SPEAKING OF CHAPLAINS
 

hi all
new to badges and medals.....i come from an ancient roman/greek coin background/interestingly i have found some overlap

sorry no image yet....working on it....MIGHT HAVE ATTACHED IT CORRECTLY

i have found a standard commonwealth chaplain badge, but this one is not blackened, it is the original tan color....is there any way to determine if it is canadian, british or even aussie

thanks, jim

Hello Jim, welcome to the Forum. Your account is active and open for posts.
The chaplain badge you have imaged is a generic badge that was worn by Cdn, Aussie and Brit chaplains. Probably a couple of other Dominions and colonies.

CHAPLAIN
 

IS IT ANY 'RARER' (IS THAT EVEN A WORD) WHEN IT IS ORIGINAL TAN COLOR (I.E UNBLACKENED)

JIM

It’s the first ever metal cap badge for British Army Chaplains and introduced for wear with drab khaki service dress in 1902. Before that time bullion wire badges were used. With the massed Empire forces of WW1 the badge began to be worn by associated Colonial and Dominion forces chaplains such as those for Canadian and ANZAC forces. The badges were issued blackened, not for tactical reasons but because the chaplains had adopted black insignia (in Victorian times their uniform frockcoat and forage cap was in black cloth). Unblackened badges have either had the original finish removed, or a reproduction badge where the correct finish has never been applied.

This chaplain seems to be wearing the "unblackened" cap badge....
Jo

© IWM (HU 117270)

Chaplain T. W. Pym. Chaplain to the Forces.

http://media.iwm.org.uk/ciim5/433/19...at=photographs


....compared to this blackened cap badge.

© IWM (HU 123757)

Chaplain to the Forces 4th Class, Reverend Robert George Dalrymple Laffan.

http://media.iwm.org.uk/ciim5/425/34...at=photographs

interesting theory.....

The badges were issued blackened, not for tactical reasons but because the chaplains had adopted black insignia (in Victorian times their uniform frockcoat and forage cap was in black cloth). Unblackened badges have either had the original finish removed, or a reproduction badge where the correct finish has never been applied.

anyone else have a thought

thanks, jim

I have seen such photos before, Jo. The dress regulations required the cap badge and collars to be blackened, but the finish could easily be removed and it would not surprise me if some of the denominations made efforts to be different. Long and hard wear and tear in the field also often removed the finish, but black it was supposed to be.

According to K&K these badges were worn in silver from 1902 up to 1922 and afterwards in black-metal and gilt. Yours is probably the latter but lost its gilding.

Rgds, Thomas.

Okey Dokey.

Jo

The silver and gilt were for wear with uniforms other than drab (khaki) service dress,Thomas, including 'frock coat' order and 'mess dress'. The blackened badges were intended for service dress (i.e. in the field), as per the photos posted by Jo.

I have a bimetal collar badge with Queen's crown, which "does not exist".
It is maker marked Taylor Perth. Sorry can only find a scan of the back at present.

That’s intriguing, Kingsley, as only Victoria and Elizabeth II used the St Edwards’s Crown in recent times, and for the latter’s reign, the cap badge of the RAchD, the design had completely changed. That new badge was/is still produced in both OSD black and a/a silver gilt. Your badge is marked with an Australian maker, I do not know if Australian forces have perhaps retained the WW1 style badge and used it in accordance with their own regulations. My comments above relate to badges with King’s (Tudor) crown at a time when dress regulations we’re largely aligned.