Royal Australian Navy Bridging Train 1915
 

I thought I'd share this with our Aussie friends, it's another unissued badge from the Firmin man's collection. This is the larger of the 2 patterns, disbanded in 1917 I think.
All the best, Wilf.

RAN Bridging Train unofficial hat badge and shoulder title - WW1

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...armi01/NBT.jpg

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...1/IMGP9802.jpg

And some history...

RAN Bridging Train - WW1

hi guys
can anyone tell me if this hat badge came as a cast badge or just die struck?
i have seen somewhere info saying that these were also made cast but i cant find that info so hence my question.
thanks in advance
bc

Hi bc,

Orders for AIF, para 60, approved the title NBT in oxidised copper, while para 61 approved the hat/cap badge. They both appear in Price List of Clothing 1915-16.

So being official it would certainly have been die-struck but the possibility that these badges were obtained in Egypt in cast form cannot be discounted. In fact as neither the army nor the navy really wanted the unit they probably had to scrounge everything they needed anyway.

Keith

Hi Guys

I will contact the Naval Museum at HMAS Cerberus and see if I can get an answer.

Regards

Phil.

NBT
 

A couple of belated images from my picture file. The gold NBT sweetheart badge sold on Ebay about five years ago for around $400, too rich for me.
The "standard" type NBT titles are die-struck, different to the one shown at the start of this thread which I think is probably a theatre-made casting.
I am still looking for a quality photo of NBT personnel wearing Navy cap badges on army khaki uniforms, apparently before their distinctive NBT badges were manufactured. All I have found are some very poor newsprint images in the Sydney War Memorial museum.