LONDON REGIMENT BUTTONS
 

I am trying to find out the following:

• Did the 5th Battalion ever wear Rifle Brigade buttons?



Rifle Brigade & King’s Royal Rifle Corps Button 1902-1939 1,2
Rifle Brigade Button 1924-39 3,4
Rifle Brigade Button 1939-58 5,6


1 Buttons of the British Army 1855-1970. Ripley. 1 (565) 3 (566) 5 (567)
2 Buttons of the British Army 1855-2000. Ripley. 2 (380) 4 (408) 6 (409)

• Did the 7th Battalion (Post Office Rifles) on the amalgamation of the (7th Battalion (Royal Fusiliers) and 8th Battalion (Post Office Rifles), wear the 7th Battalion button?

• White metal (WM) versions.

Did these battalions have a WM variant?

1st, 2nd, and 4th City of London Battalion (Royal Fusiliers)
7th City of London Battalion (Royal Fusiliers)
10th County of London Battalion (Hackney)
13th County of London Battalion (Kensington)
19th County of London Battalion (St Pancras)
19th County of London Battalion (St Pancras)
22nd and 24th County of London Battalion (The Queen’s)
23rd County of London Battalion

• Brass versions.

Did these battalions have a brass variant?

15th County of London Battalion (Civil Service Rifles)
16th County of London Battn (Queen’s Westminster Rifles)

• Did the 29th and 30th (City of London) Battalions wear General Service buttons or Royal Fusilier buttons due to their Royal Fusilier affiliation?


• Did the 31st, 32nd, & 34th (County of London) and the 33rd (City of London) Battalions wear standard General Service buttons or ‘Rifle’ buttons due to their King’s Royal Rifle Corps and Rifle Brigade affiliation?

Additionally, in Buttons of the British Army 1855-1970, Ripley shows (397) as 512th (St Pancras) L.A.A. Regiment RA pre 1961. The button is brass with KC. What was the date of this button change? Was it when the regiment was reformed on 1 April 1947 as 568th (St Pancras) Searchlight Regiment RA, or on changing its designation on 16 March 1949 to 568th (St Pancras) Light Anti-Aircraft/Searchlight Regiment RA or in 1955, when 568th LAA/SL Rgt merged with the 512th (Finsbury Rifles) and 656th (Tower Hamlets) LAA Regiments, becoming Q (St Pancras) Battery of the resulting 512 LAA Regiment.

London Regiment Buttons Album
 

I have also put together an album http://www.britishbadgeforum.com/for...p?albumid=3319

Chris

Hi Chris,

I'm afraid I can't help as this is outside of my specific button collecting are. However I'm thrilled to see another button album, so wanted to thank and congratulate you on a splendid job.

Good luck with this project and I will watch with interest...:)

Cheerio,

Roy

Hello Chris

I think a lot of this has been covered by a previous post some time ago. I can recollect a similar query and someone posting a response given to them by Howard Ripley as to which battalions had their own pattern buttons.

I will see if I can find it but hopefully someone with a better memory than me will post a link!

Very nice album by the way! Well done! One comment though regarding your button for the 26th Battalion HAC, this button should be in silver/white metal as I believe only the Grenadier Guards used gilt/brass.

Roger

Roger,

thank you. I am aware of the original thread and used it as a start point. I shall work on obtaining an HAC silver button.

Chris

Hello Chris

Glad you are aware of the original thread. For anyone else who might be interested here it is - http://www.britishbadgeforum.com/for...giment+buttons

Roger

Very nice gallery. It would be nice if someone could do that for early Napoleonic London Volunteer units buttons as I'm struggling to see many examples.

Hello Chris

Just a few things I can help on regarding the London Regiment buttons.

There are silver/white metal versions of the regular pattern Royal Fusiliers buttons.

You asked if the 15th County of London Battalion (Civil Service Rifles) had a brass variant. I have seen this button in brass but the white metal variant seems far more numerous.

The button for the "3rd City of London Battalion" as shown in Howard's original 1970 book was corrected in a later edition to read "3rd London Rifle Volunteers 1860-1908". Both variants you have in your photo album are shown under this latter designation in his book on "Rifle Volunteer Buttons 1859-1908".

The button you show provisionally for the 5th Battalion (and the 33rd) which has the title 'Rifle Brigade' was, of course, only introduced in 1939 so prior to this the 'standard' rifle button would have been the one used if at all.

Regards
Roger

Roger,

thank you. I have also had a PM about the WM 3rd Bn button.

Chris

London Regt buttons
 

Found this example in my odds and ends! it’s white metal and a firmin button.

Hello Pembird

A very nice Victorian button for the 15th (London Scottish) Corps, Middlesex Rifle Volunteers. They were renumbered as the 7th in 1880 and then became a volunteer battalion of the Rifle Brigade but did not change their title. They became the 14th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment in 1908.

The same button can also be found with a King's crown and according to Howard Ripley's book on "Rifle Volunteer Buttons" was worn by the 7th (presumably up to 1908?) but I do not know if it was worn by the 14th (County of London) Battalion after that date.

Roger

London Regiments
 

Roger,

I have just ordered a copy of Rifle Volunteer Buttons.

Chris