Material: Gilding metal
Size: 47mm w × 8mm h
Description: This is a die-struck brass shoulder title badge reading "THE BUFFS," which was worn by enlisted soldiers and non-commissioned officers of the Royal East Kent Regiment. The title features an openwork design with all-capital block letters arranged along a distinct downward-curving crescent bar, specifically contoured to rest cleanly at the base of a uniform’s shoulder epaulet strap. The reverse features dual vertical wire loops, known as lugs, which protrude through the fabric of the tunic to accept split cotter pins, or in this case metal keyrings to lock the insignia securely in place without tearing the cloth. This piece exhibits a deeply aged mustard-yellow brass patina with minor surface scratches and localized oxidation inside the cutout recesses of the lettering, indicative of genuine battlefield or barracks use.
Circa: Late 19th to early 20th Century
Notes:
Classic early shoulder title of The Buffs (East Kent Regiment), one of the oldest line regiments in the British Army, tracing origins to 1572. This pattern was worn from 1898 - 1902 and may of seen action in the Boar wars in South Africa. Today, a dedicated memorial sits in Dane John Gardens in Canterbury, England, honoring the soldiers from The Buffs and Imperial Yeomanry of East Kent who died in the Anglo-Boer War.