RMLI Medical unit
 

Recently I read a thread on the 'Once a Marine ...' site, and reproduce aspects of it here:
The interesting wedding photo (shown below) has a very poignant quality to it.
The bridegroom looks so drained and haunted – look at the dark rings under his eyes – and the bride herself manages only the smallest of Mona Lisa-style smiles.
You would be correct in assuming that this is a photo from the Great War, and the weight of sorrow of the conflict seems to hang over all the people assembled.
Who knows how many friends and family they had already lost?
You can deduce quite a lot from this picture. If this was a photo in your family’s collection then the analysis below would give you a great head start in researching the lives of the bride, and especially the groom.
The groom is in fact a Royal Marine.
You can tell this from his cap badge, which is also reproduced on both his collars: it’s a globe surrounded by a wreath.
Marines started to wear British Army style khaki when they fought in the trenches of the Western Front from about 1916 onwards.
He also has a large cross on his right upper arm, indicating that he served with a medical unit.
Of all the Military Medals awarded for gallantry to the Corps from 1916 - 1982, 474 in number, 115 were awarded to the Royal Marines Medical Unit between 1916 - 1918 with 6 bars to existing holders.

After Antwerp in 1914 it was decided to service the medical needs of the RMLI serving with the RND by creating the Medical Unit RM. It had three Field Ambulance units, each having nine medical officers, a Lt. QM, a CSM and 171 NCOs & men. They were organised exactly the same as RAMC units with three horsed ambulances and seven motorised. They were paid the same as their RAMC counterparts. Many were recruited with the assistance of St. Johns Ambulance and amongst them were a large number of miners whose strong physique well suited them for the heavy work of transporting wounded over the broken ground of Gallipoli and France. Their purpose was to transport the wounded from the BN Aid Post back thru the system as far as the Casualty Clearing Station. As Weltbox has indicated above, they served with distinction earning many gallantry awards but unfortunately only the award of the MM is fully documented. The Geneva Cross arm badge shown in the photo was issued towards the end of the war.

The pictures in the post are attached.

Recently I bought a job lot of cloth items on EBay, just to get a Kings Badge (which I think is a good one - pictures attached). Within the lot was a badge similar to the one in the article and again I attach pictures - it is appx 2.5 inches in diameter.

I suspect this sort of badge was used by multiple units and in different eras. John's book only shows a modern medic badge.

Does anyone know anything about the RMLI medical unit badge and/or able to discount this one as being from that unit/era

Many thanks
Ray

Ray - Towards the end of WW1 RMLI Medical Units were ordered to wear the Geneva Cross arm badge and were issued with them ... they did not refuse to do so but insisted on providing themselves at their own expense with the Naval Badge which has a Red Worsted circle instead of the yellow one worn by RAMC.

Extract from Blumberg.

Trust this will assist... Ritchie.

Red is right?
 

Thanks Ritchie. If I am reading your post correctly, the one I have is therefore Naval because of the red circle.
It is large so it could well be the right badge for the RMLI medical unit?
Ray

I believe you have a winner there !

Very interesting thread - thanks for sharing. Great looking badges. When you think some folks take 'selfies' every five minutes these days, it may have been one of very few occasions that the family in the wedding photograph went formally before a camera.
Mike