The following documents are part of my ‘Onward / National badge research, but are worthy of a mention here.
Both letters are signed by General Alfred William Robin, and are in response to enquiries by the New Zealand Minister of Defence regarding the shortages of badges and brass buttons available to New Zealand Reinforcements within the reinforcement camps.
This first Letter is dated 26th February 1916.
The following letter is dated 2nd March 1916.
The Defence Minister at the time was Mr James Allen, and he made the following notation on the above letter on the 5th March 1916.
The way I read it, these letters confirm that in the eyes of the New Zealand Defence Department, the Reinforcement badges were not official, and that the Defence Departments supply of lettering and numbers on the shoulder straps was considered adequate enough to identify the wearer’s branch of service.
Although Reinforcement badges were not given official sanction, they were approved of by both General Robin and James Allen as a stop gap measure until the universal Expeditionary Force badge was first issued to the 34th Reinforcements.