Royal Scots Fusiliers 1900 badge.

[Toby Purcell]

Originally Posted by Parabellum

Hi Toby,
No worries, while you're on do you know if this design was worn by other ranks in brass/gilding metal, or are the single metal badges snco/nco only ?
Neil.

Gilding metal for colour sergeant and below. Gilt one piece for first class battalion staff sergeants and warrant officers. Gilt two piece for officers. However, the design details between 1883, 1891, 1900 and 1911 Dress Regulations need to be compared for any minor changes to officers badges. Unfortunately there are no descriptions in soldiers clothing regulations and instead one has to scour for sealed pattern references from the Royal Army Clothing Department circulars.

[Parabellum]

Thanks Toby, much appreciated.

What are your thoughts on the badges/info in post #6 ?

Do you think these badges were ever issued ?

[Toby Purcell]

Originally Posted by Parabellum

Thanks Toby, much appreciated.

What are your thoughts on the badges/info in post #6 ?

Do you think these badges were ever issued ?

If the pattern was sealed, which seems likely from the layout of the description that you’ve quoted, then they would definitely have been supplied when badges were demanded by unit quartermasters via the supply chain. How many were issued depended a lot on dates. Firstly the old badges were as a general rule issued until “wasted out” (meaning used up). Secondly full dress ceased being issued from the outbreak of WW1 and that included fur cap headdress. No caps meant no usage and so a plummet in demand for badges.

Ergo relatively few would have been issued and after the war it took quite some time before efforts were made to equip bands and that was self funded by the regiments themselves via the officers band fund (a subscription on officers mess bills that was demanded as an expression of loyalty, cohesion and regimental morale). It suggests that only a relative few would have ever been in use.

Of course officers purchased their own insignia as part of their initial kitting out, but they would usually only buy new insignia if the change was visually substantial and thus significant. Failing that they would tend to rely on so-called “grandfather’s rights” whereby an officer within a set period away from retirement was spared the expense, whereas a younger officer with a career ahead of him was expected to fork out.