British & Commonwealth Military Badge Forum

Recent Books by Forum Members

   

Go Back   British & Commonwealth Military Badge Forum > South African Military and Police Insignia > Air Force

 Other Pages: Galleries, Links etc.
Glossary  Books by Forum Members     Canadian Pre 1914    CEF    CEF Badge Inscriptions   Canadian post 1920     Canadian post 1953     British Cavalry Badges     Makers' Marks    Pipers' Badges  Canadian Cloth Titles  Books  SEARCH
 
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 22-06-23, 06:45 AM
David191 David191 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 65
Default WW2 SAAF cap badge with a difference?

I picked up this lovely SAAF cap badge recently.
I have many SAAF cap badges in my collection but this one is the best quality example I have handled so far. This example is very well made with a lot of the original finish still remaining. It is heavier than other SAAF cap badges I have encountered & there is more voiding to the bottom of the badge than is more commonly seen. My first thought when first seeing the original finish on the badge was that this badge was British made & by the firm - JR Gaunt, but that is an absolute guess (reminded me very much of a RAF Dental Branch badge pair I have, & which is actually marked to JR Gaunt) & this badge is unmarked.
The first three photos are of the badge & the fourth photo is of your standard SAAF cap badge for comparison.

Best regards,
David
Attached Images
File Type: jpg WW2 SAAF cap badge - quality 1.jpg (118.6 KB, 37 views)
File Type: jpg WW2 SAAF cap badge - quality 2.jpg (120.8 KB, 26 views)
File Type: jpg WW2 SAAF cap badge - quality 3.jpg (74.7 KB, 11 views)
File Type: jpg Standard WW2 SAAF cap badge.jpg (57.0 KB, 21 views)
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 22-06-23, 07:51 AM
mike_vee's Avatar
mike_vee mike_vee is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Uxbridge
Posts: 4,894
Default

Similar badge :

https://www.arcticmedals.com/catalog...7/10483064.htm


.
__________________
British Legion/Royal British Legion , Poppy/Remembrance/Commemorative.

Poppy and British Legion Wanted
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 22-06-23, 08:02 AM
Milmed's Avatar
Milmed Milmed is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: South Africa
Posts: 1,702
Default

Nice early officers badge c.1925/26. Pattern worn through to 1959 but later versions were not of this quality
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 22-06-23, 09:31 AM
Alex Rice Alex Rice is online now
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 4,738
Default

I don't think these were as early as 1925/26 as they were still using ZALM in the title then as far as I know. Probably pre-WWII and the when the mass production of badges for hostilities dropped standards. The are a lot of variations of SAAF cap badges but this is the nicest.
Cheers,
Alex
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 22-06-23, 02:54 PM
Milmed's Avatar
Milmed Milmed is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: South Africa
Posts: 1,702
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Rice View Post
I don't think these were as early as 1925/26 as they were still using ZALM in the title then as far as I know. Probably pre-WWII and the when the mass production of badges for hostilities dropped standards. The are a lot of variations of SAAF cap badges but this is the nicest.
Cheers,
Alex
Hi Alex,
Yes the cross over from Z to S is still under debate. Some say as early as 1923. I used 25/26 as a date as I know in 1912 when UDF formed they used a Z and with the reform of UDF in 1922 they were still using a Z. I have a portion of the 1924 Dress Regs and here the units are all spelled with a S, so assumed badges were starting to come from manufacturers with an S soon after that.

Of course if you were issued originally with a Z badge you continued to wear that and I have even seen evidence of Z badges been worn during WWII.
Any new recruits would have received an S badge as soon as stocks were available.

It would be nice to find info from the actual manufacturers as to when new dies were produced with the S or when the UDF placed orders for the changeover. I am convinced the information is out there somewhere.

Regards
Steven
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 22-06-23, 11:41 PM
David191 David191 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 65
Default

Thank you for all your replies gentlemen. Very interesting to see another example & to read further on the badge's potential date & design.

Best regards,
David
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 16-07-23, 08:11 AM
Madziro Madziro is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Basingstoke UK
Posts: 529
Default

A few variants for comparison.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg SAAF - ZALM cap badge KC.jpg (60.2 KB, 5 views)
File Type: jpg SAAF cap badge KC black.jpg (61.6 KB, 2 views)
File Type: jpg SAAF cap badge KC copper.jpg (55.7 KB, 5 views)
File Type: jpg SAAF cap badge KC gilt.jpg (75.2 KB, 3 views)
File Type: jpg WAAF cap badge KC.jpg (70.8 KB, 2 views)
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

mhs link

All times are GMT. The time now is 02:38 PM.


Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.