32 Company South African Labour Contingent

[milcollectorblue]

OK - before everyone throws up their arms in despair and asks, "why is this posted in the Canadian Corps, Branches and RCA section?", read on...

Attached is a photo showing a die-struck cap badge that measures 37mm tall x 34mm wide in browning brass, maker marked "TIPTAFT / B'HAM" that I can find nothing about. It is exactly the same design as the 24th Bn CEF, i.e. it is a Canadian maple leaf, only this badge has a 'South African Labour Contingent' legend.

I am aware of various publications relating to the different types of Labour Corps used during both WW1 and WW2, including a tome of over 1,000 pages on just the Chinese Labour Corps (CLC) - a real labour of love!

Early thoughts are that during WW1 these foreign labourers were used in various capacities for 'grunt' work, but invariably not in the front lines. POWs, Eastern Europeans, Russian prisoners and Portuguese were the preferred workers in Northern France as it was well known that the SA Native Labour Contingent (SANLC) suffered severely from the cold. It is believed that the Canadians encouraged esprit-de-corps to their coloured troops by providing badges for the labourers of the 32nd Company.

That being said, the 32nd (Forestry) Company started operations at Dreux, some 60 kms West of Paris on June 19th 1917. This was also at the time when the Canadian government started to fund CEF badges made by TIPTAFT, and so this particular cap badge may well have been paid for out of Bn funds, fully supported by the lumber industry, at the request of the CO, i.e. in exactly the same way in which many of the other CEF Bn badges were paid for.

Whilst there may be some form of tenuous link by searching through the various regimental block numbers for the Forestry Drafts, that would certainly take a very long time and without any possibility of a certain outcome.

I therefore throw this open to Forum members who may well have come across something more tangible in the form of print to add reality to my (and others) supposition.

I look forward to seeing how Forum members respond

Lovat

[Traist]

Hi, Well this most definitely a very unusual badge. I am intrigued by it. At this point, I only have a title, SANLC, in my collection and was unaware that this badge even existed. I am very curious to see what else comes up regarding this badge. Regards Andrew

[redman]

Hi lovat,
Fascinating badge. I saw one of these several years ago at a fair.
Just a question why do you attribute this 32nd company as forestry, is that a fact?
I think this South african labour company was attached to a canadian division or the canadian corps, it may even have had canadian white officers transferred in to command, as I understand many of the original white South african officers that came with these units were encouraged to join fighting battalion on arrival to western front. Which would explain the maple leaf design.

If forestry also understandable as the canadian forestry corps was substantial. Not sure why Tiptaft would use the 24 th battalion as template though if forestry?? As Tiptaft made some of the other canadian forestry unit badges.

Is that a Tiptaft disc in the rear of the badge? A little unclear in the pictures.

Fascinating
Dan

[Traist]

If either of you turn up another one of these, I would really like to add it to my collection. Please bear me in mind. Regards Andrew

[milcollectorblue]

Originally Posted by redman

Hi lovat,

Just a question why do you attribute this 32nd company as forestry, is that a fact?
I think this South african labour company was attached to a canadian division or the canadian corps, it may even have had canadian white officers transferred in to command, as I understand many of the original white South african officers that came with these units were encouraged to join fighting battalion on arrival to western front. Which would explain the maple leaf design.

If forestry also understandable as the canadian forestry corps was substantial. Not sure why Tiptaft would use the 24 th battalion as template though if forestry?? As Tiptaft made some of the other canadian forestry unit badges.

Is that a Tiptaft disc in the rear of the badge? A little unclear in the pictures.

Fascinating
Dan

Dan,

I have never seen one of the badges before, and neither has my colleague who has been a Canadian militaria dealer for over 30 years. So my advice to you is that if you ever come across another one of these at a militaria fair the chances are the person selling the badge will not know anything about it; snap it up and bag yourself a bargain!! At the moment, and until I hear differently, this appears to be a 'unique' badge, possibly made as a specimen and/or trial cap badge for internal approval by the CO/OC of the unit. To the very best of my knowledge it was never 'Approved', despite it having a makers mark on the back.

Everything about this badge is an "educated guess", but it is based on the knowledge that SA labourers did work alongside the Forestry Corps. My colleague and I had also explored the possibility of ex-pat South Africans being recruited to serve alongside the CEF either in Canada or in the UK; however, we can find no evidence to support either this thought process or even the original supposition in my initial post. By extending it to a much wider audience I was hoping to see if there was anyone out there who was able to fill-in the blank spaces......

It does have a Tiptaft oval disc on the back of the badge. And you're right to point out that Tiptaft did produce a number of the Forestry Coy cap badges (i.e. the General Service, the 224th and 238th Inf Bn, and the 12th, 50th and 70th Company cap badges), but 'maybe' the rather long legend on this badge lent itself more easily to being applied to the 24th Inf Bn cap badge, which was also manufactured by Tiptaft. But then I'm guessing again

Lovat

[cefguy]

All:
OK as a relative newcomer to this field of collecting I clearly don't know enough about the 24th Btn badge. I have to ask about the crown on the 24th badge. All of the examples I have seen on this forum, Babin, Charlton etc have what I would refer to as the "Queens" crown on them. That is to say the model of the crown currently in use today. This 32nd Company SALC has what I would refer to as the "Kings" crown on it, although the overall pattern of the badge clearly resembles that of the 24th cap badge. Was the pattern of the CEF's 24th badge carried over from pre WW1, and if so what unit? Was this pattern perpetuated in a post WW1 unit hanging onto the badge design? I find the 32nd CSALC badge a very interesting one and, in my limited experience, the one with the correct crown on it.
Thank you
Don

[redman]

Hi
Well spotted about the crown. Definitely kings crown.
As I understand it the South African labour contingent was started to be withdrawn from the western front before the war ended. I can not see any reason for it to continue post war.
Hi lovat do you actually own this badge or can handle it?

I have had a brief look at the war graves commission website for casualties to the South African native labour corps/ contingent. I have found sa labourers dying and being buried on the same day and in the same cemeteries as members of several CEF fighting battalions. I realise with the process of the war and burials post war that bodies were brought together for burial, but also it does suggest some sa labourers died with or near the front line and in the canadian sector. Does indicate some sa labour companies were affiliated with cef units.

All the best
Dan