Arm insignia

[Snoopy]

I wondered if anyone could help me identifying the two stripes on this corporals sleeve.

All the best

Snoopy

[leigh kitchen]

Wound stripes.

There are some shown in this thread & some other threads:

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=12204

Edited April 18, 2009 by leigh kitchen

[Snoopy]

Thank you very much, Leigh.

All the best

Snoopy

[The Monkey God]

Whats the most wound stripes ever awarded? How bad did a wound have to be to qualify for a wound stripe? What happened if you got wounded again during your medical treatment?

[leigh kitchen]

The most awarded? (Just joking).

There is a thread that may be useful:

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=13143

Edited April 20, 2009 by leigh kitchen

[The Monkey God]

Cheers for the link Leigh, that certainly is a very interesting thread. My next question was going to be how did they get over the multiple `winner` vertical wearing thing. But it appears they`ve thought of everything, by having the bar numbered!!!

[leigh kitchen]

The numbering relates to the "mark" of production, rather than the number of times a stripe was awarded, the different styles of attachment & the like.

[The Monkey God]

The numbering relates to the "mark" of production, rather than the number of times a stripe was awarded, the different styles of attachment & the like.

DOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So how would they cover Pte unlucky and his 27 wounds?

[leigh kitchen]

The stripes would just be worn side by side, vertically, on the left lower sleeve.

[Tony]

The stripes would just be worn side by side, vertically, on the left lower sleeve.

I have a piece of dark blue material (copper/ARP?) with 3 stripes side by side. Instead of using the backing plate and pins, the lugs have been bent downwards over the plates holding the stripes in place. It looks to me as if the material with stripes was sewn onto the sleeve.

Tony

Edited April 24, 2009 by Tony

[leigh kitchen]

Yes, perhaps there was a reluctance to make holes in the sleeves of police tunics because tunics would be reissued & an outline of stitching from a sewn on patch was preferable to frayed holes.

The wound stripes mounted on a patch of cloth that I posted on the linked thread http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=12204 are a sew on patch.

[david grumpy]

Two things to note:

the wound badge was for each OCCASION wounded, not each wound, and gassing counted, as did enemy barbed wire.

There is no truth in the oft-heard cobblers that the double Russia braid badge was for officers: it was the only official issue, widely flouted by using the private-purchase tailors gilding metal versions.

Naturally, the latter have survived rather better.

[leigh kitchen]

I've posted on a previous thread that "When the British wound stripe was bought in during WWI "shell shock" & gassing were'nt sufficient to earn it - given the attitudes of the time then I can perhaps understand why shell shock did'nt qualify, but I don't understand why suffering gas burns etc did'nt qualify".

Unfortunately, I have'nt quoted a source for that info.

Also previously posted: from Medal News, May 2005 - an article by Don McLean - As the memories fade..."

This is about a booklet entitled "Soldiers' & Sailors' Rights", published 1917 & whch has a section:

Wound Badge: In July 1916, the authorties approved of the wearing of badges for officers and men who have been wounded since August 4, 1914. The badges are strips of gold Russian braid, two inches in length, sewn perpendicular near the bottom of the left sleeve of the jacket and each strip will mark each occasion on which an officer or man has been wounded . These badges can be obtained from the Army Ordnance Department.

Badges for Wounded Naval Men: The much appreciated decision of the Army Council to award gold stripes to wounded soldiers naturally called for similar recognition of the services in the Navy. The Admiralty lost no time in responding to the wish of the Navy, Dr Macnamara announcing in parliament on July 17, 1916, that it was proposed to issue distinctive badges for invalided and wounded naval men.