About reference books ?????

[Voltigeur]

Hello everyone. I have a question that may seem trivial to some of long time
british collectors. If I were to invest some good money on one good book on
british badges, apart the K&K, I know about those two, which should I choose
the Military Badge Collecting or Regimental Capbadge Collection, both by
J.Gaylor a name that is often mentioned in this forum. There is also the book by G.L.D. Alderton. My interest is mainly WW2. Now the problem is that I can't go to a store and check to see which I like because they (the stores) don't keep them in stock unless I place a special order and wait a number of weeks to get it. So can anyone help me????
Thanks a million.
Voltigeur

[ard-ri]

Hello Voltigeur,

I believe K&K is probably the best, but quite spendy for the set of 2.
Other books I use for indentification include:

Regiental Badges by Major T.J. Edwards
Military Badge Collecting. by John Gaylor
Badges of the British Army. by F. Wilkinson (a good starter book)
British Army Collar Badges 1881 to the present. by Churchill & Westlake
Scottish Regimental Badges by W.H & K.D. Bloomer
Glengarry Badges of the British Line Regiments to 1881. by W.Y. Carman
Cavalry and Yeomanry Badges of the British Army 1814. by F. Wilkinson
British Army Cloth Insignia 1940 to the Present. by Brian L. Davis
Buttons of the British Army 1855-1970. by Howard Ripley
Collecting Anodised Cap Badges. by Peter Taylor

If you are into Canadian Badges:

The Charlton Standard Catalogue of
First World War Canadian Infantry Badges. by W.K.Cross

The Charlton Standard Catalogue of
First World War Canadian Corps Badges. by W.K. Cross

Cap Badges and Insignia of the Canadian Army
1953-1973. by Roy Thompson.

Cheers, Michael

[Luke H]

Gaylor is very good and almost a pocket guide handy to take to fairs etc I also have access to Wilkinson's book which is rather vague and incomplete with badge listings with inaccuracies on badge descriptions and dates of change but it non-the-less shows badges assembled prior to restrikes and I would recommend both Gaylor as the informative read (although it does contain some inaccuracies most notably the '16 brass economy list - mentioned on forum) and Wilkinson as an illustration of alternate dies for a badge helpful when searching on ebay etc.

Good luck,

Luke

[ard-ri]

I personally like Regimental Badges. by Major T.J. Edwards. Contents include:

General History
Sources of Design of Cap Badges

Sections with badges on:

Household Cavalry
Royal Armoured Corps
Royal Horse Artillery
Royal Regiment of Artillery
Corps of Royal Engineers
Royal Corps of Signals
Foot Guards
Lowland Brigade
Home Counties Brigade
Lancastrian Brigade
Fusilier Brigade
Forester Brigade
East Anglican Brigade
Wessex Brigade
Light Infantry Brigade
Yorkshire Brigade
Mercian Brigade
Welsh Brigade
North Irish Brigade
Highland Brigade
Green Jackets Brigade
and then each regiment within each Brigade.

Territorials
Departments, Corps, Schools and Misc
Badges of the Disbanded Corps and Regiments

The badges are drawings but the book is worth it just for the description and history of each badge: 366 pages

Forage Cap Badge
S.D. Cap Badge
Beret Badge
Collar Badge

Sorry for the long post, anyway, good luck.

Cheers, Michael

Just a P.S. alot of the badges pictured are QC but the book is still good for the histories.

[Voltigeur]

Thank you very much ard-ri and Paddy for your comments,I greatly appreciate
but, Paddy I presume you mean Military Badge Collecting the smaller of the two Gaylor's book.
Thanks again guys.
Best regards

Voltigeur

[bgpipes]

Dont forget "Insignes Canadiens 1920-1950" by Daniel Mazeas.

[Luke H]

Originally Posted by Voltigeur

Thank you very much ard-ri and Paddy for your comments,I greatly appreciate
but, Paddy I presume you mean Military Badge Collecting the smaller of the two Gaylor's book.
Thanks again guys.
Best regards

Voltigeur

Yes the two books I was referring to are: Military Badge Collecting - John Gaylor; Badges of the British Army 1820-1960 - F. Wilkinson.

Cheers,

Luke

[David Tremain]

I like Gaylor's book, 'Military Badge Collecting' - it was my first reference book. Alderton's book is good for WW2, but it doesn't include officers' badges, which is a pity. Robin Hodges' 'Badges of the British Army' is a must if you want to know what's current, although some of the 'Options for Change' aren't in there, because it was published before some of the amalgamations came into force, but he says he's going to do another edition in 10 years. With all the changes going on, it'll probably be slimmer than the current edition! Edwards' book is good too. I wish there was more on cloth badges. Howard Cole's various books on formation signs (Badges on Battledress, Heraldry in War etc) are also a must, but I wish there were more colour illustrations, also Davis' book already mentioned. The Arms & Armour series that deals with Cavalry and Yeomanry badges and one on Scottish badges (Bloomer) are also useful.

[Peter Brydon]

The latest edition of The Formation Sign,the journal of the Military Hearaldry Society contains a review of 2 new books by a member of this forum.

I hope he will not mind me posting this.

P.B.

[ard-ri]

Bought a book on ebay I had never heard of "Regiments and Corps of the British Army" by Ian S. Hallows. I received it today. It has probably been mentioned before but I thought I would put my 2 pence worth in. It is hard back, 320 pages. It has line drawings of the badges but the best part is that is has History, Emblazoned Battle Honours, Accredited Battle Honours, Awards (number of Victoria Crosses won by each regiment), Memorial, Dress, Alliances, Marches, Journals, Museums and lists other books on Regimental Histories. A very informative book. ISBN 1-85891-237-7.

Michael

[badgecollector]

hi guys
i recently bought the K&K book part 1 and i must say im not overly impressed. im used to looking at aussie badges by cossum and compared to these books, the photos are poor, the layout is bad and not knowing anything about lineage of the units i just search the pics rather than the index.
i also think baben and mazeas books on canadian are very good as well as corbetts book on new zealand badges.

my questions are,
1) are there any reference books on british dominion badges, and
2) what would peoples choice be for a good reference on british anodised badges?
bc

[Luke H]

Originally Posted by badgecollector

hi guys
i recently bought the K&K book part 1 and i must say im not overly impressed. im used to looking at aussie badges by cossum and compared to these books, the photos are poor, the layout is bad and not knowing anything about lineage of the units i just search the pics rather than the index.
i also think baben and mazeas books on canadian are very good as well as corbetts book on new zealand badges.

my questions are,
1) are there any reference books on british dominion badges, and
2) what would peoples choice be for a good reference on british anodised badges?
bc

Military Badge Collecting by John Gaylor is pretty good. There are inaccuracies and descrepencies as ever but overall its a good descriptive read, circa 2003 edns have good photo's however the originality of some of the badges photographed is questionable. Regiments are listed in order of presidence and there is a brief description of each badge and the origins and fates of the regiment. Its the best out there IMO, KK is overpriced in my view and not worth the £100 to those on a budget. Is yours a earlier or later copy? I am told the picture quality has decreased compared to the original print.


Luke

[badgecollector]

hi luke
my copy of KK is a later version and the pics are average at best.
michael mentioned Collecting Anodised Cap Badges. by Peter Taylor. any thoughts on this book? well illustrated? anyone got a copy?
bc

[wright241]

Originally Posted by badgecollector

hi guys
i recently bought the K&K book part 1 and i must say im not overly impressed. im used to looking at aussie badges by cossum and compared to these books, the photos are poor, the layout is bad and not knowing anything about lineage of the units i just search the pics rather than the index.
i also think baben and mazeas books on canadian are very good as well as corbetts book on new zealand badges.

my questions are,
1) are there any reference books on british dominion badges, and
2) what would peoples choice be for a good reference on british anodised badges?
bc

I bought both Vol1 & 2 way back in the 70's and these were fairly good quality with regard to the printed page. Vol2 got lost somewhere in the world during my travels and I had to replace it recently. I must say that the quality of the the printing of this reproduction is rubbish - its almost like a FAX/Facsimile copy in comparison to Vol1 and it is much more difficult to make out the badge details. I can only suggest you try and get a much earlier edition. I'll check the date when I get in this evening and let you know the date of Vol1. The publishers of Vol2 are definitely not the same publishers as Vol1. Will let you know tomorrow unless someone else posts the details.
Rgds, David

[Voltigeur]

Hello Luke, not long after I posted my question I found in badge show in Toronto the Gaylor book Military Badge Collecting, dated 197 (for a measly $20.00) It has been a kind of "bible" for me ever since. Also, a friend let me have the two KK whenever I need to check something.
I would like to say thank you, again, to you and ard-ri for your help the first time.
Any toughts on the 1971 issue of the bbok, anyone.

Jo