A nice example of a
World War Two British
Combined Operations
'Tombstone' Commando Shoulder Patch
circa 1940-45
Created in 1940, after The Battle of Britain,
Combined Operations
was a special department of the British War Office
tasked with organising ops to harass
German forces over on the continent through the use of
Commando units composed of army & naval personnel,
supported by aircraft of the RAF.
But it wasn't until 1942 that the Head of Combined Ops
Lord Louis Mountbatten
issued a commission for a separate badge to
represent this new combined service.
The winning design was submitted by
Lt D A Grant RNVR of HMS Tormentor,
( a landing craft training base at Warsash on the River Hamble here in the south of England
and home for many of the raiding parties launched across the Channel),
which featured a combined fouled anchor (Navy) Tommy-gun (Army)
and outstretched eagle (RAF)
An archetypal example of an embroidered
- Combined Operation 'Tombstone' Patch,
(unpicked from a battle blouse)
in red-on-blue background & measuring approx 3" x 3.25".
In a good issued & used condition,
with a small hole on the lower left-hand side
and a bit of 'nibbling' on the lower right-hand side
as seen in the images!
A very nice original item WW-II British Commando Combined Ops insignia!