Please bear with me on the timeline as I will be working backwards as I retrieve my notes from the various places I've stashed them.
The easy bit is the last pattern badges.
I have the a/a collars issued to A troop, 224 (West Wales) Squadron, RCT on 15.03.81. My notes state that this was to the Pembroke Troop only and that all squadrons were issued with them from 21.02.87
I can confirm that from 1920 when the Pembs Yeo became 102nd Field Regiment RA they were badged as RA but the officers were wearing bronze regimental pattern collars again by 1938 with standard RA cap badges. I do have a reference to regimental badges again being worn by 146th Field Reg't in 1942 when shipped out to Egypt, but I haven't been able to establish yet whether this was just the officers collars again although I would presume so.
With regards to the badge under discussion the notes I made at the IWM concur with what has already been posted in that the subject badge appears to be Pattern No. 15161 11.08.52.
I have the subsequent a/a cap badge Pattern No. 18732 as appraised 14.11.67 although another note I made at the time suggests that the Firmin sealed pattern badge dates from 1962. In my defence I was rushing to take down as much information as I could in one visit.
What I can state at this time for the earlier badges is that no regimental pattern cap badges were worn during the Boer War. The first pattern cap badges were white metal with a gilding metal crown only and most photographs show the pattern with the motto scrolls down on the title scroll. Brookies has however got a couple of photos to prove that variants with the motto scrolls up were also worn pre Great War.
I have seen an Edwardian period officer's dress cap with an all silver cap badge on so presume that all white metal ORs badges must have been worn but have no evidence of this at the present.
The big problem is their records have been spread far and wide. So far i've been to IWM, Scolton Manor where the bulk of them used to be stored (but gone by the time I got there), Tenby Musuem (very helpful staff and great for the early Victorian stuff), Pembroke Castle and Haverfordwest County Archives. All without much success so far.
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