20th Century Land Forces Adriatic shoulder patch

[Tonomachi]

I purchased this recently which is sort of a headquarters type unit for a variety of special operation forces during WW2.  The symbolism has Pegasus (airborne forces) swimming (seaborne forces) in the ocean.  On another forum (The British & Commonwealth Military Badge Forum) is a great description of this outfit which came out of the July 2015 edition of The Formation Sign Journal of the Military Heraldry Society:

 

A DYING DUCK IN A THUNDERSTORM

 

Formed in June 1944, LFA a planning and co-ordinating HQ ‘for trans-Adriatic special operations’ commanded all land and special raiding forces formerly part of Force 266, a Middle East offshoot of SOE formed as a result of the increased military commitment in the Adriatic. Based at Bari in Italy its primary task was to support the partisan forces of Marshal Tito in Bosnia and Montenegro.

LFA was commanded by Brigadier GMO Davy, an officer of the 3rd Hussars, described by Donald Hamilton-Hill, an SOE officer serving with LFA as a man with ‘a penchant for publicity and ideas of desert leap-frogging in operations’. The white horse of Hannover within a blue garter taken from the officers’ cap badge of the 3rd Hussars were incorporated in the new formation’s badge, but as LFA operated across the Ionian and Adriatic seas, ‘carried sometimes by air but more often by sea’ the white horse was given wings to represent a swimming Pegasus climbing onto dry land. Drawn in watercolours by Brigadier Davy, a local Italian cloth maker produced ‘a somewhat inadequate stencil’ from which a two inch square was cut. Comments from other formations were not complimentary; ‘What the hell’s that on your shoulder? A dying duck in a thunderstorm?’ or ‘That duck was badly shot – where’s the Labrador?’.

A 6th September message from HQ LFA noted that ‘a formation flash [sic] will be taken into use forthwith by all units under command’ - three pairs for officers, one pair for ORs - its distribution list recording LFA’s units: HQ Vis Brigade, HQ, Raiding Support Regiment, HQ, LRDG (A&B Squadrons) HQ, Special Boat Section, LRDG Signal Squadron plus C Coy, 2nd HLI and Rear HQs, 111 Field, 31 LAA and 64 HAA Regiments, RA and 579 A Field Coy RE. Interestingly 2nd Special Service Brigade, also under command was not to wear the sign. C Coy, 2 HLI wanted nine pairs for officers, 35pairs for ORS, the SBS 165 badges, as ‘this represents the requirements of those members of the unit at present in CMF’. Distributed on 16th September officers were to wear them on the arms two inches from the shoulder ‘attached to the shirt preferably by press buttons’, ORs ‘fastened to the shoulder straps by a piece of tape fastened to each side and looped underneath’… ‘the means of easy attachment and detachment is necessary as the flashes will not wash satisfactorily’.

 

 

[ParaOps]

A nice and not easy to find formation sign, well done.

 

Paul