Brigadier's & Colonel's Buttons

[Rob Miller]

I have been looking through my button collection, these are described as "Colonels" and "Brigadiers and Colonels" in both of Howard Ripley's books.

My problem is that most of mine are of a quality that I have always assumed to be other ranks.

So were they worn by men attached to the staff of a much lower rank than Colonel or do I have to rethink my opinion of what constitutes Officers Quality?

Rob

[Rob Miller]

I will give this one a nudge and add a few more questions.

Full Colonel seems to be a fairly rare appointment, I think there was only one with the British troops at Arnhem but at least 3 Brigadiers, and Colonels often seem to be in charge of Regiments who normally have their own buttons.

I have a WW2 Brigadier's SD jacket and apart from the Gorget buttons it retains his previous Somerset Light Infantry Buttons.

Presumably as all Officers have to buy their own service dress its up them as to the quality and price of the insignia they buy?

Rob

[leigh kitchen]

I may be wrong but........ I think the same button design may have been worn on RMAS buttons around KGV / KGVI time.

[Cribyn]

Hello Rob

I have been trying to find reference to this topic on the Forum as I think it has come up once before. Unfortunately I have failed dismally so far!

I think Leigh is right though, some Royal Military Academy staff (?) used this pattern at some time. This might be one reason why I seem to have seen so many with a Gillham & Co Sandhurst backmark, Gillham being a local military outfitter/tailor.

Roger

[leigh kitchen]

My mistake - I said RMAS, I should have said RMC.
A RMC cap I have, KGv badge and buttons.
The buttons are of O.R.'s quality, manufactured marked but I can't make out the markings.
I have a similar cap but can't recall whether it has KGv or KGvi insignia.
Was this design of button with appropriate "vi" worn up until 1947 when the RMC and RMA merged to form RMAS?

[Rob Miller]

Thank you both for the replies, so would these have been worn by the students or the training staff?

Rob

[leigh kitchen]

The cap I have would be to a student, it's named to an officer who was commissioned during the reign of KGv and served into the reign of QEii (an alternative would be that it belonged to that officer's uncle who was killed in 1914, but from the cap's construction I think it's a later cap than WWI).