An identification guide to British Army cap badges from the Calvary and Royal Armoured Corps, the Guards, Women’s Units, Kitchener’s Army, and others. This book is a comprehensive guidebook, which will appeal to anyone with an interest in medal collecting. The book contains British Army badges from the earliest days to the present, with photographs of 800 examples. “This is an excellent text and complements the bookshelves of any researcher of the British army . . . an outstanding feat of research and I can only summarise by saying ‘Well done.’”—Military Archive Research.com

Items connected with the British military have always been extremely popular with collectors, and the intricate and beautiful badges made to denote a soldier's regiment have always been keenly collected, due to their small size, high quality and the fascinating stories of military derring-do that lie behind each one. The British army cap badge really came into being around the turn of the twentieth century, with large badges intended for the blue cloth helmets then in use. Later badges became smaller, and materials changed, as headgear became smaller, and new manufacturing techniques took away the laborious daily cleaning that was a part of every soldier's routine for most of the century. With every regiment having numerous variations of badge, this is a field of collecting that will yield rewards for the collector. With the aid of nearly 200 specially taken color photographs, Arthur Ward offers a complete introduction to this topic.

In their companion volume to British Army Cap Badges of the First World War, authors Peter Doyle and Chris Foster present an overview of the main cap badges worn by the British Army during the Second World War, which continued the rich and varied tradition of British regimental insignia. This book describes and illustrates, for the first time in high quality full colour, the main types of cap badge worn. With many amalgamations, war-raised units and special forces, British military insignia from the period have a surprising range that differs substantially from that worn by the soldiers of the previous generation. As in the first book, this volume contains contemporary illustrations of the soldiers themselves wearing the badges. Employing the skills of an established writer (and collector) and artist, it provides a unique reference guide for anyone interested in the British Army of the period.

A complete compendium of the submarine badges of the world, dating from the Imperial Russian Naval Officer's Submarine School Graduation Badge of 1909 to the new South Korean Submariner's Badge issued in 1996. Covers all countries currently operating submarines as well as those no longer existing as political entities.

The background to collecting military medals is inseparable from a study of history. The earliest British medals, as befits a nation for so long reliant upon naval strength for its independence, were issued to the Navy, beginning with the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. The first true campaign medals awarded to the Army followed the Battle of Waterloo, although many had been issued privately and unofficially before this. As one would expect for a country like Britain, with an outstanding imperial history dating to modern times, a vast field of military medals covering service in Africa, India, and China awaits the attention of the collector. There are, too, the collections relating to major wars, including the Crimean War, Boer War and the two World Wars. Colin Narbeth describes the medals awarded, and the actions which gave rise to special bars, ribbons and stars. Orders and decorations, including the Victoria Cross and the George Cross, both awarded for extreme valor, are described as are the naming of medals and display. As well as this wealth of background information, the author also details the aims to which a new collector should aspire, and discusses the pitfalls to guard against, including the problem of identification of forgeries. The volume is illustrated with numerous photographs selected by the author.

United States Army Cap Insignia 1902-1975 By: Michael F. Tucker America was entering a new century. Fresh from defeating Spain in the Spanish-American War, the young country was assuming its new position in the old world order. Filled with confidence and economic strength, the United Sates looked towards the future with the many opportunities and changes presented to it and its people. These changes also applied to the United States Army and its uniforms, in particular, the uniform cap and its insignia. Presented here are those changes in US Army cap insignia during the twentieth century. Shown in photographs and words drawn from US Government and US Army archives, with dimensions and close‑up images of insignia, a thorough history can now be revealed!

This book is an invaluable 'tool of the trade' for anyone trying to identify or interpret photos. - Peter Hart, Military Historian Identifying Cap Badges is the book that has been missing from the bookshelves of family historians, military enthusiasts, and badge collectors alike. It is quite easy to find an erudite book on military cap badges, but you could spend hours, if not days, plodding through hundreds of pictures to find a match for the one you hold. Sometimes you may not find it at all! These learned badge collector's books have one major flaw; they are pictured and discussed in 'order of precedence', that is to say, from the earliest formed regiments to the latest, with separate sections on medical, engineers, cavalry, infantry, etc. This can be most confusing to those uninitiated into the 'dark arts' of military badges. Thus, if you do not know the name or 'original number' of your regiment in this order of precedence, you can be flummoxed! This, combined with all the different crowns, laurels, animals, mythological beasts and castles, can prove more than a little daunting, even to ex soldiers themselves! In this book you will find badges ordered by what is on the badge itself; be it a dragon, sphinx or castle, horse, lion or tiger. This is badge identification in minutes, rather than hours, with added information on dating badges and many comparison photographs alongside all the pictures of the badges. Added to these pictures are short histories of the regiments and 'family trees' plotting the antecedents of today's units.

The fascination with the British involvement in the First World War extends to all aspects of the conflict. The battles and their outcomes; the armies and their leaders; the conditions of trench warfare; and the controversies form part of the growing literature examining every aspect of a war that was to cast a shadow over the rest of the twentieth century, the effects of which are still being felt today. For the British army, the cap badge is the most easily identifiable form of insignia. It represents a distillation of the pride of the regiment, its various battle honors and symbols borne proudly on the metallic emblem that was worn on all headdress, even within the trenches. Identification of the cap badge on old photographs is a first, important step in unraveling the military service of an individual. Cap badges have been collected avidly since they were first thought of in the nineteenth century. Cap-badge collecting is as popular now as it has ever been; yet with a growing number of fakes and forgeries, there is a need for a book that illustrates clearly the main types, and allows the collector and family historian alike to understand their meaning. Surprisingly, there are no real comprehensive web-based resources; and the available books (many of which are out of print), are often dull, arcane and poorly illustrated with grey, muddy images of otherwise spectacular badges. This book illustrates, for the first time in full color and high quality, images of the main types of badges used by the British Army in World War I. In addition, contemporary illustrations of the soldiers themselves wearing the badges, and the wider importance of their symbolism, is also included. Employing the skills of an established writer (and collector) and artist, it provides a unique reference guide for all people interested in the World War I.

Includes a fascinating selection of photographs illustrating the medals described.