1st Highland Brigade
 

My grandfather's records show he was in the 1st Highland Brigade, Royal Horse & Royal Artillery. Yet the hat badge doesn't look like anything I can find. I also uploaded his arm badge - both are very fuzzy. Any ideas?

Thanks very much.

Hello trwatson, welcome to the Forum. Your account is active and open for posts.
The cap badge is an artillery badge. The sleeve badges include the cross hammer and tongs for artificer or some associated trade. There is a field gun above the qualification badge and a crown above that.

I stared at it for a while trying to sort out what was pictured, but totally agree with Bill A's explanation. The badges are very close together, but he's spot on

Ian H

I suspect that since he was wearing a bandolier, he was mounted, so Royal Field Artillery (RFA).

David

Thanks Bill, David and Ian. Your information makes total sense. His records show Royal Horse & RFA and he was a fitter by trade. With the horse drawn equipment, they would have needed fitters. I am learning so much! Thanks again.

The trade name was changed to ‘Metal Smith’ during the course of WW1. It was one of the RA’s leading artificer trades and attracted significant extra pay and rank (accelerated promotion). The supply of Smiths was always a problem area as the number of heavy guns increased exponentially during WW1.