The Old and the Bold

Collar Badges

There are always exceptions to the rule but primarily, in infantry regiments during the Great War, collar badges were worn only by Officer and Warrant Officer Class 1 ranks, collar badges for other ranks being a post-war addition to the uniform. Having studied the available photographic images it would appear that the Officers and Warrant Officer Class 1s of the 25th Battalion Royal Fusiliers wore at least three versions of collar badge although I’m not sure whether there was an order in which they appeared.

The first style of collar badge illustrated would appear to have been a smaller version of the cap badge. It consisted of a fused grenade with the number 25 on the ball. Below this was a tri-part scroll joined to the ball of the grenade in two places and with the ends reaching the flames of the grenade, unlike the cap badges the ends of the scroll flared inwards back towards the flame. There is an image available which suggests that this collar badge may also have been worn as a cap badge and which therefore possibly dates it to before the battalion proceeded overseas in April 1915.

Bibliography:

Westlake, R., Kitchener’s Army (Spellmount, 1998)

Acknowledgements:

Claire Avery

Jeff Henley

Stephen White

Judging by the comparative size of the cap and collar badges in the image below left it would appear that the second type of collar badge illustrated was an instance where the cap badge also doubled up as the collar badges.

Image Courtesy Stephen White

Image Courtesy Claire Avery

Image from Kitchener’s Army, R. Westlake

Image Courtesy Claire Avery

Image Courtesy Jeff Henley

The third type of collar badge (right) worn by members of the battalion is, I believe, the standard Royal Fusiliers issue badge and has none of the additions, tri-part scroll, battalion number etc. adopted by the battalion on the cap badge and the other collar badge variants.