Burma Rifles clasps
 

I recently bought these silver Burma Rifles officers collar badges (I think, please correct me if I am wrong) but have never seen clasps like these before. Do any other members have badges with similar spring loaded clasps or comments on them?

Possibly converted for menu holders or place setting within a Mess.

Simon.

Converted to menu holders. If you're looking to sell please let me know.

Burma Rifles
 

Thank you both for your suggestions which are interesting ideas. However I think they were made like this as no sign of alteration and the little spikes on the back would suggest that was designed to go into material to hold. Also the long spikes are curved at the end as if to hold on material. However, they do not sit flat on material as one would expect collars to do so very interested to hear any other ideas. They are about the overall size of a 50p piece and with no base, seem unlikely for menu holders I would have thought?

Collar badges designed to fit through a uniform with buttonhole slits on the collar/ lapels?

They are very unusual fittings but clearly purpose made. They are collar badges and as they are silver, almost certainly officers. I think that they are the post 1937 pattern brought into use when Burma was separated from India administratively, dropping the 20th designation that had been in use since 1923.

https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/fo...ctureid=155808

Thank you High Wood for your thoughts and interesting photo and I agree they have been purpose made. The reason I have doubts about them being collars is that due to the bar at the back which attaches to the spring clips, they will not lie flat against the collar so why go to the trouble of the spring clips instead of the usual lugs?

I think they maybe pagri badges designed to fit into the ribbon on the helmet ? I've got a similar fitting on a 4th Gurkha Rifles badge.

It is the fact that they are a facing pair that makes me think that they are collars and not cap badges. Made for a pagri is certainly a possibility, but why in pairs? Can you give us their measurements as the cap badge is noticeably bigger than the collar badges?


https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/fo...ctureid=174651

I thought of pagri badges, but then thought better of the suggestion as they're a mirror pair - seems unusual, one either side of a helmet but no reason why not though I suppose.

My first thought was that they either fitted over the top of pockets or through button holes (they would lie flat) .

I did find a "pre 1937" photo showing a Subadar wearing a set of collars.

http://www.rothwell.force9.co.uk/bur...ar-pre-war.jpg

.

I think they're just a very well-made pair of collar badges which have been very professionally converted into menu holders. A good silversmith could easily do it and time would leave no traces that they'd been altered in anyway. And I'd buy them too if the price was right 🙂

Thank you all for your suggestions. I had also thought of collars through the buttonhole but then discarded the idea as I had never heard of it before and why go to that bother and also the pagri but why a facing pair? - perhaps a mess cap on either side though I have never heard of this before either? Interesting there is a 4th gurkha Rifles with similar fixing. The size of mine are 29mmX24mm. With regard to the suggestion of menu holders, the fixing means they would be upside down and the gap between back and hinged prongs too large I think

Definitely collar badges as the cap badge is 34mm x 28mm.

That photograph is from my collection, the Subadar is wearing the 20th Burma Rifles collar badges and 20BR shoulder titles.

https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/fo...ctureid=167273