaved soldier and short vertical yellow cloth or metal bars indicated that he had been wounded.

This book will not look at the multitude of trade badges a soldier could have worn or his good service stripes and wound badges unless they feature in a photograph. Like shoulder titles and cap and collar badges, trade badges have their own specialist books. However, to help readers, each section includes the standard cap badge; I have included officers cap badges where these differ markedly from other ranks, apart from colour or type of metal. The main text contains descriptions of unique cap badges and shoulder titles and photos of them are included. Some useful extra books are suggested in the bibliography to aid identification.

In the section on the East Yorkshire Regiment only one of the above would appear because they are essentially the same badge. On the left is the bronze officer’s version.

Queen’s Regiment other ranks shoulder title.

Northumberland Fusilier other ranks’ cloth title.

Standard Essex Regiment cloth shoulder title.

Shropshire Light Infantry title.

Sealed pattern shoulder titles were worn from late 1916 onwards to conserve scarce metal. Although there was an official sealed pattern in worsted like the two examples above, many variations exist, like the one below in a different material; sometimes in a slightly different colour.

A late war Royal Irish Rifles title.

Badges such as the above were standard wear and only signified the regiment and are not detailed in this book.

Pioneer battalions are usually easy to identify because all ranks wore a special sign on their collars, a crossed rifle and pickaxe – illustrated below. They have not been included in the main text. However, close investigation shows that there were two ways in which to wear such a simple device, with some units wearing with the rifle pointing outwards.

A pair of pioneer collar badges.

All of this suggests that it should be relatively easy to identify a soldier’s unit when looking at old photographs. Alas, many did not wear a shoulder title, even out of the line, and in sepia or black and white, colours are often deceptively similar. It is not always possible to identify pioneer battalions: although they technically wore a distinctive collar badge, not all did. However, with the latest computer technology, it is possible to identify some of the colours (see the front cover for state of the art colour).

Officer photos are even more difficult to identify accurately: they have an added problem. While officers were commissioned into a particular regiment, they did not always serve with it. Many were temporarily attached to other regiments, as and when the need arose. When a battalion was short of officers they could be loaned from another regiment; this also happened to the other ranks but they received a new number and another set of badges. The officer could be loaned by another regiment, in another division but would still keep his own regimental badges whilst adopting the battalion markings of his new unit. This gives rise to a multitude of unlikely combinations. Even in the same battalion it can cause problems as is shown in the last photograph in the Northumberland Fusiliers.

Another problem is age. Many of the badges have faded and are no longer the same colour. Many of the badge illustrations have been computer enhanced to show their true colours. Fortunately on many, the real colour can be seen if the badge is loose. An example of a before and after DLI badge is illustrated below.

It also important to remember that many were hand-made or produced by different sources, so two badges that should be identical may be quite different in material, quality and slightly different in size and even different shapes. I have not always included such variations in this book because of space. To illustrate how different the same badge can be, below are two versions of the same badge – both enhanced.

Some badges can be confused with battalion signs. Two are illustrated below. The first is an alternative version to the stretcher bearer’s brassard while the second is a dress version of the farrier’s trade badge; often confused with the sign used by 37 Division.

Trade badges were sometimes worn in unusual places which can also cause confusion. An example is the despatch riders trade badge on the upper arm of the passenger in the photograph.

Opposite is the letter sent to units across the world requesting their help in collecting material for the new National War Museum, later Imperial War Museum, the replies to which were of varying quality and content.