Hello All, Looking through my late Father's papers today, I noticed that in his Pay Book it is recorded that on D Day he was:- "Authorised to put up 4 chevrons". I'm at a complete loss as to what on earth this means! I know he was part of a Beach Group - probably No. 7 - who landed on Juno beach. Cannot find anything about 4 chevrons - can anyone suggest an explanation? Thanks in advance and hopeful anticipation!
Service stripes as mentioned. I've got a pic of my grandad and a pal with them on ( will post later) Alex.
I saw these for sale online but I couldn`t tell you when they were introduced or which other units (apart from Guards) wore them ? (and when they were intoduced?) Drum Major's Rank Chevrons (4 Stripes) (Guards) Large - Khaki Embroidered £8.00 Kyle
Sorry to jump in here, nothing to do with what you asked, but you mentioned Juno Beach, have you seen the Bernieres station sign in The Wardrobe signed by a lot of the soldiers that were there on the day?
It would seem these are service chevrons, as indicated in a letter from a BSM in 76th HAA, dated 1945, who joined the TA in 1938 and therefore saw service through five years of war : " ........ you may be interested to hear we now wear service chevrons. Have you seen them at home? I do feel a one with my five red stripes below my crown. As a matter of fact I had to shift it up a bit. The red makes a show!"
The chevrons shown above are upside down and should be worn as sgts strips They also wear extra large white ones on ceremonial duties (trooping the colour) Yes war chevrons are red, And we're also awarded for home service, in fact organisations that awarded them qualified for the defence medal for home service only (arp, home guard, St. John, wvs etc)
No they are not upside down ?? That`s the way they are worn in the British army chart below;- The stripes are not unique to the guards if anyone `Googles` `Drum Majors Rank` there`s various regimental versions shown (usually band associated) Kyle
Thanks to all for their input. The service stripes seem to be the key, and when I looked again, and saw that he enlisted on 6th June 1940, the penny dropped! Well done, lads - mystery solved I think.
War Service Chevrons (printed in red on khaki) were reintroduced in February 1944 (AO19) along with Wound Stripes. Chevrons were inverted and worn on the lower right forearm. The Wound Stripes were of gold braid and were worn on the lower left forearm, vertical to the cuff. Personnel who had been wounded in previous wars were permitted to wear a red rayon braid of identical dimensions. If one or more were worn, additional stripes were placed at intervals of 1/2 inch. Hope that helps?
