WW2 27th Lancers large 25mm button

27th Lancers Button by J.R. Gaunt, London
Nice piece. The design (crossed lance pennons, King’s Crown, numeral 27) and the J.R. Gaunt London backmark are consistent with a WWII-era officer’s or other ranks’ button for the 27th Lancers.
About the Regiment
The 27th Lancers was a short-lived but interesting unit. It was raised in January 1941 as an armoured reconnaissance regiment, formed largely from a cadre drawn from the 21st Lancers. Despite the traditional “Lancers” title and the crossed pennons on the badge, they were a fully mechanised unit equipped with armoured cars and light tanks rather than horses.
Wartime Service
For most of the war they served in the UK on home defence and training duties, which is why surviving items from them are comparatively scarce on the market compared to longer-serving cavalry regiments.
Their main active service came in Italy in 1944–45, where they operated as the armoured car reconnaissance regiment for various formations during the Italian Campaign. They were equipped principally with Staghound and Daimler armoured cars, scouting ahead of advancing infantry and armoured divisions, screening flanks, and conducting the classic cavalry roles of reconnaissance and pursuit. They saw action through the difficult terrain north of the Gothic Line and into the Po Valley in the final advance of spring 1945.
The regiment was disbanded in 1948