Close family military badges protocol

[SeVeNeVeS]

Ive got a quick question about the protocol of wearing military insignia/ badges of regiments my close family served their time with.

My dear old dad was in the Royal Engineers, that I do know, my uncle (his brother) was shot in the neck and pensioned off after a tour of duty in Ireland in the 70's and my other uncle was something to do with tanks in Germany in the 80's.

If I find out which specific Regiments they served with, would it be acceptable for me (a civilian) to wear the relevant badges on a jacket in their honour.

Thanks for your help and advise.

~SeVeN~

[Argus Fairbrass]

This is the official line here in the UK from the Royal British Legion regarding medals.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Can I wear medals belonging to members of my family?

The official position regarding wearing medals other than your own is that they should not be worn. However, it was generally accepted from soon after the Great War that widows of the fallen wore their late husband's medals on the right breast on suitable occasions.

More recently it seems to have become the custom for any family member to wear medals of deceased relations in this way, sometimes trying to give a complete family military history by wearing several groups. Although understandable it is officially incorrect, and when several groups are worn it does little for the dignity of the original owners.

The Legion takes a pragmatic view and our Ceremonial Rules state:

    "The official rules for wearing medals allow only official awards to be worn. Unofficial purchased medals and foreign medals which do not have the Sovereign's permission to be worn are not allowed. Standard Bearers, Parade Marshals and other officials on Legion duty are bound by this ruling and unofficial medals must not be worn when on Legion duty.

    The medals awarded to a deceased Service / ex-Service person may be worn on the right breast by a near relative (mother, father, sister, brother, wife, husband, daughter and son). Not more than one group should be worn by any individual."

One thing is certain, no action will be taken officially if anyone wears a relation's medals. In the Legion this practice is banned for Standard Bearers and parade officials and as stated above for other members.

Another option is to have the family medals framed so that they can be displayed the whole year round. These displays can include a photo, cap badge and name plate which makes it a very personal display for a family.

There are no official laws banning civilians from wearing medals they didn't earn here (as far as I know) I also heard the laws in place in the States were actually overturned on grounds of civil rights. But I can tell you it is highly frowned upon unless done in a certain context.

Civilians may parade during remembrance events wearing deceased relatives medals. They are worn on the right breast, and I believe they should be pinned so they don't swing. There is some debate as to what relation one should be to the deceased, I'm not sure how it stands as regards an Uncle for example.

Also understanding the groupings is considered desireable. As I say this is really down to the discretion of ones self and ones family as much as anything. But that's kind of how the land lies officially at the moment.

Edit: Gaah, I just re read your question! you said badges not medals. Well I'll leave that text as the medals question does get asked from time to time.

Still I would imagine badges is not going to be wildly different. Again no law against it, unless you were attempting some kind of fraudulent deception. You may be challenged about it however. I would imagine as long as you do know the history and can explain the reason you are wearing them it would be acceptable. But in the end of course it would be best to hear from the people serving in those regiments.

[D.Oakes]

Ive got a quick question about the protocol of wearing military insignia/ badges of regiments my close family served their time with.

My dear old dad was in the Royal Engineers, that I do know, my uncle (his brother) was shot in the neck and pensioned off after a tour of duty in Ireland in the 70's and my other uncle was something to do with tanks in Germany in the 80's.

If I find out which specific Regiments they served with, would it be acceptable for me (a civilian) to wear the relevant badges on a jacket in their honour.

Thanks for your help and advise.

~SeVeN~

If the styles changed at all, I'd always recommend wearing the oldest one possible.  Despite what the rules and general custom states sometimes there is some offense taken.  Once I had a run in with a kid wearing US Army ACU gear, carrying a base ID, had his hair cut in regulation style, and had the "attitude."  Out of respect, I backed down, only to find out some days later that in fact his brother or somebody esle related was actually the military person and he had no desire of serving.  Needless to say my military friends were not at all pleased.  So that said, wear such things with pride for family and don't be a ****. 

[Arceye]

I wear my late Father's REME (Royal Engineers) badge pinned to a waistcoat. It is intended as a way of remembering my Dad. No one would mistake me for a military type

[The Mysterious Mr Murphy]

It's all in the intent.

Dressed in correct uniform and wearing them would not go over well unless in a historical re-enactment setup (WW2, etc).

Wearing the medal itself, with the caveat you explain to people why you are doing so, i generally would not have an issue with EXCEPT (!!!!!!!!!!!) in the cases of medals won for gallantry/combat.

My father is a Bronze Star winner. Despite having served myself (different war, different branch) I would never wear his Bronze Star. Display, yes, wear, no.

A guy i used to work with wore an older (BDU type, now out of official service) blouse with patches sewn literally 'all over it'. He had never served and did so in remembrance of his dad, uncles and grandfather who had (WW2, Korea, Vietnam and elsewhere). He never tried to play off like he was in (I asked) and it was more or less a 'wearable shadow box" of patches from some of their old uniforms that were no longer presentable, so he had a mix of stuff from various eras.

I had no issue with him in that case, because in no way could he be mistaken for being active (or former) military with the placement of the patches, and he always explained it.

[CaptainPhania]

It's a touchy issue in Australia, but mainly in connection to the ANZAC Day march, where war veterans are commemorated. In recent years relatives right down to grandchildren have marched in the parade wearing medals (but also bearing photographs), which while a common practice is regarded by some as innapropriate and disrespectful, even though it's well intended. I wonder what will happen when the last of the veterans in the march die

Echoing the other posts, it's about time and place, as well as the intent. I am very proud of and amazed by my grandfather's service, but I don't feel the need to wear his medals to show this. They have never been displayed and never will be - he found them traumatic.

That said, anything from WWI is probably fair game. I think it becomes a military heirloom once you go further back in time than WWII.

[SeVeNeVeS]

Cheers for the replies chaps.
 
I hasten to add it is not medals but the regimental embroidered patches/ cap badges etc I was thinking of. I guess the general consensus of opinion is nay. So be it. I may just display items in a cabinet, maybe include some photos and stuff and hang it on the wall, hopefully that would be OK.

Thanks again,

~SeVeN~

[Argus Fairbrass]

I don't think anyones saying no exactly mate. Apologies for mis reading your post, it's been a bit of a habit of mine lately. It's not like you're going to have loads of people jumping down your throat about it. You may be asked about it from time to time is all. I would think that as long as you know the history and explain what the connection is to you personally, no one could reasonably have a problem with it.

But I should stress, I'm a civilian who has never served as well. Members of the Royal Engineers etc, may have a different pov. But again I would say it's down to your discretion, this is about honouring your family as much as anything after all.

[Arceye]

I would not 'hold' with wearing military decorations- medals, badges etc with any intention of disrespect. If the badge is a family heirloom, then it can be worn as a memento and everything is good. Military badges, medals, cloth badges are intended as marks of bravery, service, honour, and as long as they are treated as such by civilians, then fine by me for civilians to wear them because they belonged to family.

Problems start if such tokens are worn as purely decoration, bought as that, and worn for show.

[The Mysterious Mr Murphy]

Agreed.


Some things go a little different than others.

The beret I wore as the symbol of my profession of arms, specific to my job field, was earned. While I was neither Ranger, Airborne, or one of the other more well-known beret-wearing crowd (in the 'earned not issued' group), it was indeed earned, and a sign amongst ourselves of considerable pride and respect.

Some guy simply wearing it as a hat (complete with branch identifier) would quite simply piss me off. A similar-color beret without branch identifier? No. Displaying it, sure, not a big deal. I have several berets from other armies and units given to me by their original wearers. Most of them I don't wear because I have a fairly large head, and I didn't earn them. On a side note, you'd figure out of 3 members of the French Foreign Legion at least 1 would have something my size, but apparently they're all pinheads....

A cap badge (or in my case, a beret flash worn seperate from the beret) sewn or pinned onto something in remembrance wouldn't bother me a bit presuming as others said, you know the history of it and it's not just decoration.

While I have my own history, if I had never served, I would keep a 101st Airborne patch (with whom my father served at one time) for similar reasons to yours.

All about respect and how you do it. Pinning a cap badge or a unit patch to a jacket is fine, just be prepared to answer a few questions if necessary.

[Narsil]

I would say that, if you have a close personal connection with the original holder then it would be OK to wear medals and insignia etc as long as you take them out of their original context, ie there is no possibility that you could be interpreted as claiming them for yourself as it were.

Even then this should probably be restricted to appropriate occasions, I don't think that it's appropriate  it's appropriate to wear medals as a general fashion accessory.

Really it comes down to context, if you feel strongly that you want to wear some insignia that belonged to a family member or close friend as a memento then I don't think that there are many people who would object to that as long as you do so in a way that's reasonably clear that its a keepsake rather than your own.

At the end of the day these are thing that some people feel very strongly about an din many cases are an important part of their own identity so they deserve to be treated with respect

[barb dwyer]

Seven-

My vote is for the cabinet, as well.

HOWEVER-

there *is* a way
to honor the memory
and accomplishments
without wearing the actual medals-

perhaps a photo of the medals
and a photo of him IN them
worn in a locket
hung from a medal ribbon?

open the locket-
and there on one side are the medals
for detailed inspection
and then the photo
of the man you're honoring?

just an idea I had driving home from skewel today.