Manchester badge

[mtrpltpara]

Nice to see it doesnt have that ridge running down the shield.
Bill.

[2747andy]

Thanks Peter and Bill,
not sure that a dealer having a few of these is a good thing or a bad thing! lol

What would be the value?

Andy

[harribobs]

Originally Posted by 2747andy

Gentlemen,

Is this an example of the non official Manchester Regiment 1st World War economy issue badge?

Your thoughts please?

Andy

non official?? hmm i assume you are comparing it to the non voided pals badges? by 1916 the pals battalions had been taken over by the war office and they supplied their badges

the origin of this type of badge is still really a mystery but i have never been able to id the badge on a contemporary photo

[2747andy]

Thanks for your reply, my comparison is to the all GM 1916 issued badges, this being Bimetal, it would not fall into that category, is this then a Pals badge?

Andy

[whizzbang]

Not a Pals badge but a WW1-issue bi-metal economy from what I have been told (by people who know more than me!). Saved on finishing work, at least. I recently obtained one at a cost of GBP 75. No ridge running down the shield!

Cheers, Ian.

[harribobs]

It is not a badge issued to the (Pals) Service Battalions (16 -24) but it does copy the style of them


are there any other bi metal economy badges?

[Alan O]

I have a solid Suffolks of a similiar (poor) construction.

[harribobs]

Originally Posted by Neil Pearce

For those interested, I was also told that in terms of titles, the 5th and 6th battalion are the difficult ones to get. Basically huge losses at the Somme - the 23rd Oldham had less issued, so also difficult. I can attest to this being true!

Cheers, Neil

the 23rd Oldham will always be a hard one to find, the 24th was the Oldham Comrades (Pals) battalion

[harribobs]

Originally Posted by Neil Pearce

Ian

You have a point, although it is not clear to me which (if all) Battalions actually wore this badge. There were nine in total (including Oldham), so you would expect to see a lot more. In reality, you don't see them as often as, say, the Tyneside Scottish (five battalions I think?). You can pick up a good Tyneside one for about 30 quid. There HAS to be the question of how many were issued.

The S/T's fetch anywhere between 50 and 130, depending on the battalion. They are far more scarce. Where is the logic?

Cheers, Neil

the pals (non voided) badge was issued to the original volunteers to the service battalions, as were the 'City' STs. Most of the pals battalions took a terrible mauling during the battle of the somme and their replacements were kitted out by the WO rather than the trustees of the Pals Battalions

[Neil Pearce]

Harribobs. Thanks for the clarification this explains the scarcity of the s/t's in particular....
cheers, Neil

[2747andy]

Alan,
the construction is quite good, defo not "Poor"!

Andy

[harribobs]

Originally Posted by 2747andy

Alan,
the construction is quite good, defo not "Poor"!

Andy

compared to what?

[2747andy]

Badge in original post!

I have seen a lot worse! Nice OSD by the way!

Andy

[Alan O]

This arrived in the post today. I have been looking for one for ages. It has been overly polished on the front but that should dull down with time.

[Alan O]

And to complete the set. This does not have the die flaw but the slider has been repaired with lead solder. Judging by the colour of it then it is not a recent repair. Unfortunely the person I got it from has polished the patina from the front of the scroll and only the edges have a nice dark toning.

I, like Harribobs, am unsure of who they were made for but it is an exact match to the one shown in Wilkinsons early editions (photos from 1969) and while the descriptions are often wrong the badges are OK.

Interestingly the cracked die version has a different letter font to the one shown in Wilkinson's book.

Alan