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#76
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Print die ?
Got this little oddity in a job lot that I bought for a 1938 RBL Scotland Conference badge. I think it 'may' be a section of a die for printing but why would it be coloured ?
The second badge is to fill a gap in my collection , a large Honorary badge but the early Gaunt version (3334) which must date it before 1928. I already have the Birmingham Medal Co. one plus the unusual Harris (Glasgow) version that is the style of the large standard WS badge but with "Honorary" on the top scroll instead of "Women's Section". .
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British Legion/Royal British Legion , Poppy/Remembrance/Commemorative. Poppy and British Legion Wanted |
#77
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Hi Mike
Hopefully there is a printing "wallah" out there to help but it does look like something for printing or embossing. Would the plate be coloured so that the image could be transferred to the paper or card? Hence the blue and gold. I would expect it to have a lot more ink on it in this case, sign of repeated use! |
#78
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Quote:
While checking on something else I discovered another badge with the same wrong number but manufactured by A.Harris Ltd. Glasgow. I have three different badges made by this company : 1. Standard Large badge with wrong design number. 2. Honorary Large badge but with top scroll , design number the same as Large Women's Section badge. 3. Miniature badge , same style as Gaunt version. None of them have member number , so have no idea of dates. Q: Why would a Scottish company make British Legion badges , have not seen any British Legion Scotland badges by them ? Have not seen any post 1945 (small) badges , anyone have/seen Harris versions ? .
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British Legion/Royal British Legion , Poppy/Remembrance/Commemorative. Poppy and British Legion Wanted Last edited by mike_vee; 20-06-21 at 11:27 AM. Reason: Spelling |
#79
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I also have numerous British Legion Scotland Conference badges but I have not seen a single 'Scotland' membership badge from before 1971 when the Royal title was added. So , it appears that "standard" British Legion badges were issued in Scotland pre 1971 and that A.Harris Ltd. Glasgow were the sole manufacturer/supplier for Scotland. .
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British Legion/Royal British Legion , Poppy/Remembrance/Commemorative. Poppy and British Legion Wanted |
#80
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Hi Mike
I showed your post to a long retired guy who worked in the badge industry. He has some wonderful tales to tell over a coffee (or something stronger!). He told me that the punches used to create that backstamp were, unlike the punches that you would use to stamp your name on an article, positive versions of the letter. When the badge was struck the negative letters became on the die positive. It was quite an easy mistake to reverse the 6 and the 9, much as you might do with an ordinary letter/ number punch set. This is probably self-evident but I thought it was an interesting take on this error which probably wasn't picked up unlike they'd struck more than a few badges. Those raised letters to the reverse of the badge were part of the hammer head and would have been unique to the BL badge. Keep an eye out for ones where they are a bit "off" and don't quite line up with the outline of the cut out badge. You can easily date these to being made on a Monday or a Friday..... |
#81
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Fund Raiser ?
Just got this unusual pin badge , similar to flag day/fund raising ones.
Very light weight , pin but no 'catch' and no makers mark. Haven't seen anything like this before and assume it was an early item. Anyone have any other info/suggestions ? .
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British Legion/Royal British Legion , Poppy/Remembrance/Commemorative. Poppy and British Legion Wanted |
#82
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Found a couple of similar style/manufacture badges made by SHERIDAN’S ENGRAVING & METAL STAMPING COMPANY , Hays Street , Perth. The "Jacks Day" pin (see photos) was made in 1924 along with another "Jacks Day" one specifically for the visit of HMS Hood . Also found an article in a 1926 Australian (Perth) newspaper (thanks Ray) about an attempt to form a Melbourne branch of the British Legion which was strongly discouraged . Quote:
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British Legion/Royal British Legion , Poppy/Remembrance/Commemorative. Poppy and British Legion Wanted |
#83
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Discovered that a British Legion branch was set up in Sydney in January 1924 and also faced strong opposition from the RSSILA and the media !
One article even tried to stir things up , questioning ; Quote:
Also the RSSILA was involved in controversy at that time : Quote:
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British Legion/Royal British Legion , Poppy/Remembrance/Commemorative. Poppy and British Legion Wanted |
#84
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That's really interesting Mike, thanks for sharing.
Michael |
#85
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This appears to indicate that the same method of manufacture was initially carried over when Birmingham Medal Co. took over the contract from Gaunt in 1928. I would 'guestimate' (based on badge numbers) that these badges are from late 1920's as the 'rivit' style fitting was used on later badges. NB. I used to use 'Membership Number guide' from Graham Wootton's book to work out badge dates but have found it does not always match up to actual badges I have seen/got , as the 'guide' is based on membership numbers/fees and it also includes "honorary" members . .
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British Legion/Royal British Legion , Poppy/Remembrance/Commemorative. Poppy and British Legion Wanted |
#86
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Gender ???
Picked up another of the unusual "Honorary" badge made by A.Harris Ltd. Glasgow .
When I got the first one I wasn't sure which box to put it in , men's or women's section ? So now I can put one in each ! Also (in the same lot) was a nice voided miniature badge with buttonhole fitting , no makers mark , not Harris as their's were unvoided and marked . .
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British Legion/Royal British Legion , Poppy/Remembrance/Commemorative. Poppy and British Legion Wanted Last edited by mike_vee; 28-08-21 at 09:41 AM. Reason: spelling |
#87
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Double check !
Quote:
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At £30.00 for the pair I took a risk ! (As I had just won £30.00 on lottery it was not too bad ). They just arrived , they are very early large Gaunt buttonhole badges numbered 848 and 859 and although the boxes are a bit grimy the badges are in great condition. As there were roughly 18,100 fee paying members of the BL in 1921 and that 'honorary' membership was limited to 10% it is possible/probable that these badges were issued in 1921 ! So , it is always worth double checking listings as sellers can make errors if they don't know about specific markings/dates. NB: Badges look better 'in hand' than original photos. .
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British Legion/Royal British Legion , Poppy/Remembrance/Commemorative. Poppy and British Legion Wanted Last edited by mike_vee; 27-10-21 at 01:05 PM. |
#88
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Excellent early issue badges, Mike. Well done!
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#89
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Thanks , now I need to find an early issue Gaunt WS badge (earliest I have is numbered 10,168 - 1923/1924) and Gaunt marked miniatures .
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British Legion/Royal British Legion , Poppy/Remembrance/Commemorative. Poppy and British Legion Wanted Last edited by mike_vee; 06-11-21 at 10:14 AM. Reason: spelling |
#90
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Honorary Member (Service)
Having got hold of early/low number Honorary badges I decided to do a bit more digging into the Honorary 'awards'.
Honorary Membership This was initally introduced primarily for civilians who the Branches thought 'worthy' and was mainly given to people "who felt strongly about the cause and volunteered their services to assist those who at fought in The Great War." At first Honorary members were not required to pay fees but as numbers increased (limited to 10% of members) British Legion branches/clubs started charging 'subscriptions' , an example from 1935 : Members 2/6d (12.5p) Honorary members 10/6 (52.5p) World War 2 With membership numbers dropping it was decided to try and recruit "serving personell". Quote:
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After 1973 non serving Honorary Members became Associate and Honorary Membership became the sole province of serving members of HM Forces only , but in 1981 this all changed when they were admitted to Ordinary Membership. Today : Quote:
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British Legion/Royal British Legion , Poppy/Remembrance/Commemorative. Poppy and British Legion Wanted |
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