Acquisition of the Year -whats yours

[Peter Brydon]

I wonder if members would be prepared to share with us all the item that they have acquired this year which has given them the most pleasure.

Not necessarily the biggest or most expensive item but perhaps something they have been searching for for a long time or something that fills a gap in a collection.

My acquisition of the year ( with many thanks to a Forum member ) is the embroidered shoulder strap badge of the 46th ( Liverpol Welsh ) RTR. This is as far as I am aware the only distinctive item of insignia which was worn by this unit which was formed as a duplicate of the 40th ( The Kings ) RTR in April 1939.

The 40th RTR being itself formed by conversion of the 7th Bn Kings Liverpool Regiment.

Membership of the Forum has many advantages.

Best wishes to everyone for Christmas and The New Year and if you didnt find that illusive item in 2011 I hope you will in the coming year.

P.B.

[engr9266]

My Acquisition's of the Year are RMC vc in gilt/enamel/felt no K&K, RMC vc in gilt/silver/enamel K&K1072, RMC EDV11 in gilt/silver/enamel K&K1073 and the British Security Coordination badges, both patterns Also K&K1939 RE in gilt.There have been others but I think these stick out from the rest. The two BSC badges are marked "SCULLY MONTREAL"
Sorry some of pictures are a bit dark.

I have been extremely fortunate throughout this year with the acquisition of many lovely badges, a good number of which have been down to the kindness and generosity of forum friends. These latter items are perhaps the badges that have given me the most pleasure (you know who you are, chaps ).

However, if there is one single badge which I managed to acquire purely through my own efforts, and which had eluded me for some considerable time, it is the small, but perfectly formed, KK1842:

2nd Bn (1).jpg2nd Bn (2).jpg

This privately-made puggaree badge was worn by 2nd Battalion, London Scottish, in 1917-1918, and had been a main contender on my 'Holy Grail' list for a long time.

A merry Christmas, one and all.

Peter.

[GriffMJ]

Massive thanks to Robbie at "Dead Spartan" for this one..... good things come to those who wait (20 years in this case )


This year has been getting a grip on the "Motto"..... that was great fun, I learnt much from the study and hope that others have taken something from it as well.

[RC Sigs]

Started collecting Algonguin Regiment of Canada items as family served in it. My prize of the year aqquiring this rare pre WW1 cross belt badge.

VVVV

Gerald

[davec2]

Originally Posted by 8thfoot

I wonder if members would be prepared to share with us all the item that they have acquired this year which has given them the most pleasure.

Not necessarily the biggest or most expensive item but perhaps something they have been searching for for a long time or something that fills a gap in a collection.

My acquisition of the year ( with many thanks to a Forum member ) is the embroidered shoulder strap badge of the 46th ( Liverpol Welsh ) RTR. This is as far as I am aware the only distinctive item of insignia which was worn by this unit which was formed as a duplicate of the 40th ( The Kings ) RTR in April 1939.

The 40th RTR being itself formed by conversion of the 7th Bn Kings Liverpool Regiment.

Membership of the Forum has many advantages.

Best wishes to everyone for Christmas and The New Year and if you didnt find that illusive item in 2011 I hope you will in the coming year.

P.B.

What a nice suggestion Peter,

At the end of a traumatic year on the Forum, something pleasing to talk about.

I am in a similar situation to Peter J in as much as I have had several gorgeous badges from some members, a gift here, or a deal there ( as in peter J's case, you know who you are ), I've had mates rates on a couple of beauts from Andy but although people do say I have some nice gear, I haven't anything that will cause a sharp intake of breath, if you know what I mean ???

So I am going all mushy, it is Christmas after all and if some want to talk about gender bending etc, I can go all soft, my main acquisition this year is making new friends and on occasion with my temperament and what I've done, still managing to keep old friends also, that has been an achievement I think.......

Thanks to everyone, all the best, Merry Christmas.....

Dave.

[Phil2M]

I agree with Dave, I will go all mushy too, being taken along to Winchester and Bedford, my first badge/militaria fairs by one particular member, and, having the benefit of his and others patience, expertise and generosity once I was there, plus the break it gave me from routine, was invaluable to me. The same applies to those couple of members , further afield, who have been in regular contact via email or PM.

I have gained a lot since having the benefit of the forum, for that benefit, I would like to thank Mike and the Moderators for making that possible. Thank you.

I hope i will be in a position soon to repay all the generosity, the forum has certainly opened up my eyes to what badge collecting is really about.

I thank you all for your help, guidance and generosity, have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

All the best,

Regards,

Phil

[davec2]

Fearing that I may have sabotaged Peter's post by going all mushy, sorry Peter !

Here are three that I am particularly pleased with, the first is leased from Ry, the other two are deals with 2747andy, these do not detract from anything else I have acquired but it's really like trying to choose my top twenty, impossible, I hope you like my choice.

5th Battalion, The City of London Regiment, Glengarry badge.
17th Battalion, The London Regiment, The Tower Hamlet Rifles.
1st King's Dragoon Guards, Junior NCO's Arm badge.

Dave.

[Phillip Herring]

Originally Posted by engr9266

My Acquisition's of the Year are RMC vc in gilt/enamel/felt no K&K, RMC vc in gilt/silver/enamel K&K1072, RMC EDV11 in gilt/silver/enamel K&K1073 and the British Security Coordination badges, both patterns Also K&K1939 RE in gilt.There have been others but I think these stick out from the rest.
Sorry some of pictures are a bit dark.

Do the BSC badges have makers' marks?

Phil

[Phil2M]

What organisation doe the BSC badge represent? what was their function etc?

My finds of the year are: RAF Chaplains Assistant cap badge, Ferry Command and Transport Command cap badges and of course my VSEL security badge.

Special mention goes to my Royal Norfolks o/rs badge, of which I had a lot of trouble finding. Thank you to PJ for gifting it to me.

Cheers,

Phil

[David Tremain]

Phil, as engr9266 will probably tell you, BSC was an organization run by Sir William Stephenson during WW2 out of the Rockefeller Center in New York. It represented British Intelligence on this side of the Atlantic and was a sort of combined MI6-MI5-SOE. It ran operations in the US, Canada (Camp X near Whitby, Ontario) and S. America. I have only ever seen the badge once before - one that belongs to the Camp X Society - and understand they are very expensive and hard to find, so I'm envious to see both variations.

Forget about reading 'A Man Called Intrepid', which is largely a fabrication anyway. In fact, 'Intrepid' was the code name for the entire organization, not Stephenson. There is an excellent book edited by Nigel West called 'British Security Coordination', published about ten years ago, which is probably available in paperback, if not through Abe Books. Stephenson wrote and 'official' account of BSC but all copies were supposed to have been destroyed. The book purports to be a copy of that document, or at least, taken from the document. David Stafford wrote a book about Camp X and Lynn-Philip Hodgson wrote another. The Camp X Society has a website; just Google it. I have not been to see what remains of Camp X (not much) but have met the director on a number of occasions.

Best wishes for Christmas.
David

[Phil2M]

Hi David,

Thank you very much indeed for the explanation, I have never heard of the organisation before and I find your reply very very interesting.

Trust Jerry to find the most rare badges possible!! his collection is one to be in awe of, thats for sure.

I hope you have a great christmas too,

Cheers

Phil

[2LBH]

This year's acquisition is just a couple of weeks old and I owe very much to Mike (TynesideIrish): an original silver L&BH pipers' badge (1947-56) which I had been looking for for nearly 3 years now.

[davec2]

Originally Posted by GriffMJ

Massive thanks to Robbie at "Dead Spartan" for this one..... good things come to those who wait (20 years in this case )


This year has been getting a grip on the "Motto"..... that was great fun, I learnt much from the study and hope that others have taken something from it as well.

Hi Griff,

That has certainly " scrubbed up " well, can you PM me with who did it for you please ?

I fear a serious competitor ??? Merry Christmas to you and yours !

Dave.

[wright241]

A good idea Peter.
Mine has to be these pieces from a 6ID shabraque. These are the only bits of horse furniture that I have to this regiment and its all down to another forum member who told me about them. Not the most expensive but certainly adds something special to the other 6ID badges.