Northamptonshire R all in gilding metal
 

Hi all,

I have a Northamptonshire Regiment badge which is all in gilding metal (or brass, possibly). The castle design matches the KK2008 pattern (three arches) rather than the KK666 (one arch).

Both the badges described in K&K are white metal, with scroll in gilding metal.

Do we know:

(a) Was there a brass economy issue of the KK2008 pattern?

(b) Was the KK2008 pattern worn later than the KK666 pattern? (It does occur in Vol II, which is supposedly post-Great-War.)

(c) Is this just a repro?

Thanks,

Tom

You have an officers service dress badge :)

There is a 1916 economy badge but they have sliders.

Standard o s d ,but would help to have photo's of the rear of badges

Northamptonshire 1916 economy cap badge
 

There was indeed economy badges for the Northamptonshire Regt in gilding metal (brass), the badge with the long key which was Victorian, the post 1900 with the universal three turret castle and also the very scarce TF badge.

Quite why the Victorian badge was issued in 1916 has always been a mystery, also why the TF was made is unusual, maybe other forum members will know.

I have two out of three of the economy badges on my Northampton board, if anyone has a spare TF spare I would be interested.

Rob

It wasn’t a Victorian badge being issued as such since they were, evidently from the method of construction and poor quality, newly made in WW1. Rather that specific manufacturer produced a die to the wrong design.

I suspect they must have either been sent or obtained drawings or samples of the old defunct design and used that as an incorrect template. Clearly the urgency of the situation didn’t facilitate the usual quality control checks or even negate them being accepted and worn.

The last 1916 all GM Northants TF that I saw sold at Bosley’s for over £300, if memory serves. A rare and expensive beast which is the last (for my purposes) gap in my own 1916 all GM issue infantry collection.

Northants 1916
 

Apologies for my previous post, the badge with the long key I should have said was the Victorian design, as an aside my younger cousin once in the late 1950's showed me a box of badges his Grandfather had either collected during the Great War or had worn and the badge that most intrigued me was the TF 1916 badge, as to whether it was the one with a blank seeded scroll or the one with "4th Battalion" escapes me, it was over sixty years ago and my cousin cannot remember showing me these badges.

I guess the dustman struck lucky . . !

Rob

Noted: wilco from now on! :D

My badge has lugs and a pin.

Hello Tom, the cap badge you show is as said an Officers Service Dress cap badge , the rear has two blades/tangs east and west , wouldn’t have lugs and split pin ??

Gerard

The 1916 TF one was the plain seeded scroll.

So the picture that everyone has given you help on isn't even the the badge you're asking help on as it clearly has blades not lugs and pin.

Lugs and a pin would match a bronze officer's collar badge.

TF economy
 

Thanks Alan, a rare badge and one I have been chasing ever since.

Rob

In my opinion the 4th Bn badge which is lugged is the 1908 TF bought badge.

In 1915 when the ACD took over production of the badge they changed it to blank scrolls. It was briefly made in all brass in 1916 before the TF Bn adopted the regular pattern badge.

I assume that although there was no other TF Bn the Army wanted to have a single generic blank scroll badge (as they did for the Essex) so it was usable by other Bn rather than just the 4th.

The 1918 Volunteer Bns were authorised to wear the (former TF) blank scroll badges but many were still wearing VTC or GS cpa badges at the end of the war.

Northampton Regiment OR cap badges


Pattern 4639/1898 bi-metal
3 Tower, outer two incorrectly from ground up, Gibraltar Castle, long Key, wreath

Pattern 4639A/1901 bi-metal
Gibraltar Castle format corrected to 3 upper Towers and shorter Key

Pattern 4639B/1916 ‘all GM’ (12,000 were made)


There were no further Patterns up to at least 1939, until the AA period (but that's too modern to me).


PS there are OSD cap badges (not necessarily N'hants) with loops EW or NS !

I prefer blades.