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IW Badges

PaddingtonBear

By PaddingtonBear
in History & Heritage

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Paul H Rising Star

Paul H

Posted
Posted

One came up on ebay a couple of years ago and went for around £60 if I recall - way above my budget. But they are very rare. I don't think that many were produced - not all the trainees received one - and they were made of plastic. I could email you a picture if you'd like.

 

If there's not one at Stoke Bruerne I'm sure Mike Constable will know where there is one.

 

Capricorn was a women's training boat. Not had any volunteers yet though!

 

Paul

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Paul H Rising Star

Paul H

Posted
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I'll email you a pic Jim. I expect you'll have to make one - another apparantly went for £120 several years ago. There was fierce bidding on the ebay one - all from collectors of military badges.

 

Paul

 

Ps could you make a spare?

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BuckbyLocks Community Regular

BuckbyLocksDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

There is indeed an imperfect example in the Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne - the pin has been broken off. As Paul says they are rather like hens teeth as not many seem to have been made, they are plastic and very fragile and not all of the Trainees seem to have been issued with them. Most of the ladies I have spoken to had a GUCCC National Service Badge instead.

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

Posted
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The one referred to here seems to have made £76 at auction

 

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Googling seems to yield a fair amount about ones that have changed hands in the past.

 

A badge shown on here though, is something similar, but instead for "Grand Union (S & W) Co Ltd", and a different colour.

 

So what is Grand Union (S&W) ?

This shows the detail on the back of that badge, including its individual number.

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BuckbyLocks Community Regular

BuckbyLocksDonate to Canal World

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The G.U.C.Co, G.U.C.C.Co and G.U.(S&W) Co badges were produced for the company in April 1941 by Fattorini in Birmingham, although the number produced is not known. Nor (as yet) do I have any information on whether they were issued sequentially. Because they were produced long before the Training Scheme got underway, (and not all the Trainees were women) they all had button hole fastenings, unlike the Railway ones which had pins for their female employees. They were, of course, canal specific, (sorry Willow) although at least the BCN had a similar version. (See Stan Holland's book on Coins and Tokens.)

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RLWP Veteran II

RLWP

Posted
Posted (edited)

Any pone know what the diameter of the IW badge is? Might look into making some possibly from metal and resin or possibly just laser cut metal.

 

You could ask Fattorini if they made them in the first place

 

Richard

Edited by RLWP
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Guest

Guest

Posted
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You could ask Fattorini if they made them in the first place

 

Richard

Going OT for a sec.

 

Interesting they used to make the badges that you were awarded when you qualified as a nurse. You got an name and numbered SRN one from the GNC (as was) and one from your training hospital.

 

I recognised the name straight away.

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BuckbyLocks Community Regular

BuckbyLocksDonate to Canal World

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In reply to Buckby Locks, they made a womans' GUCCCo "On National Service" badge with a pin as well as the buttonhole variety

Please tell me more? None of the Trainees that I have spoken to had a pin and they certainly didn't make any in the April 41 batch. The plastic IW badges are unmarked so no idea who made them. Fattorini were one of the biggest and best known of the badge makers, along with Firmin and Gomm. They also made the FA Cup, (although not in Birmingham.)

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Derek R. Veteran

Derek R.

Posted
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Most cap badges would have had two loops - horizontally or vertically placed to protrude through holes in say a Beret with a split pin inserted inside the Beret, most forces cap badges were fixed so. Lapel badges were often made from a folded and pre-cut brass backing shaped in a crescent which could be wound through a button hole in the lapel or wherever else - just like my old PSV badges.

 

At a guess I would say one and a half inches in diameter. The plastic type almost certainly would have a type of safety pin arrangement - cheaper to make - and easier to break!

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BuckbyLocks Community Regular

BuckbyLocksDonate to Canal World

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Buckby Locks: We are talking about the badge of the type illustrated in Alan Finchers post #10? I have one of these Fattorini badges (464) with a pin

Good to know that. From the number I would guess they made a second batch - will try to find out. Last night I found a picture of Sister Mary at Stoke Bruerne wearing what appears to be a pin version, but I had not come across one before.

 

Derek, they are not cap badges - definitely button hole originally but it seems there were some pin ones made later. I haven't got a record of the diameter of the IW ones, but they are only just over 1", and much the same size as the GUCC metal ones. I have seen a picture of one still with the pin, but the only one I have handled has lost it.

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