Quote:
Originally Posted by kaiserwilhelm2
As for the Irish Rifles badge - someone has suggested this might be a collar badge unblackened. What are your thoughts on this? Thanks!
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Unlikely in my opinion, collar badges were traditionally not work in rifle regiments save for officers service dress (OSD) and mess dress. The R. Irish Rifles were no different.
This badge is too big (and the wrong pattern to be a mess dress collar badge (see the pattern card I posted). In terms of being an OSD badge, although one can see a wide variety of badge types worn this one it is not the typical pre 1920's design (see below) and the fact that it it die struck is also another piece of evidence that it is unlikely to be an OSD badge with its bronzing worn away.
Other ranks did not wear collar badges until after WW2 in part to retain regimental identity when the regimental cap badge was replaced by the brigade cap badge.
I did hear back from Bobby Rainey off-line and his comments were essentially that he only knows pattern 5849 with sliders.
John