The next impression after that if you want to go that far is line infantry and we'll be doing a yorkshire battlion 'the hallamshires' as this is yiths home county and he's already badged up for that, as none of the rest of us are badged up yet it makes sense.
The "Hallamshire Battalion" were one of the TA Battalions in the York and Lancaster Regiment.
"Hallamshire" is not a real county. It is actually an old term for the area around Sheffield and to the west of it.
They were involved with the ill-fated liberation of Norway in 1940; were involved in the Invasion of Normandy, in particular in the attack on Fontenay-le-Pesnel; received a VC at Antwerp-Turnhout canal; and participated in the final liberation of Arnhem.
The cap badge for the battalion is that of the parent regiment (Yorks and Lancs). Check militaria shows for this... and also ebay. Its a bimetal cap badge. (At the time of writing there are three of these available on ebay: http://search.ebay.co.uk/search/search. ... +cap+badge)
The insignia on the shoulder varies. In early war it should be a Red on Serge shoulder title "Hallamshire" with div patch of a polar bear (49th Div) and a single red arm of service stripe. For late war (D-Day onwards) the div patch becomes more aggressive (the bear is looking up, rather than into the ice its standing on).
We're going to go for late war for now. The 3 pieces of insignia should be machine sewn onto a piece of serge material and then sewn in place by hand (serge from an old 49 pattern BD blouse is great for this... I have some available if people want it, pm me). Basically the patches were supplied at Battalion level and the soldiers had to sew them on themselves... Also, I'm lead to believe that the printed version of the Div Patch was more common than the woven one.
To buy insignia see http://www.montyslocker.co.uk . That's where I got mine. Make sure you ask for the late war div patches and shoulder titles.
I have on mine the printed div patches. There are repros about, but I don't know a definitive source. From what I understand the repros were made in the UK... Keep an eye out at Militaria shows... Failing those, the woven ones will do us and are readily available from monty.
The cap badge should be worn on a standard GS Cap. (BTW Sanjay's GS Cap is not very good, but okay for a start. I picked up a Warhorse one at Beltring and its far superior and only cost £10 more. If someone has a 7 3/4" head and wants a free GS cap, they can have my Sanjay one.)
37 or 40 pattern BD is fine... Its late war so either are feasible.
Standard 37 pattern webbing, boots, gaiters etc...
MkII Tommy Helmet... I have yet to find out if they wore MkIIIs post D-Day, but I won't complain if someone wants to do this!
The source of the insignia images was this website, which is well worth a read: http://www.irdp.co.uk/JohnCrook/index.html
Doing a 49th Division impression is quite a good thing. There are a number of very distinguished re-enactment groups that do other battalions from that division and hence we can mix in quite nicely!
Also see here for pictures of me in my Hallamshires impression and also details on retailers and approximate prices: http://www.ww2airsoft.org.uk/zoom/hallamshires.html
Good info Rich, I'll start looking about for bits and pieces.
"I think we are in rats' alley - Where the dead men lost their bones."
Oh one more thing...
If you go for a Gas Mask Bag then it should be the late war small green one that will attach sideways to your webbing belt. The same as used on the airborne impression.
Remember guys... at the moment this is for info only!
Please work on your commando and airborne loadouts first.
Hi
This a good choice with me as I was at Polytechnic in Sheffield for 5 years. The storeman at the OTC was still wearing the Y&L cab badge then even though they had been amalgamated out in 1971. He was a Malaya veteran.
From my memory of 49 Div history the polar bear comes about because they were posted to Iceland after return from Norway as they were a mountain trained division.
If we are looking at a late war portrayl they had an issue of windproof suits once they were in Holland/German border in Autumn 1944.
Yes, I was aware of the iceland thing with the polar bear... did you also know of the nickname "Foxes" because of the closeness of the Polar Bear insigina to a certain mint... though that may be post war.
Very interesting. I am from Sheffield and went to Uni there... though not the "poly". 
I now work in Sheffield as well.
However I've lived more or less my whole life across the border in Derbyshire...
Interesting stuff on the Windproof suits. A number of us already have them or were thinking of getting them. Do you have any reference pics (or text) for the Hallamshires using them?
Most sources i've read say they were on more or less general issue my jan 45.
"I think we are in rats' alley - Where the dead men lost their bones."
cool... I will get some at some point then... not sure when or where from though! (probably not sanjay)
I have a set on order from panzerfaust43, as son as they arrive i'll take some pics or show you at F&O
"I think we are in rats' alley - Where the dead men lost their bones."
For some reason in our local Libary there was a copy of private printed book "Polar bears from Sheffield" a history of the Hallamshires in WWII. It contains pictures of troops in windproofs. I am not sure sure if the book is still there, I will go and see if I can purchase it as I am not sure it is getting used much!
This one:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Polar-Bears-She ... 637&sr=8-1
I may have to see if I can get a copy...
A source for the cap badges;
http://www.militaria.co.uk/badges_searc ... earch=true
I've not used him as I managed to get one off ebay.
Excellent! Well done Pete! 
Pictorial guide now available on the web site:
http://www.ww2airsoft.org.uk/zoom/hallamshires.html
Note, the printed 49th Div polar bear patches are available from pegasus militaria £10 per pair.
Hi All
I have attached below images of the the patches with badges for the Hallamshires and photo of the pattens. We can discuss and share as needed.
Awesome stuff!
Yes they look nice!
Hi Guys,
You may or may not be aware that I am running an event in September based on the Falaise pocket.
I have spoken to Gadge about the British contingent for the game, and I thought it might be a good opportunity to air the next kit idea proposed by Yith and Gadge for PBI. Since most of the British involved during the battle consisted of Infantry and SAS, was wondering whether PBI members playing might try to come dressed in their finest Hallamshire Battalion battledress?
Let me know what you think, would be awesome to see you all in the brown BD and tommy helmets!
Sounds good to me.
"I think we are in rats' alley - Where the dead men lost their bones."
I wish I could... Damn holiday... 
