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AIF for Service badges

Hi all
can any of our Aussie badge collectors tell me more about these ( AIF for Service badges ) why were they given , can you trace from the number on the back the owner ? As these 2 are just 2 numbers apart .

Hi

Nice badges and not seen before. I read that monogram as "A.M.F." which would be Australian Military Forces but when did that term come into common use?

The serifed font of the numbers would suggest a very early badge and those wire loops are what I associate with WW1/ 1920's badges.

They weren't a good design as usually one (or both!) are broken off.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jackhr (Post 568897)

They don't say A.I.F, they are A.M.F (Australian Military Forces) issued for efficient service in the Militia forces. Can they be researched? probably not, militia records are scant at best.

Quote:

Originally Posted by green_jas (Post 569124)

They don't say A.I.F, they are A.M.F (Australian Military Forces) issued for efficient service in the Militia forces. Can they be researched? probably not, militia records are scant at best.

Just to add what is in Clive Johnson's book:

"Issued in April 1939 (ie pre-war) to serving members of the Militia who had been efficient and diligent in their duties for a period of at least 3 years... Possibly made in England"
Approx 3000 made (according to Johnson)

Cheers, Tim

Photo of the badge on diggerhistory website but no real info :

Quote:

These two badges are a bit of a mystery. Both are apparently official and manufactured in quantities up to 60,000. But neither were issued in large quantity, if at all. On the left above is an Australian Military Forces "For Service" badge that was supposedly to be awarded to militia men. It probably was never issued.

Thankyou to all who replyed you have answered my question

Cheers

A file exists in NAA regarding this item, unfortunately not digitized. It is NAA: B1535; 716/1/319, Badges - Reservists and Efficient Service Militia Forces.

The numbers are in the batch series issued to New South Wales, 3101-13100.

Manufacturer was Wallace Bishop and Son, George St Brisbane QLD, Contract No 943 for 478 Pounds, notified in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, Issue No 57 dated 31 August 1939.

The contract was for 27,000 badges according to Graham Donley in his Australian Army Reserve Force and Militia Efficiency Badges 1939, an undated self-published booklet.

I doubt they were issued in April 1939, contracts weren't approved until August and notification didn't appear in Military Board Instructions (MBI) until A.44 dated 31 August 1939 (attached).

The numbers to be issued appearing in MBI A.44 don't add up but according to Donley these are in error and include the Australian Army Reserve Force badge manufactured and issued at the same time.

The inclusion of the item in Priced Vocabulary of Military Clothing and Necessaries 1940 was notified in amendments published with Australian Army Order 294/1940, dated 31 November 1940, badge Efficient Service, Gilding metal and enamel, 5 pence.

Keith

Quote:

Originally Posted by fairlie63 (Post 569207)

Thanks Keith you have answered my questions much appreciated

Rob