British & Commonwealth Military Badge Forum

Recent Books by Forum Members

   

Go Back   British & Commonwealth Military Badge Forum > Common Forums > It's a Mystery -Unknown Insignia for Identification

 Other Pages: Galleries, Links etc.
Glossary  Books by Forum Members     Canadian Pre 1914    CEF    CEF Badge Inscriptions   Canadian post 1920     Canadian post 1953     British Cavalry Badges     Makers' Marks    Pipers' Badges  Canadian Cloth Titles  Books  SEARCH
 
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #16  
Old 27-07-16, 02:50 PM
manchesters's Avatar
manchesters manchesters is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Lancashire
Posts: 7,572
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by kingsley View Post
Here is a random selection of Australian Trade badges showing stars and crowns to indicate 2nd class and 1st class. I haven't got a picture of the whole board but they were worn with many different trades. The separate larger star is the efficiency one worn by itself, also have one in oxidised finish and it was undoubtedly worn in WM as well.
I have some groups in gilt, WM, oxidised and bright copper. There are not many WM ones and have always wanted to know just which WM varieties exist.
Kingsley,

The large star is in fact that of an RQMS, pre 1915 worn on the lower arm above 4 inverted chevrons.

Volunteers/Territorials NCO's proficiency badges had 4 points and Volunteers/Territorials efficiency badges had 5 points.

The armourers badges appear to be on their sides?

regards
__________________
Simon Butterworth

Manchester Regiment Collector
Rank, Prize & Trade Badges
British & Commonwealth Artillery Badges
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old 27-07-16, 04:14 PM
54Bty's Avatar
54Bty 54Bty is online now
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: London, England
Posts: 6,293
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shiny View Post
I can honestly say I have never seen or heard of them being worn by anyone with star above them as shown in the photo in post 8.

The usual method of wear was on the left wrist for standard 2, right wrist for .
The Distinction Star was introduced into the British Army in 1984. Although it was rarely worn, due to insufficient knowledge of its use and of the Regulations.

Marc

Last edited by 54Bty; 27-07-16 at 08:11 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old 27-07-16, 06:36 PM
Shiny's Avatar
Shiny Shiny is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: North Shields, Tyne and Wear
Posts: 1,016
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by 54Bty View Post
The Distinction Star was introduced into the British Army in 1984. Although it was rarely worn, due to insufficient knowledge its use and of the Regulations.

Marc
Thanks a lot Marc, you live and learn.

I posted the photos on a facebook group for signals instructors past and present and no one on there has ever heard of it either. That has a lot of former instructors, signals officers and warrant officers on there going back as far as the 50's so as you say it can't have been worn very much if they haven't heard of it.

The one thing a few of them came back with was that it looked the the drivers trade badge which apparently was worn with 2 points up for a class 2 driver and 1 point up for the class 1.

You'd think people who gained a distinction would have wanted to wear it and would have made the badge known.

Thanks again,

Michael
Reply With Quote
  #19  
Old 27-07-16, 08:18 PM
54Bty's Avatar
54Bty 54Bty is online now
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: London, England
Posts: 6,293
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shiny View Post
You'd think people who gained a distinction would have wanted to wear it and would have made the badge known.
Michael
If the School did not tell the soldiers of the star I doubt the individual knew of it. In the Royal Regiment of Artillery we ran our own signallers courses, on completion the crossed flags badge was presented, but, rarely worn. Our instructors wore their flags on the chevrons so as not to get in the way of the gun, then of course a change of RSM and it was moved above the gun.

Marc
Reply With Quote
  #20  
Old 27-07-16, 09:44 PM
Shiny's Avatar
Shiny Shiny is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: North Shields, Tyne and Wear
Posts: 1,016
Default

Good point, I was thinking of the old sweats wearing them and it catching on.

Do you know if it's still eligible to be worn now?
Reply With Quote
  #21  
Old 28-07-16, 06:06 AM
kingsley kingsley is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,020
Default

Simon,
Thanks for the comments, the armourer badges are indeed on their sides (someone else mounted them for me).
Thanks also for the comments about the large star. I am sure I have seen a reference somewhere to its use in Australia some time in the 1930s but can't remember where. My oxidised one looks exactly like a pre-war Australian badge, not British pre-1914. I have an earlier British cloth one somewhere.
Reply With Quote
  #22  
Old 28-07-16, 07:28 AM
fairlie63's Avatar
fairlie63 fairlie63 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Claremont, Tasmania
Posts: 1,366
Default Skills badges 1904-current

For general interest -

A list of Australian skill-at-arms, proficiency and miscellaneous badges for rank etc. Dates are those that I have located for the item in dress regulations, Price List of Clothing, Priced Vocabulary of Clothing and Necessaries, AIF Orders, or newspaper adverts for suppliers.

There are probably others, and there are references in documents such as PVCN 1928-29 to badges (with prices) for Badges, Linesman, Proficiency, Signal Units; and Badges Telegraphist or Telephonist, Proficiency, Signal Units. No idea what these entailed and there is no evidence that any were ever produced or worn.

Haven't got around to adding the various materials for the band/musicians yet.

Keith
Attached Files
File Type: doc skillsbadge.doc (64.5 KB, 22 views)
Reply With Quote
  #23  
Old 28-07-16, 08:17 AM
manchesters's Avatar
manchesters manchesters is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Lancashire
Posts: 7,572
Default

Keith,

Some interesting ones on there, quite different to the badges from the UK.
Thanks for showing us.

regards
__________________
Simon Butterworth

Manchester Regiment Collector
Rank, Prize & Trade Badges
British & Commonwealth Artillery Badges
Reply With Quote
  #24  
Old 28-07-16, 09:39 AM
atillathenunns's Avatar
atillathenunns atillathenunns is offline
Member
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Wellington, New Zealand
Posts: 1,431
Default

New Zealand military proficiency and efficiency badges closely followed British military regulations and British badges, and their brass badges were in most cases identical.
The 1889 NZ Dress regs list the star as an “efficiency badge.”
The 1895 NZ Dress regs mentions that a star was to be worn below the crossed flags.
The 1921 NZ Dress regs list a star as a “Judging Distance Badge."

Would the combination of badges in post#1 have been worn by New Zealand military forces?
I highly doubt it.

From Kieth’s post #22, which mentions “STAR, 5-POINTED - Skill-at-arms, Distance judging, gilding metal (1914)”
It could well be an Australian combination, but I am thinking theirs is also based on regulations designed by the British military.

Hopefully Quicksilver will offer his thoughts.

The following extracts were taken from a book published during WW1 in the UK by Ward Lock & Co.



Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

mhs link

All times are GMT. The time now is 03:51 PM.


Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.