Quote:
Originally Posted by RSM
JT. I can't say for sure, but that die was being used when the badges had loops pre-WW1, same with the VB badges I have, and so on through to slidered versions, and of course the 1916 all-GM. All from the same die, or certainly all from the same die-maker. A distinctive Britannia, two-berry badge, and as said, the most common original version to be found. So it's a guess it will be an established insignia manufacturer with a long history such as Gaunt? Can you moot any other makers that would fit the bill i.e were producing this badge 1897 - 1916 and perhaps beyond to 1935? (I reckon a lot of the other variations we find are WW1 issues from the many different makers that sprang into life in 1914/15?) As always just thinking aloud and always interested to be corrected and learn more.
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RSM,
Found an interesting document (courtesy of the National Archives) which appears to reveal that J. R. Gaunt & Son, never produced other ranks’ badges for the Norfolk Regiment. This potentially addresses your query regarding the possibility of Gaunt having been the manufacturer of the variant you recently posted.
It would seem that during the period in which supplies of the new
Royal Norfolk Regiment badges were being sought, the proposed designs submitted to the King for approval had been produced by Gaunt. In order to save money, it was hoped that the Gaunt sealed patterns might be acquired, therefore negating further expense in the preparation of new/duplicate dies. However, the document below tells us that Gaunt had hitherto never produced other ranks’ badges, and so consideration should perhaps be given to procuring badges from a firm which would produce both officers' and other ranks'.
A nice little annotation in the margin appears to read:
‘Gaunt have promised to supply OR patterns’
Fascinating stuff.
JT
JT TNA Norfolk Docs.jpg