Have now got four of these badges , any idea when they first came out and are there any others that I've missed ?

What's the H ?
 

Just got a bandsman/standard bearer badge with a QVC/St.Edwards Crown , found a couple of old (ancient !) threads that covered the crown issue.

QVC badges

The badge has H1373 stamped on the back (have another one with no stamp) , a theory about these numbers was put forward in 2008 but has anyone got any up to date info ?

Victorian Crown 1921 ??

A seller on eBay is asking £49.99 + postage for one of these :eek: , I picked my one up for £6.00 (that included postage).

Unusual find
 

Almost skipped past this badge thinking it was a standard British Legion Women's Section one with brooch fitting.

A closer inspection showed it was an "Honorary" badge , so stuck in a last minute bid and got it.

Arrived today and is quite interesting :

Button hole fitting.

RD No. 686642 same as 1921/1922 pattern Women's Section badge.

Maker - A.HARRIS Ltd. GLASGOW.

PS - Am now on the lookout for old style BL/RBL 'Life Member' badges , the ones with the bottom scroll. ;)

You do have a real skill of finding these unusual badges Mike. My list of wants seems to grow every time you put a post on 😁

Michael

No real skill , just patience ..... and luck ! :D

Before I just used to ignore a lot of badges , thinking I already had them , now I take my time and find the unusual or rarer ones. Then it's down to luck , if someone else has spotted them it's a case of how much I'm willing to pay (and being Scottish I'm tight with money :eek:).

PS. Every time I post a new badge my list of wants grows ! :)

Postman just delivered my latest 'addition' , an older version RBL "For Merit" badge. :D

Checking albums I have discovered there is a British Legion one as well , so the hunt goes on ! :(

Well done, I was bidding on this as well but I think you and someone else both went over my max amount.

Michael

Have just finished sending you an e-mail , I had a maximum in mind ...... then decided to up it by £1.00 ! :D

Another addition , silver coloured small Gaunt badge.

Another one I almost ignored . I have a few small British Legion badges , horseshoe fitting , vertical pin , horizontal pin but this is the first time I've seen one with a clutch pin.


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Another good spot Mike, nice find.

Michael

I must be going through a 'silver' period , first I get the 'silver' BL badge , then the 'silver' 1915 OWS badge and today a 'silver' BLWS badge ! :)

Nice

Once you start..... you can't stop ! ;)

1. RBLWS Gaunt version.

2. 'QVC' with slider (Band/Standard Bearer/Parking :confused:).

BL Silver Badge (Life Member ?)
 

Found some info from the now 'defunct' "The British Legion Memorabilia Collectors Club" website.

The Royal Charter of 1925 states :

"MEMBERSHIP Rule 7. - The Members of the Legion shall consist of four classes of Members namely Ordinary , Life , Honorary and Women.

(B) Life Members shall comprise such persons being Ordinary Members of the Legion as the National Executive Council or a Branch shall admit to Life Membership of the Legion."

They mention a "J. R. Gaunt Silver Plated Life Membership badge has the Registered (Membership) Number of 165702 which roughly equates to 1925"

"J. R. Gaunt London were the first enamel badge manufacturer to be contracted to supply British Legion member badges. Since the discovery of the 1928 British (* should this be Birmingham ?) Medal Company Gold Badge we could only roughly estimate when the Legion changed its preferred badge manufacturer to be around 1927 -28."

"After WW2 at the 1946 25th Anniversary Conference the members voted to replace all sizes of badge with the smaller one (and redesign the WS badge)". It appears that this is when Gaunt got the contract back ?

"British Legion (BL) Life Membership Badges evolved from its first appearance entirely silver plated, then in silver plated and blue enamel, and then to its final version in brass and enamel".

Note : The BL badge with the lower 'Life Member' scroll appears to be a later version ( post WW2 ?).

So , your silver Birmingham Medal Co. badge may be a variation (silver rather than silver plated) of a Life Membership badge dating between 1927/28 and 1945 ?

NB. "The British Legion Memorabilia Collectors Club" based a lot of it's information on badges (or photos) that it had acquired , but unfortunately it does not provide many documented references.


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