View Single Post
  #2  
Old 04-08-20, 02:38 AM
kingsley kingsley is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,022
Default

It would be a long list, even for Australia alone. Australian regiments were all part-time Militia from 1854 onwards, mostly known as Rifle Volunteers. From 1860 there was more enthusiasm, possibly as a result of the Austrian-French war for the unification of Italy. In the 1860s (in NSW alone) there were eight Sydney militia regiments and twelve in country areas all with territorial titles (e.g.'Maitland and Morpeth Rifle Vols").
The most interesting of these was the 1868 Duke of Edinburgh's Highland Volunteer Rifle Corps, the ancestor of the NSW Scottish Rifles, formed in honour of his visit. They wore full highland dress with spectacular badges, one of which was given to my grandfather about 1900 by a relative of the wearer. Happily I still have it.
When the Brits went home in 1870, the six colonies organised better funded forces until 1903 when the State armies became the Australian army (still militia of course).
It is impossible to determine just which pattern? badge a particular militia regiment wore before 1880. They are dozens of universal type slung bugles, which we have discussed at times on the Forum and no one knows the answer. I well believe that in Britain and all around the Empire, militia regiments probably ordered the same bugle badge.
After 1880 there seemed to be a preference for coiled bugles. NSW 1,2,3,and 4 Infantry wore WM coiled bugles with a number inside. Some pouch badges had a separate QVC crown above the bugle and there are large shako bugles as well.
See attached scan.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Bugleboard.jpg (36.7 KB, 31 views)
File Type: jpg dukes.jpg (47.2 KB, 14 views)
File Type: jpg dukes2.jpg (51.4 KB, 14 views)
File Type: jpg bugle1.jpg (31.2 KB, 13 views)
Reply With Quote