Chris Boonzaier Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 Here are a selection of DRAGO made Regimental badges... does anyone have any other variations? Will post other makers soon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted April 27, 2021 Author Share Posted April 27, 2021 After the Indochina war the 2 REI was sent to North Africa. The previous Regimental badge had a Dragon on it, obviously more related to Indochiona and not having a lot to do with the Mounted Infantry role of the regt in the Sahara. The 2 REI badge does not have a Horse Shoe, it is a Mule shoe. New arrivals are informed of this difference when getting a brief history of the regiment... It is a badge with SEVEN holes. The new badge was created in 1957 by Colonel Goujon, regimental commander. This is the badge by "LR" a company founded in 1959 by an ex officer named Jean Lemaire. Apparently LR are the initials of his mothers maiden name. LR badges are relatively new, the detail is superb. The pebbling on the badge can even be seen at the bottoms of the Mule shoe! I am a bit on the fence with this, such fantastic detail... but obviously using technology that the Older badges did not.. Very 3 dimensional flames on the grenade... As a traditionalist who loves things created by an artisan, the LR may just be "too perfect"... J. Balme Saumur was the standard badge for sale at the regiment in the early 90s, a pity because it is not a nice badge at all.. the detail is bad, compare the detail to the LR above... At some stage there was a really strange variation, no pebbling and 6 holes! According to some sellers this "error" is highly sought after by collectors... but there seem to be more than enough to go around. I am guessing none of those made it to the regiment and were probably dumped directly into the surplus stores and militaria dealers. to try and get rid of them. Balmes can be found with needles or the loops for the split pin. The 6 hole ones have loops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted April 27, 2021 Author Share Posted April 27, 2021 The Pocket badges are nicknamed a "Pucelle", which is French for Virgin. noone agrees why they were given that name. Usually they are worn on a leather Fob. There are hundreds and hundreds of different fobs. Each badge has its own shape. Legion ones are green with red stitching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted April 28, 2021 Author Share Posted April 28, 2021 Two more not so nice ones... on the left Destree, on the right Pichard, which may just be the most "I can not be bolloxed" production you will ever find.... No wonder Pichard and Balme (above) joined companies ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted April 28, 2021 Author Share Posted April 28, 2021 The downfall of French Medal/Badge making..... Traditions firm DRAGO was bought by the Arthus Bertrand Group... The AB Group has factories in the far east... Pichard, who made the worst 2 REI badge joined with Balme... to form Pichard - Balme .... Then Pichard-Balme bought the Arthus Bertrand Group (including DRAGO.... so the superior Bertrand and Drago makers were swallowed up by a firm of lesser Quality makers... All can be seen on the bag holding these regt badge Cufflinks..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted April 29, 2021 Author Share Posted April 29, 2021 OK, I really like this maker... Andor, from Le Cannet... In the pic you see a really old school DRAGO badge (the one with the Golden Tint) ... veeeeery similar to Andor, although Andor goes an extra step and even the surface of the Mule shoe looks as if it has been hammered... the flames are flat and not so 3 dimensional as the later badges are... compare it to the old Drago which also has flat flames.... Drago and Andor were very close in design... the firm apparently existed from 1964-2007... Andor has regular pinbacks, and also real silver... with split pins... on the one you see the silver stamp in the middle, on the other you can see it below the loop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted April 30, 2021 Author Share Posted April 30, 2021 So whats going on with Arthus-Bertrand? One of the most traditional makers... who bought DRAGO, and were then swallowed by Pichard-Balme... you can see from the catch that these are pretty modern... the first one has flat flames and good detail, the one in the middle is a strange bird... produced for Editions Atlas, a dick move to make badges for a company who sells collectibles, so basically a "fake" although somewhere there a few guys wearing them as they are the same as the previous ones from the front... and the last one... the horseshoe and grenade has jumped from a DRAGO rip off to a Balme clone.... Bertrand has made badges for decades and made the regiments badges before WW2 already... I don't remember seeing any of their badges in this 2 REI model until these very new ones came out... The world would not be a poorer place if they had not joined in... although my collection would be 3 badges lighter... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubagne98 Posted April 30, 2021 Share Posted April 30, 2021 Sorry, I only have a pin in my collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted May 3, 2021 Author Share Posted May 3, 2021 What could have been... while some makers are getting their badges made in China.... AIXIA, a "boutique" or artisanal makes enjoyed a short run in the early 90s.... They made the El Moungar" and the X-Mas 1991 version of the badge, made the 3rd Company commemorative for operation Baumier... and a bunch of different badges for the Cavalry regiment for Cambodia... and then faded away. The product was expensive, mostly cast out of silver and hand finished, everyone a little different.... here is a numbered Officers one for presentation Noel 1991, as well as an El Moungar one numbered 001! and a 150 birthday of the regiment table medal, and the 3rd Company ones for Op Baumier... and a couple of test strikes for the Noel 1991 badge... unfortunately the company did not last long... and Balme and other companies with ugly, cheap badges, some made in China! cornered the badge market... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted May 4, 2021 Author Share Posted May 4, 2021 Some 3rd company, just for some variation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted June 7, 2021 Author Share Posted June 7, 2021 Very occasionally one of these will turn up... a regimental badge in gold... these are factory made gold. Abvanced French collectors surmise they may have been gifts for dignitaries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted June 11, 2021 Author Share Posted June 11, 2021 This is Pretty cool.... I just picked up a number of hand made wooden Legion wall insignia. They were made in Algeria during or just after the Indochina war when the regiments returned to North Africa. They are all very cool.. but of course the 2 Infantry Regiment is my favorite... and displays well with the Indochina badges.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted June 18, 2021 Author Share Posted June 18, 2021 A few more leather fobs.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted June 20, 2021 Author Share Posted June 20, 2021 On its return from Algeria in 1968 the regiment was disbanded, but then reformed in 1972, a table medal was created for the regiments resurrection... The Bronze Medal was a going away gift for Colonel Gilbert who was Regimental commander from 1974-1976 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted October 16, 2021 Author Share Posted October 16, 2021 Just got a Silver "Officers" badge from An officer who was Platoon then company commander, then chief of the Operations staff in 2 REI and later commander of the 1st Foreign legion regiment. Market Value maybe EUR40, with missing attach maybe EUR25? So no real financial value but worth waaay more to me because of the attribution... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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