Big Old Unidentified Silver Badge
 

I picked this up at an Afghan souk/bazaar a couple of years ago-- presumed it was Indian but had no takers on that area of the forum. Any ideas? I had no luck searching on "SB" on the web. The large badge is about 3 3/4 inches. Thanks!

Dave

SB
 

Stretcher Bearer?

Rob

My feeling would lean toward Sikhs, maybe Battalion or Brigade ?

No idea on these but look to be Indian. KC so post 1902. Are there letters on the bottom of the larger badge, might just be a pattern. A higher res image might help.
Cheers, Dave

I too think Indian and expect the SB relates to unit name rather than anything else. South Bengal maybe?

I've spoken to Ashok and he thinks it might be something to do with a Burma Police unit ? There were a lot of Battalions and there's not a lot of recorded information on them - but the stylisation of both the cross belt plate and the French Horn badge are very similar to other Burma Military Police Battalions.

Googling " Burma Police Badge" throws up a very similar design of badge . It says Burma Military Police. The difference being the centre design.
So Burma is likely to be correct. Just a case of identifing the exact unit or area .

Thanks-- no, no letters present, it has some serious mounting hardware so not a pattern.

That's interesting-- wonder how that got to Afghanistan! Thanks!

What a tale it would tell if it could! I was amazed to read a few years back of the "finds" in Kabul (?) scrap yards- French FT-17 light tank(s?) and a British Hawker Hind...

What else must be there, I ask?:rolleyes:

Nothing much else besides two US pre-war tanks based on bulldozers (Disston tanks). I think they have only one FT17 left, NATO allies took pretty everything else. I saw some very rusty German WWI helmets and a lot of Victorian-era guns made up from old and new parts (got a few Scnieder and Henry-Martini carbines on my wall) but all the good stuff is long gone.

A few years ago, on, I think, The Antiques Road Show, a squaddie showed a bronze "ornament" he'd picked up in Afghanistan.

It was a Victorian colours finial - I wondered if it was from one of the colours lost by the 66th Foot at Maiwand or perhaps one of the regiments involved in the retreat from Kabul in 1842 (if the dog in a basket finials were in use by that time).

Thanks, guys. Yes, I got curious after my post and went and read about what had been unearthed.

While it's still one of those "how the heck did that end up there?" tales, I can see that there have been some stories that have been stretched a tad in the telling thereof...

Actually even the WW1 German helmets sounds a real laugh!

WWI German tin lids were issued to the Royal Afghan Army from the 1930's.

Thanks Leigh. Really interesting! They must have been a real sight: French tanks, German helmets, Martini-Henrys (or Sniders for the reserve....). Wonder what the uniforms were? Redcoats dyed khaki?:D

The description Fred Karno's army comes to mind...but wasn't that used elsewhere? ;)