1881/1901 ROYAL WARWICKS BADGE

[Mervyn Mitton]

ROYAL WARWICKSHIRE REGIMENT - Officers' fire-gilt helmet Plate for the blue helmet. We can date it fairly accurately to between 1881 and 1901. The Cardew reforms of 1881 took numbering away from Regts. and Queen Victoria died in 1901. This would mean that this badge could have been worn in both the Egyptian Campaigns(1882-7) - and the 2nd. Boer War(1899-1902) - I think the Regt. was involved in both (?)

I am hoping that this picture will lead to a new thread on this famous County regiment - I wonder if Leigh has any of those great postcards ?

[leigh kitchen]

Nice helmet plate.

The Warwicks were an "Irish Regiment", formed for service in the Low Countries & taken onto the English establishment in 1674 during the Duke of Monmouth's rebellion.

They traced their origins to a regiment raised by Sir Walter Vane in 1667, although that regiment was disbanded prior to being formed again for service in the Dutch Wars.

Numbered as the 6th Foot, its title was changed in 1782 to the 6th (1st Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot & in 1832 to 6th (Royal 1st Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot, in 1881 the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.

In 1948, the Warwickshires became part of the Midland Brigade, along with The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment, The Royal Leicestershire Regiment, & The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment)

In 1958, the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was transferred to the East Anglian Brigade and the Midland Brigade was renamed as the Forester Brigade.

In 1958 all regiments in the Forester Brigade adopted a common cap badge which bore elemsnts of the insignia of its three regiments.

This badges was a Maltese Cross bearing an antelope & royal garter, oak leaf wreath, tiger, & name scroll.

In 1963, The Royal Warwickshire Regiment was transferred to the Fusilier Brigade, & in 1964 The Royal Leicestershire Regiment to the East Anglian Brigade & The Sherwood Foresters to the Mercian Brigade, & the Forester Brigade was disbanded.

The Warwickshires were retitled The Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers, a change of title purely for administrative reasons, as it was now part of the Fusilier Brigade.

As a Fusilier regiment, it wore the already existing cap badge of the Fusilier Brigade but with a newly created hackle - Dutch Blue over Old Gold, ie dark blue & orange.

The Fusiler Brigade cap badge was designed from elements of the badges of the three regiments which originally formed it. The now four regiments also wore the same design as a collar badge (some Brigades retained regimental collar badges & buttons, the Fusiler Brigade did'nt) & collar badge.

The regiments of the Fusilier Brigade wore a common button, again bearing elements from the insignia of the three original regiments - this was now changed to the antelope within royal garter design of the Warwickshire Regiment as a means of showing the Warwickshires insignia somewhere n that of the Brigade insignia.

In 1968, the regiments of the Fusilier BRigade were amalgameted to become The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, the Warwicks becoming the 2nd Battalion of the new regiment.

The cap, collar badges & buttons remained the same, but all battalions of the new regiment wore the red over whte hackel of the old Royal Northumberland Fusilers.

Drum - Major, The 6th (1st Warwickshire) Regiment Of Foot Circa 1800 - a Charles Stadden illustration, published by Stamp Publicity (Worthing) Ltd.

[leigh kitchen]

Royal Warwickshire Regiment Officer's Service Dress cap badge, 1908 - c1958, a nice feature of this particular badge is that the chain of "the ducally gorged" antelope is articulated, a little free swinging chain, as opposed to some which are fixed twists of coiled wire.

[leigh kitchen]

Officer's Service Dress cap / collar badge wth the chain represented by twisted wire:

[leigh kitchen]

Other ranks standard gilding metal & white metal cap badges - some minor variations between strkings or manufacturers:

[leigh kitchen]

Oficer's full dress silver mounted on gilt cap button:

[leigh kitchen]

The cap badge worn by The Royal Warwickshire Regiment when they formed part of The Midland / Forester Brigade & the cap badge & hackle worn when they became The Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers & were part of The Fusilier Brigade (the cap badge continuing in wear by the new Royal Regiment of Fusiliers into which The Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers were amalgamated as The 2nd Battalion in 1968).

[Stuart Bates]

Mervyn,

it is unlikely that the regiment would have had the badge in 1882 as it took a while for the new patterns to filter through. Anyway it was very uncommon for the helmet plate to be worn on the Foreign Service Helmet but nothing is impossible.

The 1st battalion Warwicks were in England 1881-85 and the 2nd Battalion in India 1881-96.

It would not have been worn during the 2nd Boer War. And I think you mean the Cardwell Reforms

Leigh,

some lovely pugaree slider cap badges you have there.

Stuart

[leigh kitchen]

Yes, but I think that's just a coincidence - the antelope badge is not very tall, so you have a "long" slider because the badge is short - I have seen photos of the cap badge being worn centre front of the pugaree, not sure where, could be my photo or a book or magazine illustraton.

Edited October 27, 2009 by leigh kitchen

[Stuart Bates]

Centre front was where the slider puggaree badge was supposed to be worn. In the V of the puggaree.

Stuart

Edited October 27, 2009 by Stuart Bates

[leigh kitchen]

Yep, the point I'm making is that R. Warwicks badges had a long slider in proportion to the badge anyway - a fortunate coincidence when it came to wear on the pugaree.

Edited October 27, 2009 by leigh kitchen

[leigh kitchen]

Corps of Drums of The 2nd Bn Royal Warwicks, Inkerman Barracks, Woking, Surrey.

Originaly built in 1859 as a prison for invalid convicts, converted to barracks to house two battalions of infantry in 1892 & renamed "Inkerman Barracks" after the Battle of Inkerman, Crimean War.

I don't know when 2nd Bn R Warwicks were based at the barracks, but judging by the smart Service Dress, collar badges etc, but lack of medal ribbons I'm guessing 1930's?

The black buck mascot continues as the mascot of The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

Note the two handlers - one handler can't control it -when that bass drum starts beating, the black buck takes off, leaping in all directions like a grass hopper.

Edited October 27, 2009 by leigh kitchen

[Mervyn Mitton]

Leigh- as Stuart says, the insignia are really good - you must have rooms with all these lovely badges ?

Stuart - when I put the entry on, I had a feeling that I had got the name wrong - just forgot to check - thank goodness someone keeps an eye on these details.

[leigh kitchen]

I'm working on the room, have been for about a year, it's slowly getting there, the main problem being books, I've got rid of loads but still a lot left, when I can move a bit more freely then I'll put up 1/2 dozen display cabnets, lighting, get frames of badges, medals, photos on the walls, kove the computer in........wine cooler,beer chiller.......no need ever to leave it.

[Stuart Bates]

Looking at those sliders again I was astonished at the number of variations. This might seem like a silly question but I take it that there was no sealed pattern?

I only glean stuff about such things through the forum. Maybe I should read the Introductions to some of my badge books

You are not throwing out good reference books are you, Leigh?

Edited October 27, 2009 by Stuart Bates

[leigh kitchen]

The R Warwicks cap badge was sealed on 28/7/1896, I don't know anything about sealed pugaree badges - if the badge was merely a long slidered version of the cap badge, then presumably it was'nt sealed?

The five cap badges in post no. 5 are all slightly different, just very minor manufacturers variations,

The books I need shot of vary, none on insignia I think, & mainly 1970's 80's publications.

[Stuart Bates]

My understanding is that some badges perforated the helmet shell and others slid between the shell and the puggaree. I have no idea why one was chosen over the other.

From the examples you posted even to the untrained eye the differences are quite marked.

[leigh kitchen]

The cap badge of "1st Birmingham Pals" (14th (Service) Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment), the badges of 2nd Birmingham Pals (15th (Service) Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment) & 3rd Birmingham Pals (16th (Service) Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment) were identical other than the "1st, 2nd, 3rd" on the badge.

Raised in September 1914 in Birmingham, all three Pals Battalions went to France in November 1915 & were initially part of 95th Bde, 32 Div.

Although a good quality badge & "OK'd" by a number of badge collectors, I've always been suspicious of this particular badge, wondering if it's a fake.

[Stuart Bates]

I am no expert on anything, but I would say that this badge looks like a barrel on legs.

Compared to the others that you have posted I would say a fake!

Stuart

[Stuart Bates]

I forgot to add that the others have a pennant flourish to the scrolls.

[leigh kitchen]

The scroll design's ok in terms of the forked ends, the actual design of the antelope etc should be ok, there are barrel bodied beasts, orignal dies get used for these kind of things, the question usually is when were the components actually struck on original dies, perhsps by the original manufacturer....

There's a whole new collecting field opening up for you here Stuart - badges, which means you'll be looking to sell off all those old helmets to fund your new hobby?

[Stuart Bates]

Nice try Leigh, but helmets (with or without badges) is what I do best.

Stuart

[leigh kitchen]

Bandsman, Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers, 1963.

From a Charles C Stadden print of about 1968 - 1972 - "The Fusiliers", which shows a central figure of The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers with a fguire representing each of its four component regiments.

Also shown is the St Edwards Crown version of the button of the Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers (previously the button of The Royal Warwickshire Regiment), now the button of The Royal Regiment of Fusilers.