Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => The Great War => Topic started by: CaptainHaddonCollider on 16 January 2015, 09:14:32 AM
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Hi chaps and chapettes,
I was wondering, does anyone on this forum happen to have any good reference pictures of battledress and insignia of the Yorkshire/Lancashire regiments during the Great War? Preferably around the time of Kitcheners Army (1916)? I've been looking high and low on the Google, but being a foreigner and having little previous experience with British uniforms, I'm having a hard time distinguising it all.
I am aware that the Yorks used the white horse and the Lancs used a rose as their respective badges, but were these also depicted on their sleeves?
If any of you happen to have a handy web-resource, I'd be a grateful little sausage :D
Best regards,
CHC
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It is the British Army and regiments, it is NEVER easy lol!!!
Firstly, the problem. There are many different Yorkshire and Lancashire regiments, each comprised of several battalions (sometimes 40 to 50) which served independently of each other in different divisions and brigades. They had different origins, eg regular pre-war army and their reserves, Territorial Force (part time militia), New Army (Kitchener's volunteers) which tended to group which brigades and division they served under. However, while the (fairly standard) uniforms and cap badges were standard to the regiment, the insignia and battle badges worn related to the brigades and divisions they served under, which could change in the course of the war, so the 35 battalions of the The Prince of Wales Own (West Yorkshire) Regiment served in about 12 different divisions.
Now part of the the answer is a great website called The Long, Long Trail, The British Army in the Great War of 1914-18:
http://www.1914-1918.net/army.htm
Which will allow you to track where any one regiment's battalions served and which battalions served in any given brigade or division. However, you now need to track what badge any battalion would have worn on a given date, and I am afraid I don't know of an online resource for that. However, I would start, with Mike Chappell's
http://www.amazon.co.uk/British-Battle-Insignia-1914-18-Men-at-arms/dp/0850457270/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1E5APE5KT6H6S7XNCTBS
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Thank you very much good sir! I was aware that the British army had kept it's 'tribal' feel, so to speak, but during the day I have come to realise just what that means!
I shall have a gander at the pages, so much info, so little time ;)
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The PWO East Yorkshire Regiment Museum is in York They have a complete Archive including the unoffical insignia.Also there's the White 'ose( The White Horse pub)in Beverley which was a favorate of squadies and Yeomanry of the time Due to the Wooden White horse above the door which is carved in the same pose as the cap badge.and cloth patch.(no Idea about the Wezzies or anyone who'd have a budgie strapped to their head lol.)