Annandale 1915 Badge?
 

I have had the badge in the attached photos since 2013, and, given the date, thought it might have had some connection with the First World War? I understand there was an historic area of Scotland called Annandale, but that there is also an Annandale as a suburb of Sydney in Australia. I have personally not been able to find anything about this badge, nor was the local museum service for Dumfries and Galloway (Annan Museum) able to help. I therefore wondered what Forum members’ thoughts were on it?

Regards

Martin

Hi,
Could it be a membership badge, e.g.
http://www.annandalegolf.com/
best regards,


Only stirring up trouble for you :D

Annandale membership badge?
 

Hi Btns

Thank you for your posting – interesting to see the Annandale Golf Club in California! I suppose it could well be a membership badge for a club of some kind with a connection with a place called Annandale, though, presumably, the year 1915 would have some significance? I can’t see anything to do with the golf club you found and that year, as they were apparently founded in 1906 so even an anniversary of this wouldn’t fall in 1915. Wherever the Annandale in question is, I take it something happened there in 1915 to result in the production of these badges (this one is No. 72, so that would suggest there were at least a few made). Anyway, I think I will probably part with it, as it doesn’t fit with my collecting.

Best regards

Martin

72 does sound like a membership number.
Wasn't there a thread recently here for a badge that was issued to mark donations to a 'comforts fund' 1915 or something similar in a town in the South of England?
Charlie

Edit ah it was this threadhttp://www.britishbadgeforum.com/for...highlight=fund

A similar badge, but white, came up on ebay at some stage- sorry for poor quality- and was described (correctly or not) as a Factory badge

Attachment 164160

Annandale 1915 ‘Factory’ badge?
 

Hi Charlie

Very many thanks for your two postings, especially the second one with the badge from ebay which, apart from being white, is an exact match for mine. I originally thought that the “72” might be an issue number, so the idea that it could be a factory badge may well fit with that. If I get a chance I might try looking into this, as well as the possibly of it being something to do with a comforts fund or similar, so thank you again for these very helpful suggestions.

Best regards

Martin

I googled Annandale and there is substantial mention of the Annandale Way and associated long-distance walks.
Tying this in with your badge could it perhaps refer to a 1915 Walk? Sort of in the same vein as the St James of Compostela Way?

Just a hunch.

GTB

:D!

Annandale walking or pilgrimage badge??
 

Many thanks for the posting GTB – an interesting theory, though I do note the Annandale Way was, in fact, only established in 2009. St James’s Way, ultimately leading to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, is, of course, an historic pilgrimage route. I’m afraid I’m finding it hard to see my badge as one connected to a walk, and can’t see anything to suggest a pilgrim’s way as such in Annandale. If it was an annual walk, then that would mean there would be similar badges with other years on them, otherwise 1915 would need to have been a special year. The date on the badge is obviously significant, but what could it signify?

In trying to follow up the idea that it might be a factory badge, I believe that Annandale includes the village of Eastriggs, where a cordite factory was located during the First World War. This factory was officially called ‘H.M. Factory Gretna’, and it appears building work on this started in November 1915; though actual munitions production did not begin there until the April of the following year. Having said that, I haven’t yet found anything to say that this, or any other factory in the area, was actually known as “Annandale”, but 1915 would seem a significant year in respect of the establishment of munitions works. This was, after all, the year of the 1915 ‘Shell Crisis’, and the creation of the Ministry of Munitions.

Anyhow, thank you for taking the time to respond to things, and if I do find out anything about an actual munitions factory called “Annandale” I’ll be sure to post it here.

Best regards

Martin

I cannot think of a logical reason for a black badge and a white badge, both 1915?
Gold,silver, bronze perhaps but otherwise ?

Further I haven't seen reference to a similar badge for other years so 'club membership' seems unlikely?

Charlie

Could a Black and a White badges be issued for the day and night shifts in a factory?

Or perhaps even a gender isue? Black for men, white for women? It would be helpful if the back of the white badge could be shown.

GTB

Annandale Colliery badge?
 

Thank you for your latest responses gentlemen. The idea that the colour of the badges might reflect day and night shifts in a factory is intriguing, though I don’t think anything like this has ever been noted with other badges. Equally I’ve not heard about different colours for men and women elsewhere, and I was thinking that the colour might, in fact, perhaps reflect the difference in, say, workers and foremen? I agree that seeing the back of the white badge would be useful, in case it had another kind of fixing such as a button-hole one.

In any event, whilst I haven’t been able to find anything definitive about a factory named ‘Annandale’, I have now found that there was an Annandale Colliery. Given that I also believe being a miner was a reserved occupation, I wonder if these ‘Annandale’ 1915 badges could have been an unofficial war work badge for the miners at this colliery? Nonetheless, I’ll see if I can find anything else.

Best regards

Martin

Colliiery- perhaps black for coal face and white for white-collar. But then why not badges with 1914 or 1916 etc? Perhaps 1916 conscription removed risk of being thought a shirker so no need for a badge to show engaged on vital work? Just thinking out loud!
Charlie

Annandale 1915 ‘war service’ badge?
 

Hello Charlie

Many thanks for your latest posting – I was actually thinking along similar lines myself, in that, if it was for the colliery, then one colour could be for the miners and the other for the managers, etc.

As for the date, my understanding is that many ‘unofficial’ war service badges were produced during the first few months of 1915, and so bore that date, but by the middle of the year these were deemed illegal.

I do have a small collection of such badges, and 1915 is a common year on these. It is also why I thought that this Annandale one might be an ‘on war service’ badge in the first place, even though it doesn’t expressly state this.

As my collection of these badges is of a more general nature, and not connected to specific companies or places, I think I will be parting with the Annandale badge. Perhaps it would be of interest to a collector of Scottish badges, though it seems further research would be needed to confirm its history.

Best regards

Martin