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This article is written in British English, which has its own spelling conventions (colour, travelled, centre, defence, artefact, analyse) and some terms that are used in it may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus. |
@Canterbury Tail and Eastfarthingan: So, this sentence: "SAS were heavily involved throughout the Soviet–Afghan War;
" - with or without "heavily involved
" linked to United Kingdom in the Soviet-Afghan War... you guys wanna talk it out? - wolf 20:30, 18 October 2022 (UTC)
There seems to be some confusion, if not dispute, regarding the cap badge insignia.
The current text, under "Uniform distinctions" reads:
Normal barracks headdress is the sand-coloured beret, its cap badge is a downward pointing Excalibur, wreathed in flames (often incorrectly referred to as a winged dagger) worked into the cloth of a Crusader shield with the motto Who Dares Wins.[1][nb 1]
(This was just changed today, from "Exclaibur" to "Sword of Damocles", then immediately changed back.)
The cited passage above includes the hidden text: " <!-- PLEASE DO not CHANGE THIS WITHOUT REFERRING TO THE TALK PAGE -->", though it doesn't mention any particular talk page discussion.
After a look through this talk page and it's archives, it seems this has been brought up before, here, here, here, here, here and here... all without any apparent consensus.
While some additonal sourcing might be helpful, I'm not sure how definitive it will be; take these two refs for example, both from the Imperial War Museum:
Embroidered cap badge to the SAS (Special Air Service), a dark (Cambridge) blue shield on which a white sword (Excalibur), point down, with a pair of light (Oxford) blue wings. An Oxford blue scroll over the lower part of the sword bears the motto WHO DARES WINS in black. Sword, wings and scroll all outlined in red."[3], and
The cloth cap badge of the SAS. In an effort to consolidate the identity of his new unit, Colonel Stirling privately arranged for this insignia to be made up by a Cairo tailor. The cap badge was originally designed as a flaming 'sword of Damocles' but ended up as a winged dagger. The motto 'Who Dares Wins' summed up Stirling's original SAS concept."[4]
At dispute, is whether it's a sword or dagger, and if it's a sword, which sword; Excalibur or the Sword of Damocles, and wether it's surrounded by flames or wings. So, I figured I would try starting a discussion now, to see if we can introduce more sourcing, and conclude the issue with a consensus. Cheers - wolf 19:28, 5 November 2022 (UTC)
Its cap badge is a downward pointing blade sometimes referred to as the legendary sword of King Arthur, "Excalibur", and sometimes described as a flaming "Sword of Damocles". It is set on a background usually referred to as "flames" but also described in some sources as "a pair of light Oxford Blue wings".
Its cap badge is a downward pointing blade that at times is described as either King Arthur's legendary sword "Excalibur", or a "flaming Sword of Damocles", or simply a dagger, but all are set on a background referred to as either "a pair of light Oxford Blue wings" or "flames".
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