Polish Paras photos. Different colour of berets.

[AlexKG200]

Gents, I would like to share with you some evidence suggest of existing diffrent colour of Polish Paras beret during WW2 (other than grey and green/grey), Which I found. Please find attached photos below. First picture desciption: Ignacy Pelc, Polish soldier, 11th Polish Signals battalion in Italy, 1943
Second picture(group photo) Personnel of the 11th Polish Signals Battalion in Italy 1944.
Ignacy Pelc went to Italy with 2nd Corps, and then was sent to the special, diversion unit, called Base 11(part of the 11th Polish Signals Battalion?) His unit were corresponding with the AK( Polish Underground Army)
These soldier wore BD wit Polish Paras collars(few others as well)Para badge....and dark blue or black? beret.
If unit were only small group from 11th Polish signals battalion attached to Para's why some of them wore Paras BD and dark berets, and the rest FS caps, standard BD, et cetera.
If these soldier wore these berets temporary why they wore Paras BD?
They had waited for new stock/ supply?
By the way one soldier from group photo: down upper right has unusual BD cuff.
In my humble opinion, this is very interesting find.
Gents, I wonder what do you think. I will greatly appreciate your opinions. Thank you.

Regards
Alex

[Krakow1]

Problem # 1 : Ignacy Pelc is not listed in the "Materialy...." as having qualified as paratrooper.

[rsunday]

Not all Polish para trained soldiers served in the 1st Para Brigade.
Many became "Silent and Unseen", others formed Independent Grenadier Company.

At the beginning many para trained Polish officers (1940/41) joined other combat units. A group also volunteered for service in British Colonial Forces in Africa.
Later a few older officers were moved from 1st Para Bde to other units - e.g. 1st Armoured Division, etc.

[A.J. Zawadzki]

. . . By the way one soldier from group photo: down upper right has unusual BD cuff. . .

Hi Aleks,

This cuff taping denotes a “Podchorąży” - officer cadet.





Cheers,
Tony

[Krakow1]

Here is a translated story by Ignacy Pelc, form a website : "The Memory Project ",

We came from Siberia on down south to join the Polish people, or Army, in joining in the south, in the southern part of Russia, used to be an SSR [Soviet Socialist Republic] there, and Tashkent [Uzbekistan], not that far from Tashkent. I tried to get into the army, but I wasn’t old enough and even my figure was kind of small and skinny; and I couldn’t join the army, so they pushed me to the [Polish] Young Soldiers [Battalion]. A bunch of us from Palestine, young soldiers, they were sending us to different type of schools. So I joined the school of Signal Corps. So 180 of us Young Soldiers [had] been sent to the Mina Camp, which located was four kilometres from the Pyramids. And we were learning about the signals and Morse Code, and any kind of exercise, motorcycles, like young soldiers were doing. I went to Italy with the [II Polish Corps] of the Polish Army from Middle East; and from there, they sent me to the special unit. It [was] called Base 11 [11th Polish Signals Battalion], Signal Corps, but it was strictly for the correspondence on a bigger scale, like for instance, Underground Army in Poland, and the Polish government in London. And even we were making contact with the [General Dragoljub "Draža"] Mihailović army in Yugoslavia. So everything was secret. Telegram was sent or received because there wasn’t any open letter or things like that, only the Morse Code, only. From our place, unit, it was a diversion unit... They were jumping our soldiers, special into the Polish mainland to the Polish Underground Army. And they making a connection them, and we correspond with the Underground Army in Poland. When the, close to the end of the war, actually it was 1944, when the Russians come to the border of the Vistula River, and they stopped. They didn’t move farther and the uprising in Warsaw began. So we were sending a lot of materials like guns and ammunitions, and all kinds of things that dropping into the Warsaw place where there Warsaw Uprising was there. And we were corresponding with the Underground Army when the Russians come. When they stopped us to correspond with the, because the Russians were coming, became a little suspicion that we…They didn’t like us Polish people. There was no connection between [Soviet Premier Joseph] Stalin and the government, and the Underground government in London. So that was the end of our correspondence with the Underground Army in Poland. It was important maybe what I was doing. I mean, I had 100s like for that 100 letters per minute, on the Morse Code, received. Like for instance, like a telegram was sent, either there was a letter or the numbers. And everything was coded. Everything was coded. There was nothing open because there was very important messages went by, through.

[Krakow1]

Strangely enough there in no mention of any Parachute School there......

[Krakow1]

Picture of Cpl Ignacy Pelc in 1945. Taken from internet. I see no Parachute Badge here.......

[Gary J]

An arrestable offence ... IF your were challenged by an MP whilst wearing a parachute badge without being able to produce a legitimacy certificate for the badge ....
... No mention of Station B10, ... or training back in the UK ......
And IF parachute trained by the British forces, .... would not qualify for the Polish Parachute badge ....

I suspect this may be a personal "embelishment" ... if no official record can be verified .....

[AlexKG200]

Thank you Gentlemens for all your comments. I appreciate it.
I am sorry to dwell on the subject, but can anyone explain me this combination: dark beret(dark blue or black), Polish Para cloth collar badge, and mentioned before Para badge. At least two other soldiers wore this combination, apart from a soldier from a portrait photo. Thank you.

Kind Regards
A.S.

[rsunday]

Maybe the collar patches are not para? The photo is not clear.
As I remember infantry bns from 1st Armoured Div. had same shape infantry patches for BD.