BRITISH MILITARY BADGES
OF QUEEN ELIZABETH IIs REIGN
Page 1
Headdress Badges of the British Army
Worn in No. 1 Dress, No. 2 Dress & Battledress from 1953 -1969
When Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne in 1953, the regimental establishment was much the same as it had been before World War II. To somewhat separate herself from the past she decided to use the Edward crown to replace the Tudor crown, worn since the reign of Edward VII, on all her devices of state. This, of course included military badges and all that used crowns had to be replaced. Within five years there would be a major contraction of the British Army and many regiments were amalgamated (and some disbanded). Although these amalgamated regiments received titles (The Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment, The Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry, etc) Most never produced new badges as the infantry of the line had been grouped into brigades and wore the brigade badges on their headdresses. This unpopular system was dropped in 1969, when under another reorganization, large new regiments of several battalions were created. (See Page 2)
Please Note:
The badges shown in the next four plates are those that ceased to be worn after 1969. Most non-amalgamated infantry regiments (Such as the Royal Scots, Cheshire & Duke of Wellingtons revived their previous badges. The Green Howards modified theirs, so the old one is shown here. Some of the cavalry, especially those amalgamated in 1922, kept their badges while most of the corps and departments were also unaffected by badge changes, a notable exception being the Royal Army Service Corps that became the Royal Corps of Transport. Those badges are shown on Page 2
