Hi Graham
Many thanks indeed for the latest postings, and most particularly for the copy of ACI 1338 – which obviously confirms what Stephen said in his
posting about the War Office taking over the supply of cap badges, etc., to the Territorial Force in 1916. Not that I doubted him, but it’s always good to see these things in print.
As to the wearing of the regular cap badge of the Leicesters by the Leicestershire Volunteer Battalions after ACI 898 of 1918, if your research and collection show this was the case with other regiments then I’m sure it makes it all the more likely it happened with the Leicestershire ones as well. I just thought it strange that after AO 298 of 1917 specifically granted the right for the territorial battalions to wear the same badges as the regulars, including the regimental honours like the Leicesters’ ‘Hindoostan’, that ACI 898 made a point of saying the new badges to be adopted by the volunteer battalions had to omit such honours. It made me think that possibly a stock of the then redundant top scroll-less Leicesters tiger badges might just have found their way to the Leicesters volunteers! Maybe whoever drafted ACI 898 didn’t know about AO 298!?
However this still leaves the question of Dean’s “LVR” badge of course – Glenn Steppler appears to suggest that the Leicestershire Volunteer Regiment only came into being in 1916, so I can’t personally see how the badge in question was an earlier volunteer corps badge, unless “LVR” stands for something other than “Leicestershire Volunteer Regiment”; or perhaps I am missing something? Anyway, I really must thank you for all your contributions to this thread – I hope other Forum members have found this as interesting and helpful as I have.
Very best regards
Martin