Description
Special Air Service
The badge is said to have been designed by Bob Tait and was intended to be a winged representation of Excalibur. The colours were red white and blue, the blue being both dark and light perhaps to represent Oxford and Cambridge, as in the SAS parachute wings.
The motto is said to have been suggested by David Stirling. The prototype cap badges are said to have been in enamel but were of such poor quality that the move was made to cloth. The badges came in a variety of sizes and widths, reflecting no more than the wide variety of manufacturers used over the years. The badges issued after the Regiment’s return in the UK appear to have been rather more squat with a shorter sword.
There are metal versions, in brass and white metal, some with and some without the motto. For example, one in plain brass without detail was said to have been produced for individuals by REME fitters in Kabrit, and in 1943 there was a one-off official issue of an Egyptian-made brass version, with detail. In the 1950s anodised aluminum versions were issued.