WW2 Printed No 9 Commando Shoulder Title Badge

Scarce, cWWII 9 Cdo printed 'Calico Printers' shoulder title, wartime economy. Used, as worn 'been there' example. Missing the 'No' before the number 9, as was commonly done by the troops. Removed from uniform.

No. 9 Commando was a battalion-sized British Commando unit raised by the British Army during the Second World War. It took part in raids across the English Channel and in the Mediterranean, ending the war in Italy as part of the 2nd Special Service Brigade. Like all Army commando units it was disbanded in 1946.

Backgroundedit
The commandos were formed in 1940, by the order of Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister. He called for specially trained troops that would "develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast". At first it was a small force of volunteers who carried out small raids against enemy occupied territory but, by 1943 the unit's role had changed into lightly equipped assault Infantry which specialised in spearheading amphibious landings.

The man initially selected as the overall commander of the force was Admiral Sir Roger Keyes; himself a veteran of the landings at Gallipoli and the Zeebrugge raid in the First World War. Keyes resigned in October 1941 and was replaced by Admiral Louis Mountbatten.

By the autumn of 1940, more than 2,000 men had volunteered for commando training, and what became known as the Special Service Brigade was formed into 12 units called commandos.

Code: 548