Did the Royal West Kents wear a coloured lanyard in WW2?

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Guys, can anyone tell me if they did, and if so, what colour and possible design?

See this thread to find out why I am asking this question

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...815#post605815

Cheers, Ade.

[Guy]

Hi Guys, can anyone tell me if they did, and if so, what colour and possible design?

See this thread to find out why I am asking this question

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...815#post605815

Cheers, Ade.

Hi Ade,

I dont know if you remember but I had a large West Kents group last year at Beltring. Service dress, trousers, battlederss and a lot of framed photos etc. I seem to remember that both uniforms had a dark blue lanyard. More of an oxford blue than navy, it was the same blue as the Invicta Regimental flash on the sleeve. Very vague I know and I don't have any photos which is a bugger but hope it helps a bit.

Yours, Guy.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Thank you Guy, my memories of Beltring are a bit of a blur, nothing to do with drink just a total overkill of kit.

Cheers, Ade.

[leigh kitchen]

The officers of the 1st Bn West Kents wore a blue lanyard & blue gloves to comemmorate service of the 50th Foot as marines in the 18the century, I think that sergeants also wore the gloves & lanyard after WWII, & that the tradition was carried by sergeants of The Queens Regt & presumably the Princess of Wales's Regt, or do they wear the lanyard but in colours that keep the Hampshires happy?

Which para unit did wear the yellow lanyard? I read a book years ago (can't remember the authors name - Sims or Simpson or similar perhaps), he stated that his unit soaked white lanyards in mepacrine in order to turn them yellow.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Leigh, thanks for your answer.

The yellow lanyard was worn by 2 Battl The Parachute Regt. The lanyards were home made from rigging lines soaked in mepacrine to turn them yellow. They were nick named the "Mepacrine Chasers". The book is "Arnhem Spearhead" and is a good read I like the story of the author arriving with private purchase insignia and having the Sgt cut them off on parade as they only wore issue printed badges


Cheers, Ade.

[leigh kitchen]

Hi Leigh, thanks for your answer.

The yellow lanyard was worn by 2 Battl The Parachute Regt. The lanyards were home made from rigging lines soaked in mepacrine to turn them yellow. They were nick named the "Mepacrine Chasers". The book is "Arnhem Spearhead" and is a good read I like the story of the author arriving with private purchase insignia and having the Sgt cut them off on parade as they only wore issue printed badges


Cheers, Ade.

That's the one - I remember that the author mentioned that he went to see a great film (well, he thought it was) called "Hell's a Poppin'", a coincidence as I'd just seen it on tv the day before.
I'm still trying to remember the details re the West Kents blue lanyard, it originated to commemorate a battle against the French in about 1788, (Ushant" or something like that. I'll go hunting for references to the sergeants wearing the lanyard, I've an idea that it was 2nd Bn thing carried on by the 1st after the 2nd were disbanded in 1947, something like that.