The Badges of The Suffolk Regiment
The Badges of the Suffolk Regiment have the Castle and Key of Gibraltar which was given for services in the siege of Gibraltar.
The first badge is a Glengarry Badges of the 12th of Foot - which later became the Suffolk Regiment.
Below is the Shako Helmet Plate worn between 1861 and 1869
Next is the Shako Helmet Plate worn between 1869 and 1878
Next is a Victorian Suffolk Regiment badge - pre World War 1
It is technically a Foreign Service Badge. 1809 to 1901.
It consists of an oak - wreath surmounted by a Victorian crown, at the base of the wreath a scroll inscribed " The Suffolk Regiment ". Within the wreath a circlet inscribed " Montis Insignia Calpe " at the base of the circlet are two oak sprays. Within the circlet the Castle and Key surmounted with a scroll inscribed " Gibraltar ".
Above is another Victorian badge - it is characteristically a bi-metal badge.
Below is a badge with the Imperial Crown (Or King's Crown)
This is probably an Officers badge as it is of higher quality and seems to be gold and silver plated.
The badge below is a 1916 WW1 economy pattern.
The badge below is also supposed to be an Officer's silver cap badge.
This is a WW1 period Officer's Service Dress Cap Badge
The badge below is a very strange affair - it has the Queen's Crown which puts it into Elizabeth II's reign but as far as I am aware the Suffolks were never issued with these badges due to the amalgamation.
The badge of the Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Regiment.
The Suffolk Regiment is now fully amalgamated into the Royal Anglian Regiment although most of the recruits from the Suffolk area tend to go into the 1st Battalion which is known as The Vikings
One thing which continues to amuse me is the various depictions of the castle on these badges - it is never the same - even during the same period of time the badges from different manufacturers have different images of the keep of the castle.
