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Description of  British Battle Insignia (1): 1914-18 (Men-at-Arms Series 182)

The British soldiers who marched off to war in 1914 were clothed in the recently-introduced drab erroneously referred to as khaki) service dress. Their red coats, recognised for centuries as the mark of the British soldier, were put into store, with the remainder of their full dress, never to be universally issued again. In the 12 years that full dress and service dress had co-existed in the British Army, badges of rank, proficiency and good conduct had been adapted and transferred from the full dress tunic to the sleeves of the service dress jacket. Regimental badges were worn in service dress caps by all ranks, while most officers wore regimental collar badges, and all other ranks regimental shoulder titles. The insignia embossed on buttons is hardly worth consideration: most other ranks wore the national coat of arms, while officers and some other ranks wore buttons with a regimental device.