Favourite sweethearts brooch
 

Members who are also members of the GWF will not doubt have seen the thread "Handsomest British Great War Badge " and surprise, surprise the choices are to the regiments that members have a particular interest in.

As things seem a bit slow on here at the moment, I wonder if there would be interest in a "Favourite Sweethearts Brooch " thread.

It will probably come as no surprise that my favourite is a solid gold Kings Liverpool sweethearts but even better it cost me very little some time ago on our favourite auction site.

It would be interesting to see what the choices are of other members.

P.B.

I first saw this for sale at nearly £400 some years ago.... it then came up for sale on eBay and got it for the price of an ORs badge :D

http://www.paoyeomanry.co.uk/Yeomanr...LYDiamond2.jpg

Griff,

That is very, very nice.

Peter

Army Apprentices School. Could do with good clean, and there is one stone missing, but I like it.

Has to be this one http://www.britishbadgeforum.com/for...ictureid=76328

Very nice Phil.
Loving the handsomest cap badge thread on GWF, was it me that called a lot of the Scottish badges clunky and samey? whoops!

Anyway, I've only got a few because if I start with sweethearts it will be yet another distraction from badges, grenades, caps, helmets, hackles, tanks...

But these are my 2 favourites, first is the Garrard & Co Para Regt brooch, then not really a sweetheart, my MGC veterans pin by Thomas Mott

My favourite sweetheart brooch
 

My parents realised early on in my life that I wasn't like other children of my age: I was disinterested in sports, and my vocabulary was advanced, due to my inheriting their love of books, and colourful, due to Dad spending 30-odd years in the Royal and Merchant Navies :D:eek:. Once they were sure that collecting with me was more than a passing fad, and that any family treasures wouldn't be swapped for comics or whatever, Dad entrusted me with his father's 14/15 Star, and Mum with this brooch, the survivor of a pair my uncle brought back to Dublin after serving as a Redcap in North Africa and Europe. Presumably there was once a thriving cottage industry in making these with various badges; doubtless many have been broken or lost over the years, I've never seen another (although TBH I've never looked). It's funny, now I think of it, but it means more now than when I was first given it: it not only symbolises the love a soldier had for his sisters, thousands of miles away, but also the trust my parents had in me at quite a young age:).

Anyway, hope you like it

Graham

Hello everyone and Merry Christmas to you all, :-)

I'm like others on here, I have more than one sweetheart badge that I like to call my all time favourite, the reason being, I keep finding others that seem to stand out more and more.

So I'm sorry to say here are my top 3 :(:eek:;)

3rd Place
Attachment 138172 RASC (GviR) Forget-Me-Knot

2nd Place
Attachment 138173 ASC Pin Flag (c1902-1903)

1st Place
Attachment 138174 An extremely rare EviiiR Sweetheart (Cap badges are hard enough to find !!!)

Hope you like them

Ken (The Fatboy)

Happy Christmas to all.

I have to go with something from Wales, out of the 40 or so in the collection got to go for this.

Jonathan

Attachment 138175

I don't have very many 'sweethearts', so I'll post them en masse. I would say that my favourite is an RFC which I posted fairly recently. Runner-up would be the London Scottish, posted here.
GTB

Greetings Lads & Lasses,

I have been enjoying watching and reading this thread, as who doesn't like a nice 'sweetheart'..? Some really lovely badges shown and I'm sure more will be on the way and heartily look forward to seeing them.

I'm afraid I only have one example to post, no less special for that. It is to my KSLI collection and is die-cast in silver (marked 'sterling') and is in the same design and size as a R/H collar badge. Not fancy but made really well. Horizontal broach pin is broken.

Hopefully this won't remain my only one, as after seeing some of these beauties I know I will be tempted should something special come along to my collecting interest.

Cheers, Roy.

Here is my contribution, mostly all Scottish with a few odd ones thrown in. Enjoy.
Phil.

Hi Phil,

That is an impressive collection with some stunning looking badges.

Would it be possible to pick a couple of your favorites and show some larger images?

Cheers, Roy.

OK Roy, will get on to it.
Phil.

My favourite since, being hand made and found in Wiltshire, it must have a romantic story to tell. Did the recipient ever get to New Zealand post 1918? Did the maker survive the War?
Mike
Attachment 138453

Here you are Roy, firstly I will apologise for the poor photography, I can't seem to manage close ups very well. A nice pair of Scottish Rifles badges both hallmarked silver. A gold Liverpool Scottish. A bejewelled Royal Scots I think. Lastly L - R Highland Light Infantry, Scots Guards, Queens Own Cameron Highlanders, Lovat's Scouts.
All the best Phil.

Hi Phil,

Absolutely stunning! The Cameron Highlanders with the green enamel is especially eye catching.

Really lovely to see these, thanks for sharing.

Cheers, Roy.

Sweetheart
 

Sorry for the poor quality of the image, but I have never seen another one.

Guards Machine Gun Regiment.

Regards
Destro

Oooh gorgeous! I love it :o

Alli

It's amazing what one finds hiding away in drawer boxes.
A few more.

GTB

Sweetheart Pins
 

What a wonderful idea, I have really enjoyed viewing the examples that have been posted, some every attractive pins shown!

As I have not seen any Naval examples, I will post a few of mine.

The first example is not really a sweetheart pin, rather more of a brooch, & its a nice one, of 1WW vintage.

His ship was Queen Mary, presumably the Queen Mary lost at Jutland on 31 May 1916. Unfortunately I have no idea of whom this sailor is.

RCN Bryan

Favourite Sweethearts
 

Hi
Attached are my two favourite sweethearts.

A Victorian 6th Inniskilling probably Boer War period and an 86th Foot Royal County Down.

The 86th were amalgamated with the 83rd Foot County of Dublin in 1881 to form the Royal Irish Rifles.

Both sweethearts are Hallmarked silver.

Hope you like them.

Happy New Year to all Forum members.

Bob.

2 rare type for Australians AFC & Camel Corp
 

These would be 2 of the hardest to find for Aussies and I enjoy these the most .

Some great badges, thanks for sharing. This one is my favourite, one of the first badges that I ever collected. Hall marked on the reverse.

Cheers Nick

Not quite my favourite but I picked this sterling silver sweethearts to King Edwards Horse at the local Antique Fair this morning.

Nice to see a number of Militaria collectors there especially Forum member Tony B.

Whist I wont be keeping this sweethearts brooch, I hope it is an omen for things to come this year.


P.B.

Canadian Naval Sweethearts
 

I will show some of my Canadian Naval sweetheart pins.
Its very hard for me to pick a favourite[s], I like them all, that is why I collect them!

A set of rare RNCVR sweetheart pins.

The RNCVR [Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve] only existed in 1WW, disbanded in 1919, the Canadian branch of the RNVR.

Bryan

Hi Bryan, just been chatting to a friend who collects ephemera and medals to those who served on HMS Queen Mary and he tell's me your brooch is very special indeed, he has only ever seen one other come up for sale and it went for big money apparently. So well done :)
Oh and also she was the only HMS Queen Mary there has ever been.

Alli

Sweetheart/Old Comrades Association Badges
 

From left to right:
6th Inniskilling Dragoons
Royal Irish Regiment
4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards
5th Royal Irish Lancers

Enjoy

Bob.

HMS Queen Mary brooch
 

Hello Alli,

Thank you very much for passing on your friend's comments concerning my Queen Mary brooch. I would appreciate if you might pass onto him that I obtained this brooch many many yrs ago, actually, as I recall, it came with a set of 1WW medals also named to an RN rating, but upon checking out his Record (when it finally became available circa 1998 or thereabouts), as it turned out, this rating was never on HMS Queen Mary, thus could not have been the rating pictured in the brooch, but perhaps a friend or even a relative that also had 1WW service in the RN. Altho I will never know his name or if he was on Queen Mary that fateful day, I have always liked the brooch & photo of him, I regard him very highly. It has been a pleasure to show him on this topic.
Best wishes for 2016!
Bryan

PS - was the brooch your friend came into contact with & noted as sold, did he know if the recipient was identified & did he go down with Queen Mary?
There were 19 survivors which is amazing considering the explosions that claimed her.

B

Not a commercially made item, a converted cap badge.
Tony.

Bryan I'll certainly do that. I'm sure he would love to email you himself, I'll give him a prod in a minute :)

Alli

And the back.

I don't think there's a handsomer badge :)

Alli

Another RN Sweetheart brooch
 

This example of an RN Sweetheart brooch, fortunately, has come down to me intact with his RN medal group, his ROAB jewel(a beautiful piece), & some of his insignia.

As it turned out he was one of the first RN ratings to sign on for service in the newly formed RCN in Aug 1910, on board HMS Niobe, together with HMS Rainbow, gifted to the RCN by the RN. He served for two yrs in the RCN, then returned to the RN for 1WW service & pension in 1919.

CPO Torpedo Instructor Harry Wickens......


(shooting thru glass, he has been in frame for many yrs, thus photos not too great - apologies!)

Ok I'm a bit rubbish at picking favourites cos I've got another one that arrived today, its so pretty. A very pretty grenade :)

That's a very nice example Allie, never seen one of those before - Guards or Fusiliers?

Bryan

Gosh Allie,

That one is a stunner, well done. So let's see the latest then, don't be a tease..:eek:

Roy.

Take your pick! as I collect both I'm happy with it being either, rather fond of RA as well and its similar to the RA or RE collar badges, so its a multi grenade :)

That was the latest! and it is a stunner, now sitting pride of place above my two fusilier fur cap badges. I kind of want to wear it, but being a clumsy moo I'd probably lose it. :rolleyes:

Alli

Thanks Alli -- I thought it might be either, I know the grenade is used for several Reg'ts in the British Army & also over here for the old Canadian Fusiliers, now long gone.

I like the RF as I have a medal group to an 1WW pre war regular RF (2nd Bn, then 4th Bn) he ent'd in '02 & saw trench service in 1WW then, in 1917, was sent to Canada as an Instructor (he had previously transferred to the Army Gymnastic Corps & was a WO2) at RMC (Royal Military College in Kingston ON), then got a job offer at a private School in Port Hope ON so he took his discharge in 1920 & was a Physical Education Instructor & Army Cadet Officer at the school there until he retired in 1959! He had rec'd the UK Army LS medal in 1919. He was (& likely still is) the oldest recipient of the CD (Canadian Forces Decoration - our LS medal), he rec'd the CD just before he went to pension from the private school, he ran the Cadet Corps there for many many yrs. Quite a career!

However, I am going on & on & boring you! Apologies, but I love your grenade sweetheart! Keep me in mind if you ever decide to part with it..........

Bryan in COLD Canada -21 this afternoon!