Badges of Kitchener's Army is based on thirty years research in museums,
archives and collections. It is an exhaustive study of the development
of the battalion, brigade and divisional signs of the thirty divisions
raised by Kitchener's appeal for men.
While the divisional signs are well known, there has been little
authoritative work on the signs worn by the infantry battalions. The
book will illustrate the unique cap and shoulder titles used, as well as
cloth signs worn to provide easy recognition in the trenches. Each
service battalion, of each regiment has a listing, which provides a
brief history of the unit and detailed information on the badges worn.
It is prodigiously illustrated and contains much information, like why a
shape or color was chosen, when it was adopted, what size it was,
whether it was worn on a helmet, what color the helmet was and even what
colors were used on horse transport; the majority of this rich and
detailed information has never been published before. What helps make
the information accurate and authoritative is that much of it comes from
an archive created at the time and from personal correspondence with
hundreds of veterans in the 1980s, many of whom still had their badges
and often had razor-sharp recollections about wearing them. The book
will also provide some comments from these veterans.
A further unique aspect of the book is that it will look at the uniforms
and badges worn before the battalions left the country, providing much
new information that will enable people to identify any photographs they
have lying around.
