Wounded stripe

[ynot]

Hello,

Can anyone give me some info on the British wounded stripe? When were they instituted (WWI?) and are there copies on the market?

I have a few and one of them is a little suss (very clean) but I'd like to find a nice sew on cloth stripe. Is there anything noticable on the copies?

Thanks for your help

Tony

[DJT]

Hello Tony,

I think they came in during WW1 but I could be wrong. I have 2 metal ones on a Canadian WW2 Stretcher Bearers BD. Occasionally you see the metal ones sold on ebay but not very often. Never heard there were fakes being done but with re-enactment big these days thats a possibility. Post what you have and we can take a look.

[McCulloh]

World War One: I have an Irish Division tunic from 1918/19 (it was there) and it has two of them on the sleeve.

[RoyA]

Definitely WWI and I've never seen a repro.

[ynot]

Hello Tony,

I think they came in during WW1 but I could be wrong. I have 2 metal ones on a Canadian WW2 Stretcher Bearers BD. Occasionally you see the metal ones sold on ebay but not very often. Never heard there were fakes being done but with re-enactment big these days thats a possibility. Post what you have and we can take a look.

Hello Des,

Here's a pic on 3 I have from the back. The stripe in the middle is the one that prompted the fake question.

Tony

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Tony, I cannot ever recall seeing what I thought of as a fake one of these? I don't think there would be any demand for these from re-enactors either, not the sort of thing many people would wear.


Cheers, Ade.

[ynot]

Thanks for that Ade, I like these stripes and am hoping I can pick up a few variations now and then.

Tony

[DJT]

Hi Tony,

They look good. You dont encounter them much (either on uniforms or loose) so they are fairly scarce I think.

[ynot]

Thanks for all your answers.

Cheers

Tony

[Adam H]

I would agree that these are fairly scarce, they don't seem to have been issued anywhere at the same rate at which Commonwealth men were wounded.

I have not encountered any examples of these that I would consider as copies, however, there are numerous variations.

WWI and some WWII examples appear to have been metal badges sewn into the sleeve. I have seen WWII uniforms with cloth/bullion examples sewn onto the sleeve.

Here are a couple I have for comparison. Both came from the same WWI medal group.

Cheers,

Adam

[Adam H]

Reverse...no maker marks or other information on the backing plates...

[DJT]

Hi Adam,

The wound stripes on my Canadian SB Battdress are exactly like yours. Also of interest is that the medic badge on the Battledress is also WW1 vintage. I guess the Canadians had alot of WW1 stock in storage when WW2 came around!?

[ynot]

I didn't know they were so hard to find. Here are all 4 of mine only from the front this time.

Tony

[Adam H]

Des,

I would agree...I think a lot of items were warehoused at the end of WWI, and then put into use during WWII. Insignia of all types of WWI vintage was used during the inter-war and early WWII period. A prime example is the first 5,000 or so Memorial Crosses for WWII which were Geo V strikings...presumably drawn from existing stocks and used until the Geo. VI versions were available.

Cheers,

Adam

[leigh kitchen]

Can't find my metal ones, these are the only cloth ones that I've got.
Wound stripes came in during 1916 & went out, I think, in 1922.
There's a bit about them in Brian Leigh Davis's British Army Uniforms & Insignia of WWII (Arms & Armour Press, 1983).
He states that during WWII a 1 1/2" strip of gold braid was worn to signify wounds sustained 1939 - 45, & 1 1/2" of red braid for wounds sustained during WWI.
One of the old Crown Imperial's has an article on the WWI version, but I can't find it.