Hi James
I wrote you a long reply and then it "went"!
I think that the numbers on the back of the ANZAC badge are actually association numbers (much as the ARSA badge has just a number that only the ARSA could have identified until some well-meaning member "binned" all their old records...)
I've found ads in the paper under the "Lost & Found" column (for RSA, SWBs and ANZAC Club badges) that usually (but not always) quote the number on the back of the badge.
The ANZAC Club badge is said to have inspired the RSA badge proper and I think that the ARSA badge owes something to the SWB in terms of wording, approximate size and style.
My one doubt is that, although the SWB wasn't issued to NZ servicemen until around Jan (?) 1917, British forces got theirs in 1916 (the year the ARSA was founded).
Nevertheless, mention of the SWB issue was made in the papers of the time with a description thereof (and maybe a drawing although I would have to check this).
Did someone see this badge and decide that it was a good idea?
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