Levenshulme Rifle Club VTC
 

Hello,

I have had the photo for a while but got the lapel badge today.

Nice to see the labelled photograph showing the men in 1914 wearing this mufti badge in their lapels.

Eventually merged into the WW1 raised 1st or 2nd Volunteer Battalions of the Manchester Regiment.

regards

Fantastic local badge and photo Simon, any idea where abouts the building was situated?
Cheers
Sean

Thanks Sean,

No I dont. Looks like a disused factory shed?

The photographer was off Stockport Road, Levenshulme.

I could easily find out if I had the time as these early VTC units put notices in the local press for every drill they held.

the Manchester Evening News will have them. I think its available online by subscription but i dont have it.

reagrds

Nice badge. Like that one very much.

Just superb!

I saw it for sale Simon glad you got it. I don't didn't know anything about it, but found it interesting.

Thanks everyone,

I have quite a few Manchester Regiment constituent VTC badges, both cap and lapel, but very, very few photos of them being worn.

Its nice to marry up the two.

regards

I am slightly confused, at what point does a Rifle Club become a V.T.C. and when, once the V.T.C. has been stood down, does it revert to being a Rifle Club? I ask this as the badge has no mention of V.T.C. on it.

I have a similar badge with blue enamel made by Thomas Fattorini of Bolton, rather than Birmingham, I am not sure if it is pre or post the V.T.C. period.

The majority of the WW1 'Rifle Clubs' were only formed in 1914/15 for the purpose of defence during the war. Most had no existence before or after the war.

Similarly with other such jingoistic names such as 'Defence Corps', Civic Guard', 'Civic Defence Corps' etc.

Shooting rifles in the inner city slums of Levenshulme was not a popular sport prior to this.

Fattorini Bolton badges are in my experience always WW1 period, the Bolton branch becoming a Limited Company in 1919 and changing its title to include (Lancashire) and Limited.

regards

Thank you for your informative reply, I had thought that Rifle Clubs were an 1860's fear of French invasion thing.

Any idea why there is a difference in colour between our badges.

That was the formation of Military Volunteer Rifle Corps that became the Volunteer Battalions of Line Regiments and then the Territorials.

These VTC are civvy organisations eventually amalgamated under the VTC umbrella. Not related.

No idea why one badge is white and one is blue. Rather odd for such a small bunch, you think all the badges would have been made in one batch?

regards

Great item, I am still coming across Liverpool related units of a similar era that I never knew existed and I wonder if, in the initial enthusiasm, some badges were made for units that never got beyond existing on paper only.

Reminds me of the Liverpool Pals mufti badges that refer to "battalion" in the singular even though it became obvious at a very early stage that there was sufficient interest for a number of battalions to be formed.

P.B.