O, Canada! (116 Overseas Battalion)

[stogieman]

The Ricky Twins journeyed far to the north into Southern Canada (aka Noo Hamsha) today, and my Evil Twin found this, described as "British WW2."

He seems to think it is WW1, obviously CANADIAN (doh!) and a collar badge (31mm x 31mm)

Is this WW1, and where was the 116th Battalion from, please?

[stogieman]

reverse

[Adam H]

Hello Rick,

This is indeed a WWI Canadian collar badge.

The 116th was raised in Ontario with HQ at Uxbridge. The 116th replaced the 60th Battalion (Victoria Rifles) at the front on 11 Feb 1917, serving with the 9th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division.

I can provide a few more details but not really sure how much info you're after...just let me know.

Hope that helps a bit.

Cheers,

Adam

[Rick Research]

Thanks very much! About all I remember is "maple leaf battalion numbers = WW1"

Now I need to find a MATCHING one to make a pair... or maybe I'll just collect singles of all... 116?

[Doug Kenwright]

Thanks very much! About all I remember is "maple leaf battalion numbers = WW1"

Now I need to find a MATCHING one to make a pair... or maybe I'll just collect singles of all... 116?

i think i have seen them into the 200's...

[RoyA]

260 Infantry Battalions...and then there's the Corps badges

[Darrell]

Just another Southern Alberta Hat Badge

[Adam H]

Yes indeed 260 Infantry battalions, plus several independant infantry companies...then there are all the cavalry units, mounted rifle battalions, and numerous corps units from exceedingly large to only a handful of men.

The world of CEF badge collecting is so immense that most collectors soon learn that they have to speciaize as having "one of everything" is virtually an impossible task. Bear in mind that for each unit there are often two, and sometimes more variations of the same badge, plus officers' issues, etc, etc.

It's a fascinating area mind you and has become rather popular in recent years. Most of the common badges are still quite affordable. However, recently increasing numbers of copies have begun to appear on the market so exercise caution before shelling out big bucks for a rare badge.

Cheers,

Adam

[Rick Research]

Fakes? Sounds like a good subject for a new thread (hint hint).

Though I had no clue that the WEIRD cap badge shown in the thread "The Devil, You Say"

http://www.wehrmacht-awards.net/foru...ad.php?t=93173

that my Evil Twin posted for me was Canadian, it was such a strange one that I feared it was either a fake or a fantasy item.

Are MAPLE LEAVES being faked, or only the "exotics?"

So far, Canadian collecting seems not only diverse, with ample opportunity for happy future years of collecting, but also (IMHO ) seriously underpriced in today's run-away inflated prices.

Cheapos, eh?

Here in Southern Canada, I have long found (and now regret passing on to new homes) random bits and pieces of insignia from Neighbors To The North drawn to my sunnier climate. A quarter of the population must have kin in Quebec and the Maritimes, hereabouts, but strays from west of the Great Lakes sometimes show up too.

I shall be watching for many more of these down here, you betcha.

[Adam H]

Rick,

In the pre-internet days CEF badges were a very safe bet collecting-wise. The only stories of forgeries at that time were attributed to one "dealer" who had high-quality copies of some of the rarer issues made up. Supposedly they were marked in a way that revealed their modern manufacture, however, I do not know how true this is and am unsure of the particulars that would give these away. I don't believe they were made in great numbers, so probably nothing to be too concerned about.

Recently I have been noticing copies of CEF badges appearing on ebay. However, these tend to be crudely cast badges that lack the quality and detail of the originals. They are shoddily done for the most part and their poor finish and construction betray them as copies. Unfortunately most of these are being marketed with poor digital photos in the auctions so it is difficult to make comparisons, but I will try to hunt down some images for use in a thread that may help out some beginning collectors. There seem to be copies of many of the common and slightly scarce badges rather than the rarer examples (I suppose because they are difficult to locate to create copies from).

If you or anyone else is seriously considering starting a collection of CEF badges, you may want to arm yourselves with copies of some books on the subject. The Charlton guides (2 vols: Infantry and Corps badges) are a good overview of most of the documented varieties. There are prices listed but these are really only a guide, as with most reference works of this nature.

It really is an interesting subject...I don't collect badges, except those to my regiment, but know many that do and they seem quite happy with their collecting choice!

Let me know if I can be of further help!

Cheers,

Adam