Hi gents,
Yes, my badge with the soldered on bars! I'd toyed with the idea of getting a friend to undo this masterpiece of additional work but have decided that it's had 100 plus years to stay like this so let's leave it as it is.....
I suspect that the soldering was done because those loose bars were probably a tad annoying as they jingled like spurs and got in the way.
Never seen another one until this one pops up and I thought that this was just someone messing around before/ after or during work.
Their function was probably much like "battle bars" on service medals to show that you had
really "done your bit".
I believe that I've already posted one of these 1916 badges with someone's name stamped on the back but I'm happy to crawl through the 1916 oddments and post better photos of how these have been altered. For example, I have one with cap badge loops in place of the usual catch and latch.
Check out my past posts for sweetheart versions of this badge, ranging from the professional to the high school metalwork class efforts that probably involved some alcohol....
Just let me know!
