White Russian Officer Insignia ID - Help??

[thefallenbuddha]

Hello,

I am trying to identify the insignia worn by the officer in the photo below, specifically the sleeve insignia.
The man in the photo was a White Army officer (Kuban Cossack), details of his service are below. The photo is from after the White Army's evacuation of the Crimea.

About the officer (translated from a Russian reference):
Puchalski Fyodor Vasilyevich - in the Volunteer Army, 1st Kuban Campaign, pervopokhodnik [Scout?] in the Kuban Army Horse Divizion (03.1918), Lieutenant in the Kornilov Cavalry Regiment (1918), in the Armed Forces of South Russia as commander of a detachment of "steppe partisans", Colonel in the Kornilov Cavalry Regiment (1919), Commander of the 1st Uman Regiment
[Kuban Army] (03.1920) in the Russian Army, commander foot sotnia
[i.e. dismounted squadron] of the Zaporizhzhya Regiment in the Crimea
(1920). In exile in Los Angeles (in 1967).

Photo:

Detail of Sleeve Insignia (Identification would be helpful, it looks like a tank, almost?):

Detail of shoulderboards (if this helps):


I am also curious if anyone can help as to what colors the shoulder boards probably were??
Thank you in any advance for any help any of you can offer! I never knew of this forum before, and I am happy I came across it.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

The tank insignia is actually British! Royal Tank Regiment. He must have picked this up via British units sent to Russia to back the White Armies. Maybe he served alongside them?

Cheers, Ade.

[thefallenbuddha]

Hello!
Thank you for the reply!
To be honest, I hadn't thought of looking up tank insignia. I just assumed it couldn't have been tank insignia, since the overview of his service, which is posted above, doesn't mention anything about armor/tank service, etc.
The individual is actually a relative of mine, and I am trying to research more information about his service in the Civil War. He died in the 1970s. I have asked around the family, and among the anecdotes of his that can be recalled, no one remembers hearing anything about tanks.
However, thanks to your tip, I have been looking into tanks in the White Army in South Russia. The British Royal Tank Regiment did establish a school in Ekaterinodar, which trained White officers. Ekaterinodar (today Krasnodar), as you probably know, was the Kuban Cossack capital, and the officer was a Kuban Cossack.
Below is a photo of him from 1919, which was taken in Ekaterinodar, so I can say for sure that he was at least in the area during the operation of the tank school.
Looking at various photos of White Army tanks/tank crews in South Russia, I can see the same insignia being worn.
However, as I have yet to find any information on him serving in a tank unit, I can only assume he may have gone through the school, but not actually been assigned to an armored unit?
Would it have been possible for someone other than a person who completed tank training to have received the insignia?
Thank you for your help, it is very much appreciated!

[Adrian Stevenson]

I think by now, you possibly know more about this subject than I. But I am glad to have been some help.

Cheers, Ade.