18th Hussars
 

I have these two 18th Hussars badges which I assume are about 1903/4? K&K 785 says officers in gilt only so is the bronzed one an OR's badge? I would be very interested to hear your views. Many thanks. Denis

I posted this 2 months ago and have had no replies so far. Does anyone else have similar in their collections or able to give more info on them? Do hope someone can enlighten me! Regards Denis

These are mine.

Left to right:

QVC version circa 1900. There was a k/c version also in 1902.
K/C with change of title in 1903.
As above 1905.
The final badge adopted after 1910.

The one you show is indeed attributed to officers only. I did wonder whether they might be in fact officer's collars but that is speculation on my part.

18th Hussars Badges
 

Many thanks for your reply Alan and your thought on collar dogs is interesting though I do not see why the gilt one should not be a cap badge as per K&K date about 1903? and perhaps the bronze/gm one an officers bronze if they had them at that date? For interest I attach from my collection photos of the pre 1898 one and the 1902 KC version which is in mint condition apart from appearing to have had the lugs replaced which is very odd!

I think you have reinforced my point about them being collars with the picture of the bi-metal badge. The absence of title could be why they were shortlived but equally might point to a collar badge.

The 18th Hussars went through a series of designs in rapid succession due to a change of monarch and the changes in the regiment's title.

I would expect the bronze to be worn on khaki so that might suggest why it exists. Finding a tunic from the period would be a tall order unfortunately but the regimental dress regulations may still exist.

Personally, I am not convinced that the badge on the right starting this thread is bronzed. It looks more like a patinated GM badge. Patination such as this has confused many as it does resemble bronzing, but the uneven and exceedingly thin coloration overall is not what I would expect on a bronzed badge. Those red-ish colored areas are frequently seen on GM badges which have been exposed to certain elements over time.

CB

So in 4 years they had 4 badge changes: Anyone joining the regiment in 1901 would have been wearing the QVC badge; in 1902 the K/C versions;and another in 1903 with the change of title and another in 1905 with another title! That's without the K&K one which would have made it 5 for the officers.

And if you include my pre 1898 one and the silver 1911 one that would have made 7 different badges for officers in 14 years!! Looking again at the non gilt one CB, I think you are correct that it is gilding metal and not bronze, so was there an OR's version of this badge?

Well look at the fixings of mine: 1898 (and the absent k/c version of 1902) are looped but in 1903 the long slider is introduced for the Brodrick hat. The 1905/06 badge is short slider which is right for the peaked cap.

So logically for yours to be an OR's badge then it would have to be 1902-03 before the OR's slidered badge. As there was already a new badge in 1902 and 1903, then for a 3rd badge to be issued in the same year is asking a lot.

So either it was for a different hat (unlikely for an OR) or we are back to another use such as a large sized collar which could be for a longer period.

Photo with them worn as collars.

Keith

You are an absolute star!

Alan

Many thanks for all your replies and great photo Keith. I have taken note of the dates the fixings changed which is very helpful to know. So are we then saying the Gilt one is an officers cap badge c1903 only and the g/m one an OR's collar dated c1903 till? Denis

It's not a cap badge at all but collars. Gilt would be right for officers and the brass for ORs. The QVC collars were smaller versions of the cap badge so it would be likely that these ones were 1903 onwards. I doubt they changed then in 1905 as the title is not on them so would be around until the new cap badge in 1910.

K&K is of its day and has a number of errors in it that the search ability of the internet has exposed.

Thank you for your reply Alan. If we accept that K&K have it wrong and that these are collars used c1903 - 1910, then I am just a little surprised they are not more common as I have asked if other members of the Forum have them in their collections but so far no-one has come forward with examples and in fact I have never seen others than the two in my collection, yet I have seen a number of the KC collars of the vic style badge which you would have expected to be much more scarce I would have thought? What do you think? Regards Denis

Denis

Those are the outside dates - they could have been worn for a much shorter period.

Alan