Mike,
I wonder how far the "intention" of senior headquarters in 1939 was passed down to the signwriters in the vehicle workshops? Was there an actual operational instruction created for the units such as the one I quote above from GHQ (ME) and if so did it get ballsed up by some artistic captain producing the instruction and the hump-backed rat appeared.
I have just had a quick look at photos and see the hump-backed rat on vehicles retreating in Greece. I think this is not just an 'interpretation" but following some official instruction.
There is a famous picture of a row of Australian tanks with big kangaroos on the side. These are the penny design but close inspection reveals quite large variations in detail according to the artists' styles.
I still go for the bad design being the official one - as known to the painters, obviously from your information not the original intentions. This was supplanted either by some General saying "What a crappy kangaroo, we didn't want that shape at our meeting in 1939" or the boys just took it upon themselves to produce the accepted Australian national symbol.
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