Jump to content
News Ticker
  • I am now accepting the following payment methods: Card Payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal
  • Latest News

    Silver War Badge.


    Recommended Posts

    WW1 British Silver War badge also called the Wound Badge.

    The Silver War Badge

    The Silver War Badge (SWB), sometimes erroneously called the Silver Wound Badge, was authorised in September 1916 and takes the form of a circular badge with the legend "For King and Empire-Services Rendered" surrounding the George V cypher. The badge was awarded to all of those military personnel who were discharged as a result of sickness or wounds contracted or received during the war, either at home or overseas.

    Above text courtesy of The National Archives.

    [attachmentid=62724]

    [attachmentid=62725]

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    The earlier badges have a horizontal pin like the one shown above and the later types have a vertical pin.Also the earlier ones only have a number while the later badges will be prefixed by a letter..B for Army,RN for Royal Navy,RAF for airforce,SA for South Africa,C for Canada..there are a few more but those are the only ones I've seen,if anyone has seen any different letter prefixes then please post.

    Here is the later type with vertical pin and letter prefix,this one C for Canada.

    [attachmentid=62745]

    [attachmentid=62746]

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    • 2 months later...
    • 4 months later...

    Each recipient of the SWB also received a Certificate, which showed the numbered badge to which he was entitled. The myth behind the SWB is that it was issued for "wounds", which it wasn't, it's issue was for "Services Rendered" as stated on the certificate and that included issue to men who had been discharged for medical reasons and who had never served overseas, as in the case of the above 24/486 Pte John Morrison, 24th Bn, Northumberland Fusiliers(1st Tyneside Irish), who enlisted on the 10th October 1914 and was discharged on the 1st December 1914 under Kings Regulations Para 392(xvi), being "no longer physically fit for war service". At the age of 37years he was declared to have "Dropsy".

    Graham.

    Edited by Graham Stewart
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    A slightly different SWB Certificate this time issued to Pte Felix Thomas Jones a former 6foot 2inch trooper of the 1st Life Guards who was discharged in 1897. He re-enlisted into the 6th Bn, R.Warwickshire Regt(T.F.) on the 26th April 1915 and then transferred to the Royal Defence Corps on its formation. He was eventually discharged on the 31st May 1918 from the R.D.C..

    Graham.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now
    ×
    ×
    • Create New...

    Important Information

    We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.