Pete/Megan,
Thank you for the information, most appreciated. I think your point about rank may be correct, who was going to argue with a 2 star that his dress blues weren't correct? My other thought was that the Uk DFC was probably rare enough that most people wouldn't have the slightest if the ribbon was correct or not.
There's another non-regulation part to his ribbons, that of the air medal, there was no regulation to cover the sheer amount of OLC awarded. Is there any history on when use of the silver rosette started?