Guaranteed original. Complete & intact. This is an original Belgian Army in Exile (Free Belgium Forces) Cap Badge for sale. In good condition.

Unlike the Free French, whose army retained their national rank structure and much of its own equipment and uniforms, the Free Belgians were fully organized and equipped along British lines. Belgian troops adopted the British rank structure along with British Battle Dress uniforms and helmets. They were distinguished from other units by a rampant lion cap badge and a curved cloth badge inscribed "BELGIUM" worn on one shoulder, and a Belgian tricolor badge on the other. The Belgian army had traditionally used French-style uniforms, along with the characteristic Adrian helmet, meaning that from the First World War both armies had a very similar appearance. After the war, influenced by the Free Belgians and by British military advisors, the Belgian military instead adopted British-style uniforms and British-produced equipment. The Free Belgian forces (French: Forces belges libres, Dutch: Vrije Belgische Strijdkrachten) were soldiers from Belgium and its colonies who fought as part of the Allied armies after the official Belgian surrender to Nazi Germany during World War II, between 1940 and 1944. In 1940, Belgian pre-war emigras and former soldiers who had escaped occupied Belgium were formed into units within the British military which later fought in the European and Mediterranean Theatres. These included an infantry formation, which later became the Brigade Piron, as well as Commando and paratroop units. Belgians also served in the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, serving in Belgian-only units as well as in majority-British units. Significant numbers of soldiers from the Belgian Congo fought on the Allied side against the Italians in East Africa. After the liberation of Belgium in September 1944, the Free Belgian forces formed the backbone for the newly reorganized Belgian army.