Quote:
Originally Posted by hagwalther
Thanks Alan,
When I get back to New Zealand I hope to sort my notes out and expose a few other 'rare variant' items.
One interesting item to look out for though is the Royal Engineers one part badge. This was produced as a prototype together with the two part badge and the choice was made to go with the two part badge before sealing and authorising it for issue.
This was a rare procedure to make such an actual badge from hardened dies and then to scrap it as a lead impression was usually made from a single design only and a decision to proceed taken from there.
As such, no one part RE badges were authorised for issue although two hardened dies were made.
I can't reference this now but come upon it in the RE badge file in the National Archives.
I picked my one part badge from a dealer on eBay for a couple of quid and suspect that there cannot be too many about.
Regards
Chris
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A bit late to the party, but the 2 x one piece RE anod al badges without manufacturer's marks that I have.
The black painted badge was picked up about 1973 along with unpainted "RA Hughes Ltd" and "T&S" two piece versions (from a junk shop in Lee, S.E. London for 5p each), the unpainted badge from forum "Classifieds" in 2017.
The fact that the one piece badge is painted suggests (can't be sure) that it had been in wear around the time of purchase, painted black for wear in NI, officially authorised for all units from early September 1973.
From reading other posts in this thread it appears that the one piece trials reject badges found their way into wear over the decades since manufacture.
Some surviving having been issued during the trials to squaddies who've continued to wear them?
Others "found in a box in stores" and utilised or sneaked into the supply chain decades later by the manufacturer?