There is a big difference in wearing badges in garrison and wearing them in the field. As BD got dirty or damaged it was often replaced in the field. Typically, soldiers did not want to spend a lot of time sewing on badges and insignia beyond the most basic, i.e., rank and sometimes unit.
I have several thousand WWII photos in my archives and most of those taken in NWE do not show formation patches, none show service chevrons or wound stripes, few show unit titles and hardly any display trade or skill-at-arms badges.
On the other hand, when back in the UK (and especially when coming back to Canada) the Canadian soldier could be very generous in his display of insignia - some of which was actually legitimate.
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