Unusal 1st Gurkha Rifles badges

[gurkharifles]

I thought I'd share two recent acquisitions. The first one is a finely cast silver officers badge to the 1st Gurkhas ( possibly 3rd Btn ) - and if it is 3rd Btn then it will date to 1917 >1921. I exchanged it ( after a long correspondence ) with Ashok Nath who has probably the only other example in existence - the Gurkha Museum do not have one. It can be attributed to a Gurkha Jemedar who served with the 3/1 GR and was acquired in Dharamsala, where the 3rd Btn were raised. The second has less provenance but is equally interesting and unusual. I've never seen this pattern before - it probably dates to a similar period 1900 > 1911 ? It's Blackened cast brass and has a long slider which is highly unusual for the 1st GR's ( they are almost always with lugs) - it's a lovely tactile badge with a nice patina - it might be a trial piece ?