WW2 British Airborne insignia

[SHEARING-CROSS]

REAR of the armband.

[Jack Dutton-Roberts]

REAR of the armband.

thanks Mikey....looks very nice

[SHEARING-CROSS]

Hiya ,following on from a bit earlier in the thread ,this pegasus is coloured a yellow /oatmeal shade , i would very much like more opinions on if they were manufactured this colour or faded with use , would not the maroon backing cloth fade as well but to manufacture them in colours other than the prescibed blue would appear wrong ??

Signed , ` confused of Yorkshire `

[force136]

Fading

I just sent a scan of the GPR smock to Des so he should post it soon. Anyway I have the exact pegasus from a GPR vet who took part in the Rhine Crossing and his is off his tunic. It is blue on the back and the exact same colour of yours on the front. Its not bobbin thread so I woudl conclude that it is from weathering, washing etc. The marron wool is also darker on his on the back than on the front. I think it was a poorly dyed thread. At least on this one.

Ken

Hiya ,following on from a bit earlier in the thread ,this pegasus is coloured a yellow /oatmeal shade , i would very much like more opinions on if they were manufactured this colour or faded with use , would not the maroon backing cloth fade as well but to manufacture them in colours other than the prescibed blue would appear wrong ??

Signed , ` confused of Yorkshire `

[GregK]

Hi all,

My weak contribution to this thread. Please don't laugh as I'm sure all of you have multiples of all of these but I only just started collecting Airborne (with some seriousness) about 6 weeks ago. Aside from this I have a 3rd pattern helmet dated 44 and a well worn 1st Can.Para Denison smock (which was seen in an earlier thread).

Cheers,
Greg

[Jack Dutton-Roberts]

Greg, that's a very good start

Nice variations of Pegasus patch there and a lovely 1CPB centrepiece too

Keep it up

Re the colour variations - i've looked over a few more examples in books etc. and it would seem that there's a lot more variation in the colour of embroidered ones than there is in printed ones? I wonder if this is because these were much harder to keep a consistent colour in the making process?

[Jack Dutton-Roberts]

Hi Ken,

Do you mean a thin lettered variant like this one below?

Thanks, from Jack.

[John F.]

I have never been 100% on these two patches. I picked then up in Canada a few years back. Any opinions?

[John F.]

Another pic of the same

[Jack Dutton-Roberts]

Hello John,

I think most would agree with me when I say they are fakes. The bad backing is the thing that gives these ones away straight away. Having said that, they could just be post-war made originals, but certainly I've never seen any wartime ones with provenance like this.

I believe this type of fake has been discussed before?

Thanks, from Jack.

[DJT]

Hi John,

As Jack says, possibly original but definitely post war.

[John F.]

Jack & Des,

Thanks for the replies.

John

[force136]

Thinner Letters

Hi Jack

If thats not it, its pretty close. I guess the best way of telling is where the slant in the "N" connects to the right. On the majority ( all the ones you posted earlier ) It connects half way up the right hand vertical. On the thinner style, it connects further down. Anyway looks like it. If I could get a scan of that would appreicate it.

Thanks

Ken


BTW- Yes embroidered Peg's were different colours, not just embroidery but also background colour. We were fortunate here in Canada to have hundreds of sample badges in our archives submitted by British badge manufacturers to CMHQ. These are all still stapled to the company,unit or HQ boards.It gives you a good idea as to the different stitching types, material used backgrounds etc. These covered the period from 1940-1946. This included lists of all the UK manufacturers. There were many that were very crude and if anyone had seen them at a show, they would be deemed fakes. Anyway there were only one or two airborne related patches but when you look at all the different units represented you get an idea as to how things were made. Also the theory that only WW2 Brit para wings had horizontal stitching is proven wrong, because the sample Brit wing sent to NDHQ in 1942 has one wing embroidered on an angle and the other horizontal. The Pegasus below with the black backing I remember coming to Canada in the 80's along with a slew of other repro Brit insignia such as SAS titles, Parachute Regiment Titles, SAS cap badges in cloth, Pegasus and Airborne strips. There is the type with the backing below and a type with a black cloth backing that has had a rubber glue applied over it.

Hi Ken,

Do you mean a thin lettered variant like this one below?

Thanks, from Jack.

[SHEARING-CROSS]

Hi GREG ,you have the start of a nice collection there
the curved airborne title is quite a rare lump , Michael.

[SHEARING-CROSS]

Hello CCJ ,
here are a few INDIAN airborne cloth items , these are a few examples of what can be classed as the basic ` offical ` para wing worn by I,A units and the most common type found but there are many many more strange and wounderful types to be found as the were many small para trained units /individuals all over the place.
the construction and style of even this type can differ but the basic design is ` kind of ` standard .