Grenadier Guards

[mark franke]

Guys
this is an ebay item. IBrass GG.jpg've just never seen it in period photos for WWI. Is this for full dress only. Hard to believe it was worn in the trenches.?
Thanks
Mark Franke

interests
GG Guards
18th Hussars
London Territorials 12th & 13th

[paul w]

Shoulder titles

Hello Mark,the badges you've posted are shoulder titles and were worn on the epaulettes,most if not all of the British regiments in WW1 wore their own regimental titles on the service dress tunic.Not to teach you to suck eggs but only the grenade and 'GG' would be showing,the brass plate went under the epp. All the best,

Paul

[Jim Maclean]

Worn pre 1920. Looking in Wilkinson's book the grenades look to be fusiliers. In the book the GG grenades are taller. May just be the photography though.

[leigh kitchen]

I can't remember when these went out of use, 1908? The 1920's?
Replaced by the the crowned garter & cypher design.

At various times this grenade was used as a "general pattern" collar badge & part of the shoulder title by fusilier regiments & by the Royal Artillery, also as part of rank & appointment insignia.

The leter "G" was used as part of the shoulder titles of the Coldstream, Scots & Irish Guards & also mounted on cloth patches as part of the battle patch system of insignia in the WWI Guards Division.

You see thousands of the grenades & "G" around but it's not so often you see them complete with the backing plates.

[Ciaran Byrne]

Weren't the Grenadier Guard's grenades slightly different, the flame was not as "straight" as the ones pictured? I may be thinking of a later pattern but I was sure that there was a slight "wave" to the GG's grenade when compred to fusilier's grenade.

[leigh kitchen]

Don't think so, cap badges yes, variations a plenty even between different strikings of the Grenadiers badge, but these little "General Purpose" grenades are much of a muchness.

[Ciaran Byrne]

Don't think so, cap badges yes, variations a plenty even between different strikings of the Grenadiers badge, but these little "General Purpose" grenades are much of a muchness.

Ah, that would make sense... I have several cap badges of the Grenadier Guards with some variations.

[leigh kitchen]

Yes, the Grenadiers cap badges turn up with varying numbers of flame tips, the most common seems to be the 17 point, very full looking flame burst & the style used for the more recent badges in blackened brass & anodized, also in brass / gilding metal. There's one with 14 o 15 flames which appears in illustrations on postcards of the Canadian Grenadiers & which I've seen for sale described as such.

I posted this about GG badges a while ago, it's basic but I think that there's more stuff on the forum re the Grenadiers badges