If I may introduce a thread drift here, I have a similar question about officers' beret badges. When I was a young Rockape PO I wore a beret with KD (hardly any officers other than we Rocks wore berets in those days). Naturally it was a proper officer's beret from Gieves, which had a sew-on wire embroidered beret badge. I recently came across an officer's beret among some stuff I bought. The beret itself was rather nasty quality, without any stores marks, the badge had fixing loops like an airman's badge and the design was solid, not wire embroidered. When did these horrors come into use? Do officers get issued with their kit from stores now?