The ACC Corps Colours
Grebe Grey
Bunting Yellow
Much
discussion
has
taken
place
in
the
past
seventy
five
years
concerning
the
origin
of
the
Army
Catering
Corps’
colours.
The
answer
is
now
unfortunately
lost
in
time,
but
one
of
the
colours
of
The
Royal
Army
Service
Corps
was
yellow
and
may
have
been
chosen
in
view
of
the
former
associations of the RASC with army catering.
It
was
promulgated
in
Army
Council
Instructions
(ACIs)
No
469
of
1941
that
the
shoulder
title
of
the
Corps
to
be
worn
by
other
ranks on service dress were the letters ACC in brass.
When
the
designs
of
the
new
cap
and
collar
badges
were
announced
in
ACIs
1054
of
1941
it
also
stated
under
the
heading
"Distinguishing
Marks
for
wear
on
battledress"
that
all
ranks
would
wear
the
letters
ACC in yellow on a grey background.
In
ACI
1118
of
1940
"An
arm
of
service"
strip
of
coloured
felt
was
to
be
worn
by
all
ranks
on
the
upper
sleeve
of
the
battledress
and
greatcoat.
The
strip
allocated
to
the
Corps
was
two
inches
long
and
a
quarter
of an inch thick. The first inch being of pigeon grey and the second half of yellow material.
There
were
single
and
combined
colours
for
eighteen
other
arm
of
service
strips.
ie:
All
infantry
units
were
scarlet.
Grey
was
not
a
colour
used
by
any
other
branch
of
the
army
and
may
have
been
the
reason
it
was
allocated
to
the
new
Corps.
Grey
backing
cloth
was
approved
for
the
worsted
rank badges worn on battledress by officers.
On
27
June
1947
the
Controller
Army
Catering
Corps
proposed
to
the
Army
Dress
Committee
at
their
second
meeting
after
the
war,
that
the
existing
shoulder title was unsatisfactory in that after a period of wear the yellow initials ACC became very indistinct against a grey background.
It
was
proposed
and
agreed
that
the
full
wording
"Army
Catering
Corps"
in
grey
lettering
on
a
yellow
background
should
henceforth
replace
it.
And
this
form
of
title,
introduced
in
1948,
was
worn
until
battle
dress
was
finally
replaced
after
1963.
The grey colour taken into use by the Corps was originally described as pigeon grey.
At
the
80th
meeting
of
the
Army
Dress
Committee
on
27
April
1955,
when
consideration
was
given
to
the
pattern,
style
and
colour
of
a
mess
dress
for
officers
of
the
ACC,
the
description
grebe
grey
was
first
used.
Senior
officers
of
the
Corps
promoted
to
the
rank
of
Colonel
prior
to
1959 wore a grebe grey band around the service dress cap and grey gorget patches on their collars.
Although
there
had
been
no
change
of
colour,
grebe
grey
has
been
substituted
by
the
trade
for
pigeon
grey
and
the
British Colour Council identified the Corps colours as grebe grey and bunting yellow.
The grey band is above the yellow band on the ACC stable belt