Gold Badge

"The Gold Badge may be awarded to a member who has given at least eight (8) years meritorious and conspicuous service to the objectives of the Legion as defined by the Royal Charter. Following the National Chairman's approval of the award, the formation proposing the award must meet the cost of the badge. When the recipient passes away, the badge becomes the property of the next of kin, who may retain it or return it to the formation to issue to another individual for whom the award has been approved".

The irony of it is that many deserving members never get recognised because the formation (normally a branch) cannot afford the cost of the gold badge, currently about £350ish

A really interesting post! It has certainly added to my knowledge of this item.

I've also got a large, unengraved BL badge in its original box of issue. If of interest, I'll post the details of the engraved badge. A photo might be harder as the engraver has skillfully engraved beneath the "half moon" clip. The skill of some amazes me....

Still keen to know about the silver badge.....

Haven't seen any mention of a silver badge ..... anywhere !

Could it have been a 'one off' special commission ?

You say there is no hallmark which is unusual but not unheard of , Bosley's has sold a couple of BLWS gold badges that only have a makers mark (Birmingham Medal Company) and 9ct Gold stamp but no assay office markings.

Another factor could have been cost , sending an item to the assay office would increase the price of the badge ?

Gold Jewellery does not have to be hallmarked if it weighs under 1 gram - Over that weight it should be!

I really appreciate your input.

Yes, I'd heard that having something assayed adding to the cost while not necessarily making it more valuable.

I recall talking with a jeweller sent to the UK for some extra training. He said that you would see the rings all assembled on a bench waiting to be marked up at the Assay Office.

I bought the BL badge from eBay from a fairly blurry pic and thought that it might have been plated. A nice surprise when it turned out not to be!

I'll check and see if there's a maker but I think that it might be our old friends J.R. Gaunt....

Just checked the London Assay Office site to get an idea of costs for hallmarking.

1–2 articles in a packet = £13.00 per packet.

3 articles or over in a packet = £18 per packet + £1 per article.

On top of that add VAT + return postage ( As appropriate plus £3.25 per shipment)


As most manufacturers would be sending multiple items the costs wouldn't be that great , especially for gold. But for single custom made items , especially silver , the additional costs (£13.00 + VAT + appropriate postage x2 + shipment £3.25) would add a lot to the final cost of the item.

Have just been sorting out my BL badges and found all the ones I have with pin fittings .

Sorry for quality of photo , think when I get time (and money) I may get all my BL/RBL badges professionally photographed.

Hi all

A brief search located the large silver BL badge. It is just marked "SILVER" and then "BMCo" (Birmingham Medal Co).

A 9ct large badge that I possess has the "service details" for the owner engraved on the reverse.

He was Chairman of the Wimbledon branch (Great Uncle Bulgaria was the Secretary....) for seven years and was Hon Auditor for thirteen years (unlucky for some...).

A very kind UK-based contact has produced his MIC for me showing service with the East Surreys (F & F, with award of trio). Discharged as Class "Z"" in 1919.

Hi Michael

A nice collection of BL items. I have a badge for the Port Sunlight BL branch if I remember correctly. They must have been "squeaky clean".....

I am thinking of parting with a small 9ct badge (hallmarked 1967-68). Good order, no damage. PM if keen!

The only silver BL items I have are a 1934 East Anglia Area Bowls tournament semifinalist medal (hallmarked) and a 1937/38 Metropolitan Area Inter games winner medal (hallmarked) , got them reasonably cheap (£5.00 each).

I'd love to get a full set of the gold badges but for the moment they are just 'wish list' items.

Unusual find
 

Bought a small lot of BL/RBL badges , they arrived today and one confused me. :confused:

Similar size , shape and colouring to the small tie pin size items but no British Legion or Royal British Legion lettering. :confused:

What it did have was "CE-SL" on the top and Malawi on the bottom . After a bit hunting around on Google I discovered it is for the "Commonwealth Ex-Services League" (mentioned on RBL website) .

I only bought the lot for the smallest BLWS badge (womens section on top bar) but am happy with my interesting little find. :D

Nice find on both counts there Mike. I've never seen either of them before.

Michael

Saw the small WS one and thought the other was simply a small BL pin , sometimes I'm just lucky. :)

Another one I hadn't seen before , how many years is "Long Service" ? :confused: