2nd Volunteer Battalion Devonshire Regiment

[Rob Miller]

A friend gave me this faded photograph on Sunday, it appears to prove that the 2nd VB Bn wore the larger POW plume as a cap badge.

The buttons are black crowned bugle generic pattern but the badges appear to be WM with a coloured backing behind the cap badges?

I've used paint shop pro for fade correction, but I'm wondering if there is any other way of making it clearer?

Rob

[Mercian]

Colin Churchill's book shows the 2nd as having a large bronze collar badge that look similar to the badge in the cap. I love these old volunteer photo's as they seem to turn up some puzzles.

George.

[Toby Purcell]

Very informative Rob, thank you for posting the photographic proof! I agree with George that the VBs often throw up fascinating stuff.

P.S. The backing to the badge was scarlet, a la KRRC.

[Alan O]

Great photo and thanks for sharing.

The use of FSH by the VBs meant that many did not wear badges at all, wore collars, or as this photo shows wore badges that are not easily recognisable as cap badges. In many cases the VBs do not seem to have adopted what we regarded as full sized cap badges until the advent of peaked caps in 1905. As with all things VB there was no guarantee that they adopted peaked caps or cap badges that mirrored the Regular badges in that year at all. An example of this is the 1st Dorset VB who retained their small '16' cap badge up to 1908 and I have yet to see a VB version of the full sized castle and wreath badge.

VB cap badges are one of the few areas of cap badges that have not been well recorded or recorded as an area.

Alan

[Rob Miller]

I'm finding this subject really tricky so any clue helps.

Here are some badges I have accumulated so far, in a previous thread I think we decided that my large broken badge is a helmet plate as Alan G had a larger version presumably like the one worn on the sash in this picture.

From Churchill, Infantry Collar badge the two small POW badges resemble
fig.354 c1885-1908 2nd Volunteer Bn
fig.357 1908-c1918 5th TF Bn

The other 4 I'm not sure about but I'm hoping can help to work out how big the cap badges are in this photograph?

Rob

[Rob Miller]

To test badge sizes I have tried a few on an old FSH.

The smallest is the collar badge which I suspect is too small.

The next size up is similar in size to Churchill fig.353 although a different shape, Churchill states that this was blackened brass and went out of use c1885, when the FSH came out quite a few years later these may still have been in storage with the Battalion, but would they have worn a blackened cap badge with WM collars, as the buttons are black perhaps they would?

The next two appear too big IMHO.

As always all thoughts and comments welcome.

Rob

[Peter Brydon]

I dont know if the attached will help or add to the confusion.

( Generally helmet plates have lugs and Pouch Belt Plates have screw posts.)

P.B.

[Rob Miller]

Hi Peter

Thanks for sharing that nice collection, however is your first pattern tight scroll large enough to be the early pattern blackened fig.353 shown in Churchill, or is it fig.357 post 1908 pre c1918 5th TA Bn in Gilding Metal?

Rob

[Peter Brydon]

Rob,

The Devonshire collars were part of a collection that belonged to one of the collectors who was among the contributors to Churchills book, so not mine and now sold off.

Peter