British Battle Insignia (2): 1939-45 (Men-at-Arms) (Bk.2) [Paperback]

Mike Chappell (Author)

Book Description

Series: Men-at-Arms | Publication Date: February 9, 2010

By the New Year of 1940 the War Office had agreed in principle to (a) the enhancement of officers' badges of rank with cloth in the colour of the arm-of-service; (b) strips of cloth in the same colours to be worn at the top of the sleeves by all ranks; and (c) the wearing of regimental flashes on Battledress. And so the rules for the wearing of battle insignia throughout the British Army were established. How far they were obeyed and how often they were ignored will become obvious to anyone reading Mike Chappell's splendid companion work to Men-At-Arms 182.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Packed with specially commissioned artwork, maps and diagrams, the Men-at-Arms series is an unrivalled illustrated reference on the history, organisation, uniforms and equipment of the world's military forces, past and present.

About the Author

Mike Chappell comes from an Aldershot family with British Army connections stretching back several generations. He enlisted as a teenage private in the Royal Hampshire Regiment in 1952. Over the next 22 years of infantry soldiering, many of them spent with the Gloucester Regiment, he held every rank and many regimental appointments up to WO1 and Regimental Sergeant Major. he retired in 1974, as RSM of the 1st Battalion The Wessex Regiment (Rifle Volunteers), after seeing service in Malaya, Cyprus, Swaziland, Libya, Germany, Ulster and home garrisons. He began painting military subjects in 1968 and since then has gained worldwide popularity as a military illustrator.

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (February 9, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0850457394
• ISBN-13: 978-0850457391
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.1 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,597,272 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars A good book but could have been more comprehensive, June 8, 2011

By 

Carl (U.K.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: British Battle Insignia (2): 1939-45 (Men-at-Arms) (Bk.2) (Paperback)

A very good book that explains all you need to know about the insignia used by the British Army during the Second World War. The plates in the centre of the book are pretty good although I felt they did little to really illustrate the main point of the work.

There is an entire section devoted to the Armoured and Infantry divisions of the British Army illustrating what their division flash was, if they had one, and also giving a quick description of where the division served. The book however omits commandos, airborne and Indian divisions stating there was simply not enough room to cover them all, however this is a small book one feels they could have adequately been covered in the same book.

5.0 out of 5 stars An Interesting Book on a little visited subject, May 6, 2005

By 

D. D Lawson (Pasadena, Calif. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: British Battle Insignia (2): 1939-45 (Men-at-Arms) (Bk.2) (Paperback)

RSM Chappell has done an excellent job on a subject that is not well known or covered over here in the States.Altogether considering the complex subject of the rampant Tribalism of the British Army especially during WWII. This book is an excellent effort and deserves a place in any good library covering the Fight against the Axis or one that is interested in the British Army.

4.0 out of 5 stars Completely useful, July 25, 2004

By 

Michael A Dorosh (Calgary, AB, CANADA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: British Battle Insignia (2): 1939-45 (Men-at-Arms) (Bk.2) (Paperback)

The only thing this book lacks is a battalion by battalion survey of insignia, but since no one else - not even Bouchery - has yet provided that, perhaps it is up to some webmaster somewhere to synthesize the information from many sources for that.

What this book does do is firstly give a comprehensive history of battle insignia up to and including World War Two, and then very elegantly go division by division and describe their service in general, their insignia, how likely it was to be worn (in the jungle, generally speaking, not often) and general notes on history, design, etc.

Supported by very nice photos, and of course excellent plates by Chappell himself.

Sidebar illustrations not as good as they could have been, and would have benefitted from a more organized chart showing all the divisions in black and white sketches. "Colour value shadings" on black and white drawings not an effective use of space either, a seperate colour plate or simple list would have sufficed.

Best book on the subject out there, however, and very well done. Finding info on any one particular battalion will be hit or miss unfortunately, so if researching a favourite or pet unit, best to physically look at a copy of this book in advance of purchasing it.