Tri-Service

Paras Finally Win Pegasus Emblem Battle

The Parachute Regiment has finally won a 15-year battle to reintroduce its Pegasus emblem, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The famous wartime emblem was controversially retired in a 1999 defence shake-up, despite the decision being met by strong opposition from politicians and former officers who argued it was part of the Paras' regimental history.

The Pegasus badge alongside the Eagle insignia which replaced it

The badge, approved by Winston Churchill and seen by many as the trademark of Britain's airborne rapid reaction force, will again be worn by its soldiers from next month.

It'll come as welcome news to a number of Paras, some of whom went to the extent of stitching the emblem inside their uniforms after it was replaced so they could still wear it. A senior officer at brigade headquarters said:

“Removing Pegasus was the equivalent of taking away the Ferrari’s unique logo, it was all about regimental rivalry and at last we have won the day and next month we will remove the Eagle and wear Pegasus again”.

16 Air Assault Brigade, which forms a major part of the Parachute Regiment, came under the control of the tri-service Joint Helicopter Command just before the turn of the milennium, and was given an eagle insignia as a result.

The decision to remove the badge was seen by many Paras at the time as an attempt to “clip the wings” of the regiment.

16 Air Assault performing a parachute jump

But it's now returning to Army control after coalition defence reforms, which gave the brigade and senior officers a chance to press for the reintroduction of Pegasus. Labour MP Dan Jarvis, a former Parachute Regiment officer, said:

“The Pegasus badge has huge historical resonance amongst The Parachute Regiment and across airborne forces and has a talisman like effect on those who wear it. Its return will be widely welcomed”

Brig Colin Weir, commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade, will now issue paratroopers with the emblem next month at a ceremony at Colchester’s Melville Barracks. He said there had been “broad consensus” that it was time to bring the badge back from within the brigade:

“Pegasus is the defining symbol of British airborne forces and is internationally recognised as the classical image of an armed man being delivered into battle by air.