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Shoulder title
Before the Second World War, the Dutch army did not have names and distinctive emblems for the infantry regiments, they only had a number. During the war years, the Dutch soldiers in the United Kingdom inevitably became acquainted with British military traditions. British units wore regimental and corps distinctions called “shoulder titles” (amongst many other distinguishing badges) . These were coloured wool or felt curved cloth strips with the name of the regiment embroidered or printed, and worn on both sleeves under the shoulder seam of the battledress blouse.
The British War Office had no objection to the introduction of shoulder titles for the Brigade. On December 22nd 1941, the Free Dutch War Department came up with a proposal to amend the uniform regulations. On February 18th 1942, the design for the shoulder title was approved and introduced in the following months. From that moment on, the men of the Brigade carried the name of Princess Irene on their shoulders and went to war!
National Emblem
The origins of the lion national emblem worn on the left sleeve of the uniform during WW2 (and is still worn today – though in a slightly different pattern) goes back to the dark days of May 1940.
On 10th May 1940, Nazi Germany invaded the neutral Netherlands. The battle is short but fierce. A large group of Dutch soldiers fled to still unoccupied Belgium and France and from there by ship to the United Kingdom.
In June 1940, 120 officers, 360 non-commissioned officers and 980 corporals and men gathered in a tented camp near Porthcawl in South Wales. They came from the infantry, the Corps of Cyclists, cavalry, artillery, engineers, the Aviation Department, Police Forces and Military Police. They form the “Detachment of Royal Dutch Troops in Great Britain”.
Photos from the period are rare and show an unorganized group of Dutch soldiers in all kinds of uniforms and uniform components. The men often had to wear the same, often completely worn out, clothing for weeks. Most of them were still in their Dutch field grey uniforms, leading to them often being mistaken for Germans POW’s by the local population.
A distinctive badge can be seen in some photos: on grey cloth a scroll with a border and the word “NETHERLANDS” embroidered in orange cotton. The bow does not curve with the shoulder seam, as you would expect, but exactly the other way around. It is impossible to determine why this is the case. It could be a design or production error, but it is impossible to be definitive. It is not an official insignia, i.e. established by a ministerial order. The idea is to make the soldiers clearly recognisable as Dutch and thus distinguish them from the many other foreign soldiers who poured into the United Kingdom (as well as any misidentification as German troops)..
Two copies of this badge have been preserved in the collection of the Prinses Irene Brigade and Guard Regimental Collection. They are very scarce badges, as after those first six weeks they were destroyed at the same time as the uniforms on which they were often provisionally applied.
A Ministerial Order of 19th June 1940 (no. 17) stipulated that Dutch soldiers in the United Kingdom would be dressed like the British army, but would be provided with Dutch insignia. Mandatory was an emblem consisting of a Dutch lion facing to the right (from the national coat of arms), standing on a curved “scroll” containing the word “NEDERLAND”. Executed in orange thread and to be worn on the left sleeve, 4 cm below the head seam of the service dress, battle dress and greatcoat. The grey, pre-war Dutch uniform, and its distinct badge disappear permanently at the end of June 1940.
During the Brigade’s time in the United Kingdom, various variants of the sleeve lion were produced. For example, from 1941 onwards, a thinner orange cotton yarn was chosen and the lion’s mane and claws were outlined with black. In 1944, the emblem was manufactured for the first time in the Netherlands (in the liberated south). The lion on these locally manufactured badges are more detailed (including the bundle of arrows), the black of the mane and claws is dropped and the colour is an orange-yellow.
Rank insignia
For Soldaat (Private), Soldaat 1st Klass (Lance Corporal), Korporaal (Corporal), Sergeant (Sergeant) and Fourier (Colour Sergeant – most likely holding the appointment of Company Quarter Master Sergeant) the rank badges followed the British system.
The rank of Sergeant 1st Klass roughly equating to the British wartime rank of Warrant Officer Class III was indicated by a set of Sergeant chevrons with a rectangle placed above the stipes in the V formed by the shape.
The above rank badges were worn on both arms between the elbow and the point of the shoulder.
Sergeant Majoor (Warrant Officer Class II) used a wreathed King’s crown worn on the lower sleeve of both arms. The warrant officers held appointments such as Company Sergeant Major (CSM) or Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant (RQMS).
Adjutant (Warrant Officer Class I) was the senior non-commissioned rank in the Brigade, usually holding the appointment of the Brigade equivalent of Regimental Sergeant Major. The rank was worn on the collar points when in Battle Dress and on the lapels when in Service Dress and was indicated by a solid white, silver or orange circle.
Officer ranks were worn on the collar point in Battle Dress and on the lapels in Service Dress.. Company ranks – Tweede Luitenant (2nd Lieutenant), Eerste Luitenant (Lieutenant) and Kapitein (Captain) were indicated by 1, 2 and 3 small, orange, embroidered stars respectively.
Battle Dress
Field officer ranks of Majoor (Major), Luitenant-Kolonel (Lieutenant Colonel) and Kolonel (Colonel) were indicated (on battledress) by 1, 2 and 3 small, orange, embroidered stars below a horizontal orange bar respectively.