Scottish Infantry Brass Badges
 

Hello All,

Bloomers' book, Badges of the Highland and Lowland Regiments, indicates that all 10 regular Scottish Infantry viz:

Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment)
Royal Scots Fusiliers
King’s Own Scottish Borderers
Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
Black Watch (Royal Highlanders)
Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment)
Seaforth Highlanders (Rosshire Buffs, The Duke of Albany’s)
Gordon Highlanders
Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise’s)

(pre anodised) badges are found in brass.

Apart from the GM 'economy issue' Royal Scots, does anyone know when the 'brass' badges were worn. (I believe the Cameronians blackened brss was used up to and including WWI).

Additionally, does anyone have any of these as spare badges as I would be interested.

Many thanks

Chris

G/M Black Watch
 

I have a G/M Black Watch which is accepted as a Canadian badge, apart from the Royal Scots 1916 issue all others are considered fake.

I would love others thoughts on this.

Rob

My thoughts on this same as Rob

Gerard

Royal Scots Fusiliers was always GM.

Spot on Keith, overlooked the RSF , to hasty in my reply :o indeed a GM badge as you say.

Gerard

Hi Chris,

The book is wrong there was never an authorised KOSB Brass badge.

Cheers
Hiram

Thanks for the comments. I must admit I was surprised.

Chris

It is well known, however, that the Regiments of the British Army do not always conform to the ‘Party Line’, particularly during wartime. There may have been other ‘unofficial’ insignia, such as the ‘theatre made’ badges referred to above, not supplied through the official channels. Although it is not the purpose of this paper to examine all examples of mistaken identity (let alone modern forgeries); they would include the ‘all GM’ Ox & Bucks LI which is, in fact, the badge of the Nottinghamshire Yeomanry. Territorial rifle battalions wore blackened GM badges and some such as the 5th King’s could be mistaken for a regular ‘all GM’ badge if its blackening had worn off (or had been otherwise removed). There are also regular ‘foreign’ badges such as what appears to be an ‘all GM’ Seaforth Highlanders badge which was worn by the Pictou Highlanders of Canada between 1923 and 1938.[i] Similarly, a GM ‘Black Watch’ badge was worn by the 42nd Infantry Battalion (Royal Highlanders), a Montreal Regiment.[ii]

[i] Canadian General Order 57/1923 and CGO 83/1938. See also Mazaeus, 1985, 90.

[ii] The date of this badge is uncertain, though see Taboika, 2007, 167-175.

The Cameron Highlanders I believe have a pre-scroll badge in bronze which seems to pop up as a WWI economy issue occasionally.

Thank you for the additional information.

Chris

The brass/ GM Black Watch badge was also worn by the 73rd Battalion The Black Watch CEF.

Hi Chris,

Further to my previous post I thought that I should back up my statement with documentary evidence see attached.

I have attached two pages from 'Cap Badges of the First World War' Part-1. The Regular Forces. The document starts at page 78 and ends at 87 I have attached the first 78 and 86 as these I feel are the relevant page on this thread.

Best
Hiram

Hiram,

thanks.

Chris

Plated Black Watch
 

I have a plated Black Watch cap badge, the high points are showing through as brass.

Could it be that some badges were made in the wrong metals and then plated, some that were not required were possibly left and never issued and appeared in government surplus shops in their original state.

Rob

On offer from Minden Militaria, a brass King's Crown KOSB badge, 80 mm tall, £140.

"Scarce all brass 1916 issue die struck cap badge with 2 loops to reverse. Very large size. Never had one this big"

https://mindenmilitaria.com/shop.php?code=58604

I joke that I have a "never mind the quality, feel the width" approach to badge buying, but not this time.

Should've added - struck from a HPC die?