Gordon Williamson

The term ‘battle insignia’ is taken from the German Kampfabzeichen.
In the context of this book it is intended to indicate that the badge was awarded either for participation in a specific battle, as with campaign awards or those for specific actions; or was awarded for participation in a particular type of battle, i.e. infantry combat, armoured combat, etc.
For this reason many badges which are, in collectors’ terms, extremely desirable – such as the Pilot’s Badge, Paratrooper’s Badge, etc – are not included here, because they are qualification badges and did not, in themselves, require the recipient to have taken part in any actual combat. As far as this work is concerned, the humble Infantry Combat Badge is a far more significant award than the desirable Pilot’s Badge, simply because it could only be earned in battle.