Recruiter cap badge
 

This design of badge has been attributed in the past by Bosley's as a recruiter cap badge. It may also have been used by others?

Any thoughts?

Is this not another one that falls into the Barrack Wardens area, too?

Possibly but the only BW photos that I have seen have the Crown version as worn by the Military Prison staff.

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/c9/42/57/c...itish-army.jpg

Her is the crownless cypher in use. I am not sure if it is metal or embroidered.

Great photo!

The TV programme "Boy Soldiers of World War II" shows a Recruiting Sergeant wearing a metal "GR" without crown cap badge.
I've found this short promo for the programme,about 5 seconds into it the badge should be visible but only part of it is........ in the programme as viewed on TV the whole badge is clearly visible.

https://youtu.be/QXEWkx4L9d8

I haven't studied the footage to determine if the "GR" is a "V" or a "VI".

Edit: 10 mins 53 secs into the programme the badge is shown, looks like "GRv".

Thank you for finding the picture and for taking the time to post it. It does appear to be GV.

Yours

Alan

That is very interesting, I must look out for one of those!

The 1926 Priced Vocabulary of Clothing & Necessaries list a cap badge for "Paid Pensioner Recruiters - also for Garrison Staff and Gymnastic Staff". Am I right in thinking that Barrack Wardens - like those in the attached photo - were classed as Garrison Staff? If so it's clearly the same badge.

Jon

The 1949 Catalogue of Clothing and Necessaries Section CB shows CB 0419 Army Recruiters. GVIR without crown.

Tim

F.A. Stevens in a Crown Imperial article (no. 40, Spring 1985) attributes the badge in gilt metal as Royal Engineer Services officers forage cap, King ERVII and King GRV versions.

Edit: Should have stated "this badge with crown".

This is new one on me...I was always under the impression that the Royal Engineer Services wore the attached badge (in its various types) and not the cypher without crown.

My mistake, "I should have typed this badge with crown", not "this badge".

According to the article:

Dress Regs. 1911state the forage cap badge to be the Royal Cypher and Crown in gilt metal.
Dress Regs. 1934 states that the forage cap is to be universal pattern, blue cloth: the band and welts to be of bright blue cloth. The peak embroidered with plain gold embroidery for officers of higher rank than captain. The buttons as for the mess vest, but die-struck. Badge, the Royal Cypher and Crown in gilt metal.
(The mess vest buttons are described as "1/2" mounted buttons". Buttons in both sets of Dress Regs. are described as being gilt, a Crown encircled by the words "Royal Engineers Services").
Cap of universal pattern. Badge as per forage cap but in bronze.

Information for the article was taken from "Surveyors of Works Royal Engineers - Their History and Development" by Brig. C. F. Atkinson, F.R.I.C.S, published c1970.

Stevens states that there are two mistakes in the text concerning badges and buttons, on page 39 it is stated that "cap and collar badges consisted of a circular band-(bearing)-the words "Staff for Royal Engineer Services". The information given on this page is clearly contradicted by the quoted extracts of Dress Regulations of 1911 and 1934.

He also says that in sale no. 295 of Wallis and Wallis a forage cap of the R.E.S. bearing two buttons, as described, and a badge of the Royal Cypher and Crown of Edward 7th was sold.

The Staff for Royal Engineer Services became known as Surveyors of Works RE and the civilian element was abolished by AO 316 of 1926, all personnel were to be dressed as for the Corps of Royal Engineers, indicating that the special dress distinctions were dispensed with, but if so why did Dress Regs 1934 still list them?

All of the above info is from the FA. Stevens article.

In "British Army Proficiency Badges" there's a photo of an "army recruiter c1935" wearing the cypher cap badge without crown, King's Crown collar badges, cloth shoulder titles and crossed flags & chevrons on the right upper arm.

This postcard which I've posted on other threads concerning Recruiters shows what appears to be a Recruiter wearing a crowned GR cypher cap badge rather than cypher without crown, no collar badges or cloth titles and with red detail on cap, collar and cuffs which may or may not be accurate, given that the image isn't sharp and that it's a monochrome that's been coloured.

Tim

Thanks for that. Conclusive proof of the recruiter's design.

Alan