New Zealand Badge Queries; Help appreciated!
 

Hi,

I have a couple of potentially rogue badges, and would like some expert advice, please.

The first is a 3rd (Auckland) Regiment NZ Infantry badge, slidered, made by Tiptaft. Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to trim off the bottom scroll and the surrounding wreath; is there any good reason to have done this?

The second query is regarding the "Onward" badge; I have attached pictures of three of them. The first (1) I have also believed to be WW1, and the second (2) to be WW2. This is based on my reading somewhere that the WW2 badges were narrower than the WW1 ones, and these two badges are 37mm and 33mm wide respectively. Badge 3 is the query: It is the same width as badge 2, but has a Gaunt tablet to the rear of the crown. It also has a less well-defined edging to the NZ letters...

Lighting problems today, so not the best photos; apologies!

Any clarification most helpful.

Best regards, Tim

Hi Tim,
I agree with your comments on the Onward badges. They all look good to me. The 2NZEF badges of the WW2 period vary considerably.

The 3rd Auckland badge is an anomaly. Maybe it was fashioned by an apprentice in the Tiptaft factory as a test.

Cheers, John

Thanks, John.

Appreciate your input!

The situation regarding the Gaunt badge is still not quite clear to me, though. I have always associated Gaunt tablets with WW1 badges, which is why the relative narrowness of the Gaunt badge came as a surprise. Were there variations in WW1 Onward badges, too, or did Gaunt make WW2 NZEF badges?

Very best regards, Tim

G'day Tim

Whilst I know nothing of New Zealand badges, looking at the Tiptaft marking on the slider of the first badge, it looks to be the same as the Tiptaft marking on their WW1 Aussie Rising Sun badges. Ie in two lines with two different sized but small sized fonts and in two different length lines.

So Id say the Tiptaft marking at least is genuine. If you go to the Aussie threads on Tiptaft Rising Sun badges you will find some good illustrations of the Tiptaft markings.

Regards

Phil.

Hi Tim,
Yes, Gaunt did make 2NZEF Onward badges. I have a couple with J R Gaunt London marked sliders. They look very much like your Gaunt tablet one.

And yes, there were variations in the WW1 Onward badges. I have two slightly different hat badges.

Kind Regards,
John

In regards to your 3rd (Auckland) Regiment badge, it was common practice of NZ WW1 veterans to convert their collar and hat badges that they wore during the war, into patriotic/association badges postwar.

Yours is unique.:)