Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Black Plastic Beret Badge.

[leigh kitchen]

Does anyone know if these things are still in use?
Came in about 1978, worse quality than the WWII plastic economies & even worse fittings in that they're as flimsy but glued to the plastic rather than embedded in it or threaded through a moulded bracket.
Not an attractive badge, but needed for a run of badges to the unit regiment....

Looks like it was cast from an anodised badge as the device on the ball of the grenade is turned a fraction in an anti clockwise direction & is sited slightly to the left as viewed - the anodised badges usually have these mounted devices slightly off centre & a little "mobile".

[leigh kitchen]

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[Jim Maclean]

Just got back in having procured some Hoegaardens, which are in the fridge chilling. May well not wait until evening, I'm sure the is well over the yardarm somewhere in what used to be our glorious empire. The Republic of Kernow is safe for another day!

In answer to your question though I don't think so. I think C.E. Audax (Celer et?) in his book Badge backings etc, says the design was very unpopular due due to the inherent weakness at the point between the flames and grenade. Give me a few mins and I'll see if I can find the blurb.

[leigh kitchen]

Yep, it's a problem with all struck flamed grenade badges whether metal, anodised or by the look of the thng plastic. The obvious answer would have been to issue a backing plate as well with all of them, rather than rely on squaddies to adapt boot polish tin lids & the like if they could be bothered.

A very foreseeable problem with this plastic thing. I always think it's a sad sign of the times when the military issue things that are blatantly unsoldier proof, even if the issue is a unit rather than official one.
Nice taste in beer - tesco have the CRu or Grand version or whatever it's called - always gives me amnesia.
You have mail, by the way (well PM) re CD.

[Jim Maclean]

Thanks very much for that, I've replied.

Seems I was a bit off the mark about the badge but the following from his book may help.

Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
Formed on the 23rd April1968 as a large regiment a plastic cap badge was worn by 2RRF during one tour in Ulster. It was not a success, as the press stud fixing was not very robust. Perhaps this accounts for it's scarcity and they have been seen quoted in dealers lists at £15! A more recent version has an improved prong together with a slot for the stem of the hackle.

Source: Major P R Bateman.

End of quote.

Seems to me like you may have another earlier variant to hunt down.

[leigh kitchen]

Ah, I knew about the pin being no good & the fitting being altered from a mate at the Depot in '79, did'nt know they'd made one with a fitting for the hackle though.

If they'd made a longer hackle fitting on the anodised version instead of the loop type fitting they put behind the neck then the things would'nt keep breaking.

[SHEARING-CROSS]

Hiya ,just a quick `n been out bird watching with my daughter and as it was so hot ended up in a pub ...like ya do ,
some where in a past thread we touched on this, i think a few ` forward thinking ` regts had these made up for tours of N Ireland but they were very poor quality and broke quite easily , Michael.

[max7474]

Does anyone know if these things are still in use?
Came in about 1978, worse quality than the WWII plastic economies & even worse fittings in that they're as flimsy but glued to the plastic rather than embedded in it or threaded through a moulded bracket.
Not an attractive badge, but needed for a run of badges to the unit regiment....

Looks like it was cast from an anodised badge as the device on the ball of the grenade is turned a fraction in an anti clockwise direction & is sited slightly to the left as viewed - the anodised badges usually have these mounted devices slightly off centre & a little "mobile".

I have asked a serving Fusilier and he says absolutley not. The lads paint staybright ones black if required.

[leigh kitchen]

And still scraping the black paint off with a pin when their "gold" one gets nicked or broken?

[leigh kitchen]

I'm told that this is a 3rd type version of this plastic badge.

The first type had a plastic fitting with a brass washer retainer, the second a brass clutch pin & this carefully thought out & beautiffully crafted bit of tat is the third.

So, 3 different inadequate fittings for an ill conceived, fragile & short lived badge by the look of it.

[leigh kitchen]

Ammend my last - this is apparently the 2nd type fitting, the aluminium strip is the 3rd type fitting.

[leigh kitchen]

And this is the first type fitting. Who on earth thought that these tatty & unsoldier proof badges were worth producing?

[Jim Maclean]

Truly awful, were they made in Hong kong or made in a hurry? Might last all day if you're lucky.


I remember when the beret came into 'popular' use in the R.N. in the mid 70s, the badges were so chicken$hit we used the real badges. Some enterprising naval tailors also made smaller embroidered badges, wish I had some of those!
I don't actually have a CPO's beret badge though I must have been issued one at some time. My only question would be 'How the flying **** do you attach this to a beret.
As an aside, we did not at that time have to wear the beret, indeed most of us stuck with the cap. I stitched a WW2 economy Chiefs cap badge, that was given to me by my Grandfather, on the day I was rated Chief, strangely no one ever questioned it. It did of course have a prominent King's crown.


I suppose all is legitimate collectable stuff

[leigh kitchen]

Poseur.

It's touches like that make uniform less uniform, a nice little bit of individuality.
John Gaylor mentions that he was wearing a King's Crown badge in 1966.

I was always impressed by the Navy's way of wearing a beret - the Chinese crew of Galahad & Launcelot on the Liverpool - Belfast runs used to wear the things pulled down to their ears & with no badge - the Frank Spencer look. Very unbecoming but practical in high winds I suppose - unlike the RRF beret & feather hackle.

RN beret badges are those brass double slider crown over mudhook in seaweed things are'nt they?

This RRF plastic badge managed to go through a few "improvements" for what appears to have been a short service life.

Some of the cloth beret badges used by other units were atrocious too - that Cheshires embroiderd felt job that ended up being used as a track suit badge to show completion of a ski-ing course for example.

[Jim Maclean]

I think most just stood under them.

You're right about the badge, I don't think anyone cracked the code on how to attach them. Still the same now I believe. Apt description.

I was always impressed by the Navy's way of wearing a beret - the Chinese crew of Galahad & Launcelot on the Liverpool - Belfast runs used to wear the things pulled down to their ears & with no badge - the Frank Spencer look. Very unbecoming but practical in high winds I suppose - unlike the RRF beret & feather hackle.

RN beret badges are those brass double slider crown over mudhook in seaweed things are'nt they?