Hi Julian
As a follow on from my previous posting, Dean has now kindly sent me the reference to the 1st Vol. Battn of the Leicesters adopting the tiger cap badge of the regulars in 1902. It is actually from Colin Churchill’s
History of the British Army Infantry Collar Badge, p. 88, and not from one of Ray Westlake’s books as he first thought. Regarding the earlier three lions design, Churchill says:
Quote:
|
“The battalion now submitted a new design through Messrs J & B Pearse & Co., 28, Hart Street, Covent Garden, London. The three lions or leopards of England differenced with the Mark of Cadency of the eldest son of the Sovereign, enclosed with a near circle of laurels. The design was approved, adopted and extracted, 30th January 1885.”
|
This would not have included the three lions cap badge without the laurel wreath, as this was for the Field Service Cap which the Battalion would have only adopted sometime in the 1890s. As to the changes in 1902, Churchill has:
Quote:
|
“The [three lions] badge became the centre piece for all badges worn by the 1st Volunteer Battalion until 1902. Why the battalion did not adopt the badge of the parent Battalions is not known. In 1902, perhaps as a result of a change of Crown and the advent of Service Dress, the battalion did adopt the Royal Tiger as their central device”
|
Thanks to your research, of course, we now know it was because of the War Office directive of 22nd May 1901 that the volunteer battalions were allowed to wear similar badges to the regulars of their parent regiments. It is also
not the case that the 1st Vol. Battn of the Leicesters took to Service Dress in 1902, rather, according to research by Glenn Steppler, which was published in his excellent book
Britons, To Arms!: The Story of the British Volunteer Soldier, p. 110, they only adopted it in 1906.
Sorry to hear you don’t have much time for research at the moment, but this is something I can quite empathise with. Having said that I’m glad to know you’ve found things here of interest, and hope the above will be equally so. You might also like to look at something John Mulcahy posted up to this
thread about an article entitled ‘Badges of Public School Corps’, which was in
Public School Magazine, Vol. VIII, 1901, pp. 381-389. It has in it about how the Uppingham School Rifle Corps were wearing the three lions badges of the Leicestershire 1st Vol. Battn at that time, which would again support the idea that the Leicesters’ Volunteers only adopted the tiger as their cap badge in 1902.
Best regards
Martin