WW2 British Royal Corps of Signals Bakelite Cap Badge

This is a World War II-era British Royal Corps of Signals cap badge, produced in Bakelite. The badge was issued as an economy measure due to metal shortages during wartime. It features the emblematic figure of Mercury (the winged messenger), standing on a globe, with a scroll beneath bearing the inscription “Royal Corps of Signals.” Unlike the traditional brass badges, this example is molded from dark brown Bakelite, a type of early plastic commonly used in the 1940s. The badge includes molded detail and an integrated attachment system on the reverse for securing it to a cap. Items like this were issued to members of the Royal Corps of Signals, a branch responsible for military communications and signaling. The use of Bakelite badges represents a practical adaptation to resource constraints during the war and serves as a distinctive identifier of British military uniform insignia from the Second World War period.