Many thanks for the replies Gentlemen, all of which I am glad to have. As to your Firmin marked Leicesters’ badge Rob, I take it that it’s the same makers’ variant as the one I’ve shown on the left in my picture, or like the example Tim has now posted up? If it’s not, then I’d very much like to see it please.
Turning to your informative postings Tim, yes I have been looking at the Green Tiger for information, though I hadn’t seen the photo you’ve kindly shared. I would say that you are right and that they are wearing the ‘three-quarters size badge’, which would be expected as apparently new supplies of this size had been received in 1951, and I would say, looking at the picture, that it was the bi-metal version. Interestingly I have the below picture of a full-size “Leicestershire” Regiment cap badge (note NOT a “Royal Leicestershire”, though the same man was wearing cloth shoulder titles saying “Royal Leicestershire”!) being worn on a beret by a member of the 1st Battalion on their way to Korea in 1951, which I’ve put above an actual example of such:
Korea Beret.jpg
Anyhow, returning to the anodised version, I’ve been going through some more old correspondence I had with Stephen Risby, and found some comments sent to him by Chris Marsh, which echo what you found in his book; for which I am grateful by the way. In his e-mail to Stephen he said that the “Standard Pattern card for AA cap badge, with seeded scrolls, [was] sealed 26.01.72.”, and that the manufacturer of the sample was J. R. Gaunt & Son, this being “Pattern No 19955”. I believe that this card would be the one listed on the Imperial War Museum’s site
here (sadly without a picture), as the details appear to match.
Chris also mentioned to Stephen about the card that appears to be the one Marc (54Bty) has put on the Forum, which looks to be for the bi-metal version, Pattern No. 14653, dated 12 June 1951 (though I have to say the badge on Marc’s card looks very shiny indeed for a bi-metal one!). As Chris pointed out, this card is annotated “Superseded by 8455-99-973-9444 Patt. 19955” in red (possibly in a later hand?), which does seem to refer to the one from 1972. There are other details on the 1951 card, such as “To be fitted with vertical shank”, I take it because they originally had loops, but also “To guide for anodised aluminium”.
The bit about Chris noting that “Army Dress Committee meeting 178 on 12 April 1967 decided to approve the cap badge of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment for all sub units of (Territorial) Battalions of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment” is also most interesting, but as you say, appears to be at odds with the anodised badge being sealed in 1972. I think your assessment of this probably being for the bi-metal would make more sense, despite Chris saying this was Pattern No. 19955, i.e. that for the A/A one!
Perhaps you are right Jerry about “sealed patterns being signed off retrospectively some years after unofficial use of insignia”, or may be going “missing easily enough”, and that, therefore, we are only getting a partial picture of what actually happened. Having said that, on the available information, it does seem that these Leicesters anodised aluminium badges are unlikely to have been worn by regulars of the Regiment, and that it was just the territorials and cadets who did, at least until their badges, presumably, changed as their affiliations altered. Though, of course, none of this offers an answer as to where Kipling & King got their 1968 sealing date??
Best regards
Martin