WW2 SAAF cap badge with a difference?
 

I picked up this lovely SAAF cap badge recently.
I have many SAAF cap badges in my collection but this one is the best quality example I have handled so far. This example is very well made with a lot of the original finish still remaining. It is heavier than other SAAF cap badges I have encountered & there is more voiding to the bottom of the badge than is more commonly seen. My first thought when first seeing the original finish on the badge was that this badge was British made & by the firm - JR Gaunt, but that is an absolute guess (reminded me very much of a RAF Dental Branch badge pair I have, & which is actually marked to JR Gaunt) & this badge is unmarked.
The first three photos are of the badge & the fourth photo is of your standard SAAF cap badge for comparison.

Best regards,
David

Similar badge :

https://www.arcticmedals.com/catalog...7/10483064.htm


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Nice early officers badge c.1925/26. Pattern worn through to 1959 but later versions were not of this quality

I don't think these were as early as 1925/26 as they were still using ZALM in the title then as far as I know. Probably pre-WWII and the when the mass production of badges for hostilities dropped standards. The are a lot of variations of SAAF cap badges but this is the nicest.
Cheers,
Alex

Hi Alex,
Yes the cross over from Z to S is still under debate. Some say as early as 1923. I used 25/26 as a date as I know in 1912 when UDF formed they used a Z and with the reform of UDF in 1922 they were still using a Z. I have a portion of the 1924 Dress Regs and here the units are all spelled with a S, so assumed badges were starting to come from manufacturers with an S soon after that.

Of course if you were issued originally with a Z badge you continued to wear that and I have even seen evidence of Z badges been worn during WWII.
Any new recruits would have received an S badge as soon as stocks were available.

It would be nice to find info from the actual manufacturers as to when new dies were produced with the S or when the UDF placed orders for the changeover. I am convinced the information is out there somewhere.

Regards
Steven

Thank you for all your replies gentlemen. Very interesting to see another example & to read further on the badge's potential date & design.

Best regards,
David

A few variants for comparison.