5 unidentified British military buttons

[btns]

I have 5 buttons, which I have not been able to identify.
I am hoping that the combined knowledge of this forum will solve a few of these mysteries.

Question 1
This looks like a mufti button, but it was not listed in the recent series by Howard Ripley in Button Lines, journal of the British Button Society.
The letters are D.L. (mirrored), presumably Durham Light Infantry.
Can anyone confirm or correct this?
Gilt, 22 mm, P. & S. Firmin, 153 Strand London,

Question 2
The letters are 1. L.V.R. or L.R.V.
Black horn, 19 mm, no backmark

Question 3.
The letters are most likely A.C. and the design is engraved.
It has been a puzzle since I bought it long ago. It sat in a pokebox with African trinkets.
Brass, 18 mm, no backmark

Question 4.
letters G.L.V., Gilt 18 mm, no backmark.
Could this have been made pre 1799?

Question 5
letters S.V.L. and roman number I.
originally silver plated, 16.5 mm

[Peter Brydon]

No.2 is a battledress button made for the 5th Kings Liverpool`s in the 1950`s/60`s when an attempt was made to smarten battledress. The button was made to show the battalions origins in the 1st Lancashire Rifle Volunteers.

P.B.

[Cribyn]

Hello btns

It has been suggested elsewhere that your first button may be for a 'Deputy Lieutenant' of the County. The initials certainly seem to be 'DL' reversed and entwined. I would like to think that it is a Regimental Mufti button as I have one myself but I have yet to find any confirmation of this or of the Deputy Lieutenant theory.

I suspect there are several possible candidates for your 'GLV' and 'SVL' buttons, all involving 'Local' or 'Loyal' and 'Volunteers' but it may be difficult to pin them down.

Roger

[Cribyn]

Originally Posted by Peter Brydon

No.2 is a battledress button made for the 5th Kings Liverpool`s in the 1950`s/60`s when an attempt was made to smarten battledress. The button was made to show the battalions origins in the 1st Lancashire Rifle Volunteers.

P.B.

Peter

Thank you for adding the photo. I have seen this button described as you stated but never seen any photographic evidence before. A picture paints a thousand words as they say!

Roger

[davidwyke]

Hi Chaps

I can't really add much to what has already been said.

1) Unlikely to be Durham LI. I've heard the Deputy Lieutenant theory before, it may be, but I'm not really convinced. Then again, I have no idea what else it could be.

4) I would say very likely G..... Loyal Volunteers. (Could be 1790's or maybe just into early 1800's).

5) Another possible L" could be "Legion". "V" almost certainly = "Volunteers".

David

[btns]

I purchased item 4 from a reseller. She herself got a series of these buttons at a car boot sale. She did not notice any uniform (or parts) to which the buttons could have belonged.

This is the area where she got them from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-...ion_of_Holland

[davidwyke]

Originally Posted by btns

I purchased item 4 from a reseller. She herself got a series of these buttons at a car boot sale. She did not notice any uniform (or parts) to which the buttons could have belonged.

This is the area where she got them from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-...ion_of_Holland

Hi Btns

Sorry to say the link doesn't provide me with any clues as to what the button may be, perhaps someone else can deduce something from it?

The problem with Volunteer buttons of that period is that they were numerous, to say the least; many of the units were short lived and/or changed titles frequently.

I can give you a bit of very general background info relating to the last two buttons but I suspect I'm telling you what you already know but it might be of some interest to others.

The Volunteer Movement of the late 1700's/early 1800's effectively came in two "waves". The first one began c. 1794 when volunteer units began to be formed in response to a perceived threat of a French invasion. There was considerable concern about the increasing deployment of regular troops overseas and how effective the Militia would be in the event of an invasion.

There were numerous local volunteer units raised with a myriad of titles and this gained further momentum from 1797 with Napoleon on the march across Europe. The first phase came to an end with the Peace of Amiens in 1802. Most of the units still in existence at that time were disbanded.

Of course, peace didn't last for long and when war was declared again in 1803 many of the former units were re-raised or re-constituted with different titles. Many new volunteer units were also raised over the next few years. After Napoleons defeat at Waterloo in 1815 most of the remaining units were disbanded.

There are various sources for researching Volunteer units of the period - such as War Office Lists, LG entries, etc but with only initials to go on it's a bit of a "needle in a haystack" situation. Having said that, the experts often manage to ID buttons and other insignia from the period.



David