Four embroidered cloth badges depicting a red circle against a black background
Use
For use by the British Army to designate the Berlin Brigade
Context
Shortly after the Allied Occupation of Berlin badges like these were adopted to designate the British infantry Brigade garrisoned in the British sector. The red circle is believed to represent the fact that Berlin was in the eastern Russian part of Germany and that the Allies occupying West Berlin were effectively surrounded by the Red Army. These badges continued in use until 1952 when a tab was added with the word "Berlin".
These badges issued to Angus Cargill who was the chief constable of Hastings Police from 1942 until 1954. In 1944 he was seconded to the British Army as part of General Montgomery's Headquarter's Staff, and given the military rank of lieutenant colonel. He was one of a number of Uk senior police officers recruited to prepare policing arrangements for liberated countries in Europe and occupied Germany. After the German surrender in May 1945 Angus Cargill was responsible for overseeing the civil policing of the British sector in West Berlin until he returned to Hastings in 1947. He would have worn one of these badges on the top of each sleeve of his batteldress tunic. The museum also has one of his police tunics that has had the rank insignia removed and replaced with two of these circle badges. It may well be that he wore this tunic during his time in Berlin, though if he did it is odd that there is no rank insignia and that the patches were not on the sleeves in the army fashion.
