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World War I War Service Chevrons


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world war I nerd

Thanks for posting Nurse Proctor's insignia and ID tags.

 

I'm glad that you mentioned the fact that the overseas service chevrons on WW I female uniforms were often slightly smaller than those found on men's service coats, as I forgot to include that important bit of information in the post.

 

In respect to Nurse Proctor's dog tags, General Orders were issued in the AEF stipulating that all personnel who ventured into the Zone of Advance were required to wear ID tags. This order included all non-military personnel, such as the Red Cross. YMCA, etc. Because of this there were a number of vendors (probably on both sides of the Atlantic) that made/sold various styles of ID tags. This could account for the unusually large capitol letters and the non-regulation configuration of the information stamped onto the nurses tags.

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Wanted to add this summer of 1950 photo of a M/Sgt at the Seattle Port of Embarkation. An unknown NCO of the Technical and Administrative Services (the old Army Service Force redesignated July 1946), we see he's wearing the WWI Overseas Chevrons,two of them, but he's got Five Service Stripes, meaning he has between 15 and 17 years of service. If he was in for the long haul he would be one of those guys we've seen with his Hashmarks up to his epaulets by 1950 :lol:. Clearly a soldier who got out of the Army for a number of years after the Great War ended and Re-Upped, some time in the 1930s (maybe because of the Depression?)

 

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  • 5 weeks later...

Thanks for posting Nurse Proctor's insignia and ID tags.

 

I'm glad that you mentioned the fact that the overseas service chevrons on WW I female uniforms were often slightly smaller than those found on men's service coats, as I forgot to include that important bit of information in the post.

 

In respect to Nurse Proctor's dog tags, General Orders were issued in the AEF stipulating that all personnel who ventured into the Zone of Advance were required to wear ID tags. This order included all non-military personnel, such as the Red Cross. YMCA, etc. Because of this there were a number of vendors (probably on both sides of the Atlantic) that made/sold various styles of ID tags. This could account for the unusually large capitol letters and the non-regulation configuration of the information stamped onto the nurses tags.

RE: Nurse Proctor's Tags....the stamp font in original 1907 ID tag stamping kits IS smaller than the later Metal Stamping Kit fonts. This would account for availability of different font size stamps. Steve McG

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  • 1 month later...
world war I nerd

Here’s something interesting … According to the following Stars and Stripes article, AEF personnel who had served in either the French or British Armies prior to America’s entry into the war were allowed to wear whatever service or wound chevrons/stripes they had been awarded on their AEF service dress.

 

ALLIED CHEVRONS FOR VETS OF ’14-‘17

War Department Permits Wearing of Previous Service Badges

 

New varieties of chevrons and badges are appearing on A.E.F. sleeves and uniforms. They have blossomed on dozens of sleeves in France. As a result of the War Department’s ruling of a week ago that American soldiers who were members of the army of any of the co-belligerent powers may now be permitted to wear chevrons and badges denoting such service awarded them by the Governments in whose armies they served.

 

The blue service chevrons were awarded men of the British Army and are similar in shape and design to the gold chevrons of the American Army. Under the same rule, hundreds of officers and enlisted men of the A.E.F. are permitted to wear the service chevrons which the French Army prescribed for its troops.

 

Following the announcement of the right to wear the foreign chevron, a sergeant appeared at G.H.Q. wearing four wound stripes he had received in 18 months of service with the British Army. He had been in the Regular Army of the United States when the war broke out in 1914, and had joined the British Army as soon as he obtained his discharge in the States. He had been transferred to the American Army when the Americans came to France and he received another wound stripe while fighting in the American olive drab.

Hundreds of American soldiers who served with one of the Allied Armies between 1914 and 1917 are affected by the order.

 

Stars and Stripes, Vol. 2, No. 9, April 4, 1919, page 2

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world war I nerd

Should any of the following turn up on an AEF service coat here is a brief explanation of the British and French Army’s wound and service chevrons.

 

A red Chevron for Overseas Service was authorized for all British troops that served overseas prior to December 31, 1914. A blue chevron was awarded for each subsequent year of similar service. Each chevron represented 12 months of overseas service and was worn point up on the lower left sleeve.

 

Left, three blue Overseas Service Chevrons are worn by this signalman. The large chevron on the right sleeve is a Good Conduct Chevron. The service jacket at center displays four blue service chevrons signifying consecutive overseas service running from 1915 to 1918. The four gold stripes on the right sleeve indicate that he was wounded or gassed four times! The Australian “Digger” on the left wears one gold Wound Stripe on his lower left sleeve.

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world war I nerd

British wound Stripes (left & right) were made from either stamped brass or gold bullion piping. The rack of five Overseas Service Chevrons (center) shows the red chevron authorized for service during the first year of the war and the blue chevrons that were awarded for each additional year of service.

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world war I nerd

On April 26, 1916, the French War Ministry authorized two new dark blue chevrons: the Chevrons d’Ancienneté de Présence (service chevron) and the Chevrons de Blessure (wound chevron). The Service Chevron, each of which represented six months service, was worn point up on the upper left arm. The Wound Chevron, awarded for being wounded or gassed was worn point up on the upper right arm.

 

The photo of the French captain on the left has been incorrectly colorized as both pairs of wound and service chevrons should be dark blue, not gold. The enlisted man on the right has been awarded five dark blue service chevrons.

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Were all of the overseas chevrons on wool, or was there a coton one made for cotton uniforms?

Thanks.

Guys, were there ones made on Khaki Cotton Twill/Drill??

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Here’s something interesting … According to the following Stars and Stripes article, AEF personnel who had served in either the French or British Armies prior to America’s entry into the war were allowed to wear whatever service or wound chevrons/stripes they had been awarded on their AEF service dress.

 

ALLIED CHEVRONS FOR VETS OF ’14-‘17

War Department Permits Wearing of Previous Service Badges

 

New varieties of chevrons and badges are appearing on A.E.F. sleeves and uniforms. They have blossomed on dozens of sleeves in France. As a result of the War Department’s ruling of a week ago that American soldiers who were members of the army of any of the co-belligerent powers may now be permitted to wear chevrons and badges denoting such service awarded them by the Governments in whose armies they served.

 

The blue service chevrons were awarded men of the British Army and are similar in shape and design to the gold chevrons of the American Army. Under the same rule, hundreds of officers and enlisted men of the A.E.F. are permitted to wear the service chevrons which the French Army prescribed for its troops.

 

Following the announcement of the right to wear the foreign chevron, a sergeant appeared at G.H.Q. wearing four wound stripes he had received in 18 months of service with the British Army. He had been in the Regular Army of the United States when the war broke out in 1914, and had joined the British Army as soon as he obtained his discharge in the States. He had been transferred to the American Army when the Americans came to France and he received another wound stripe while fighting in the American olive drab.

Hundreds of American soldiers who served with one of the Allied Armies between 1914 and 1917 are affected by the order.

 

Stars and Stripes, Vol. 2, No. 9, April 4, 1919, page 2

This is great information that is entirely new to me--and explains a couple of unusual uniforms I've seen! I've learned a lot from this thread alone. Thanks very much for posting it.

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world war I nerd

Hi Patches,

 

As far as I know service chevrons were only manufactured on a wool backing cloth. Or at least I don't recall ever seeing them on a khaki cotton backing cloth.

 

This was likely because the 1911 olive drab and 1917 khaki cotton service dress was not an article of equipment authorized for the AEF. A handful of cotton uniforms did make it overseas, but they were never shipped to France in bulk, and therefore very rarely seen 'Over There'.

 

When the Doughboys returned to the U.S. in 1919 (and later), depending on the season and the location of the camp from which they were discharged, many soldiers were mustered out of the Army during the summer months wearing khaki cotton service dress instead of wool. Every single cotton uniform that I've ever encountered with service chevrons sewn onto the sleeve have always been on an olive drab woolen backing.

 

If an enlisted man or officer, upon his return had a cotton uniform tailor made and if the tailor also fabricated the service chevrons then it's possible that the tailor would fabricate or place the gold chevrons on a matching cotton backing cloth.

 

However, with all things WWI, as soon as you say something did not exist, or that it was only made a certain way -- different examples start turning up all over the place.

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Good evening to you all. It's been YEARS since I've contributed to the USMF. With that admission out of the way, I wanted to congratulate 'World War I Nerd' for all of his efforts in making some excellent threads on WWI history.

 

Now to the question at hand...

 

Does anyone know the meaning behind these service stripes on a ARC officer's uniform? I see at least three horizontal bars just above the left cuff, with a single silver vertical one on top. I just can't seem to find anything on it.

 

- Chuck

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world war I nerd

Hi Chuck,

 

That's an excellent photo of a Red Cross worker ... thanks for posting.

 

If I remember correctly the horizontal stripes are Red Cross rank insignia. Somewhere I have additional information on WW I red cross insignia. Unfortunately, I'm not sure where I put it! I'll do some digging to see if I can locate it.

 

As to the vertical stripe, it kind of looks like a British style wound stripe. But then again, it could be part of the Red Cross rank insignia or it might serve another purpose altogether.

 

Anyway, here is a couple of photos of a youthful Earnest Hemingway in his Red Cross uniform, along with a photo of another Red Cross service coat. The horizontal rank insignia (?) is present in all three photographs.

 

I'll add more information when I find it. I hope this helps.

 

Brian

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Brian,

It sure does. Thanks. And I agree that the vertical line does indeed look like the British wound stripe. I just have no resources on ARC insignia from this time period, nor have I had much luck finding the info inline. If you've got it archived somewhere, please post it at your convenience. I'd sure like to get all of those stripes identified properly. Thanks for your time.

- Chuck

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Brian---as requested--here are some examples of the Third Army patch being placed near the O/S stripes on the left sleeve; I have only seen this particular variation of multi-patched uniforms on those belonging to soldiers from the 89th Division; perhaps someone here will have examples from other units.

 

regards, Al

 

PS: Your posts have brought Chuck back to the USMF fold. Well done---I thought he had wandered off forever.

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world war I nerd

Al,

 

Thanks so much for posting your photos.

 

I'd never seen a 3rd Army insignia placed near the service chevrons before ... very interesting.

 

Does anybody else have any examples of this being done on either a service coat or in period photographs?

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Did someone call my name???

 

Al, Brian & all...

 

It's threads like this that originally drew me to the USMF years ago, and I'm only too glad to play a VERY small part in the scheme of things.

 

Brian, I must say again - THANKS! for your informative threads on WWI history. I thought it was ancient history for most collectors, and thus lost to the more popular genres like WWII or even Vietnam. Your efforts have rekindled my interest in all things WWI (I'm sort of a WWI aviation geek).

 

I'll try to keep an eye out for more unusual service chevrons to contribute...

 

-Chuck

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have this signed portrait of Maj. Gen. Grote Hutchinson which shows some unusual service chevrons on his left cuff. I have yet to figure them out!

This guy was a real bad rump...silver star w/ two oak leaves, DSM, and many others. He was in charge of the various ports of embarkation. at the end of the war he was given command of the 14th Division.

Does any of this give us a clue as to what he's wearing just above his service striped? I dare say it looks like a gothic letter "D" or maybe even an "A".

What do you guys think???

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  • 2 weeks later...
world war I nerd

This American Red Cross Service Coat named to Lieutenant Hastings which features a September 1917 dated Paris tailor's label just went up for sale on Bay State Militaria.

 

I'm pretty sure that the horizontal bars below the gold service chevron indicates rank in that organization as follows:

 

One Horizontal Bar - 2nd Lieutenant

Two Horizontal Bars - 1st Lieutenant

Three Horizontal Bars - Captain

 

Somewhere I have a photo of American Red Cross officers on a ship returning to America in 1919 (which I can't find). At least one of them had a vertical bar or bars on the lower left sleeve, which I think represented higher rank as follows:

 

One Vertical Bar - Major

Two Vertical Bars - Lieutenant Colonel

Three Vertical Bars - Colonel

 

I have no idea what a general's rank insignia for the American Red Cross would be ... maybe a star?

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world war I nerd

I failed to mention that the rank (?) in the photo that Chuck posted was comprised of three horizontal and one vertical bar. That combination could be the rank insignia for a major in the American Red Cross.

 

Also, being an international, rather than a U.S. organization it had a system of rank insignia that was possibly borrowed from the Swiss (?) instead of the more familiar American style of rank insignia.

 

Conversely, the combination of horizontal and vertical bars in Chuck's photo could also be the rank insignia of a captain (three horizontal bars) with a British style wound stripe (vertical gold stripe).

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  • 2 weeks later...

I will post some more a little later, but I liked this rhyme which was attributed to NJ Senator Frelinghuyson:

 

"Darling, here's your soldier bold!

Silver stripes instead of gold

Shine upon his sleeve today.

'Cause he did not sail away.

But, my darling, do not bleat.

For he did not get cold feet;

Simply did as he was told;

Silver stripes instead of gold."

 

As stated by WWINerd, there was a lot of controversy over the stripes and who wore them. I just posted this related note in a thread pertaining to civilian lapel buttons: http://www.usmilitar...pins/?p=1802697

 

RC

 

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