IV'E affixed the R.N.D .
Sweetheart brooch in place
on my RNR Beret next to my,
Junior rates Badge to,
symbolise the joining of
the modern Reservists with,
my / forbears in ,
the R.N.D.
AS THE PAGE TITLE INFERS THIS PAGE IS ABOUT
"WHAT WERE, TERMED" "SWEETHEART BROOCHES"
GIVEN TO WIVES / GIRLFRIENDS / SWEETHEARTS,
THEY WERE MADE FROM A MYRIAD OF MATERIALS,
SUCH AS BASE METAL WITH GILDING AND ENAMELING ,
AT THE LOWER END , BUT MORE AFFORDABLE FOR MOST,
AND AT THE HIGHER END OF THE BROACHES,
MADE FROM HOLLOW SILVER WITH GOLD WASH/ PLATING
ACCENTS ON THE FLORA AND FAUNA AND ANCHORS,
TO THE SIMPLER GOLD PLATED ONES,
THERE WERE ONES TO SUIT MOST BUDGETS,
AS YOU WILL SEE IN THE EXAMPLES BELOW,
IVE ADDED AN IMAGE OF
A £2 COIN TO GIVE AN INDICATION OF THE SCALE, OF THE BROOCHES,
AS SEEN ON THE LEFT AND DIRECTLY BELOW THIS EXAMPLE IS OF THE BASE METAL GUILDED METAL /ENAMEL TYPE
NO VISIBLE MAKERS MARKS ,
THE FOLLOWING EXAMPLES SHOW THE SAME CHARACTERISTICS,
IN THEIR MAKE UP, IN ALL THE EXAMPLES SHOWN HERE IN AFTER ,THERE WILL BE FRONT ,
AND REVERSE IMAGES
THIS EXAMPLE ON THE LEFT AND BELOW,
IS A LTTLE UP MARKET.
ITS MADE FROM WHITE METAL,
WE CANT CALL IT SILVER AS THERE IS NO DISCERNABLE HALL MARKS,AND IT HAS A MOTHER OF PEARL BACKING PIECE.
THIS ONE ON THE LEFT AND BELOW IS A SIMPLE ,
GOLD PLATED ONE ,
BUT AS IT HAS ,
NO DISCERNABLE HALL MARKS,
WE HAVE TO CALL IT YELLOW METAL
THE BROOCHES ABOVE AND THE ONES BELOW WERE MADE BY,
SYDENHAM BROTHERS TENBY STREET BIRMINGHAM Also seen with serifed letters (1893): THE EMAMPLE ON THE RIGHT
George and Robert Sydenham formed a partnership with Claude Tebbitt which ended in 1875. When George died in 1910, he left an estate worth the then large sum of £14,729, an indication of the firm's prosperity. The firm, which had premises in Tenby Street, Birmingham, became a limited company in the same year. An advertisement in 1913 describes the firm as manufacturers of diamond and gem-set jewellery. It ceased trading in 1930.
NOW WE START GOING A BIT MORE UP MARKET,THIS EXAMPLE ON THE RIGHT ,
SHOW THIS IS A CLASS PIECE MADE FROM HOLLOW SILVER WITH GOLD PLATING ON THE DETAILING AND HALLMARKED - 1915-16
BIRMINGHAM ASSAY OFFICE AND THE LION PASSANT,
SHOWING ITS 9.25 SILVER
THE MAKERS WERE S.BROS BIRMINGHAM
THE ONE BELOW & TO THE RIGHT IS ALSO HOLLOW SILVER AND GOLD PLATED WAS ALSO MADE BY S, BROS IN 1915/16
The brooch on the right was manufactured by,
Ward brothers of birmingham,
the image below and too the right
is a better example of the hallmark,
as its obscured in the larger image
above it
THE "HOWE DIVISION "BROOCH IMAGES SEEN ABOVE AND TO THE,
RIGHT SHOW THE HALLMARKS FOR BIRMINGHAM AND THE LION.
PASSANT (.925 SILVER )AND THE DATE LETTER ( q ) 1915-1916,
AND THE MAKERS NAME , S.BROS IS RUBBED BUT JUST VISIBLE.
THE "HOOD DIVISION" BROACH BELOW SHOWS MOSTLY THE SAME, MARKS EXCEPT FOR THE DATE LETTER THIS TIME ITS AN (S)
FOR 1917/1918,
THE MAKERS NAME IS CLEARER ON THIS ONE ............................
FROM WHAT IVE SEEN S,BROS SEEMED TO BE QUITE PROLIFIC ,
IN THE MAKING OF SWEET HEART BROOCHES DURING THE GREAT WAR PERIOD, AS THESE EXAMPLES SHOW,
WHAT IS A BIT SAD IS THE ENAMELLED ONES HAVE NO MAKERS MARKS WHICH IS A REAL SHAME ,
AS THEIR WORK WILL LARGELY GO UNRECOGNISED ...............................
BELOW IS A "COLLINGWOOD DIVISION" SWEETHEART BROOCH,
SEEN HERE IN COMPANY WITH A SHOULDER TITLE AND A NUMBER 4 (4th BATTALION)
THE OTHER 3 IMAGES SHOW THAT THE HALLMARKS ARE THE SAME AS ON THE OTHER BROACHES,
EXCEPT THE DATE LETTER, THIS ONE BEING THE LETTER .P. FOR 1914-1915,
WHAT MAKES THIS BROOCH AND ACCOMPANYING SHOULDER TITLE AND BATTALION NUMBER
IS , THAT THE BATTALION WAS DISBANDED ON THE 8th OF JUNE 1915,
AFTER SUFFERING HEAVY LOSSESAfter the RND's MASSIVE LOSSES,
AT "THE 3RD BATTLE OF KRITHIA" 4th OF JUNE 1915,
DURING THE GALLIPOLI CAMPAIGN OF 25 APRIL 1915 AND LASTED TILL 9 JANUARY 1916.
THE IMAGE BELOW SHOWS SOME MEMBERS OF COLLINGWOOD DIVISION THAT WERE ,
INTERNED IN HOLLAND
THE IMAGE DIERCTLY ON THE RGHT SHOWS THE,
MAKERS MARK S.BROS IS SLIGHTLY OBSCURED,
BUT YOU CAN JUST MAKE IT OUT .
THE BADGE BELOW IS THE LATEST EDITION TO THE COLLECTION, THIS ONE AGAIN IS SILVER, AND HAS A MOTHER OF PEARL PIECE IN CIRCULAR FORM, WITH A SILVER R N D
UNDERLINED & PIERCED WHERE THE DOTS ARE BETWEEN THE LETTERS, THERE ARE HALLMARKS ROUND THE EDGE BUT THEY ARE
BADLEY RUBBED , THE BALANCE OF PROBABILITYS ARE THE BADGE
WAS MADE EITHER BY SYDNAM BROS OR WARD BROS AS THEY SEEM TO BE QUITE PROLIFIC IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THESE ITEMS
THE PHOTO ON THE LEFT SHOWS A VIEW OF PART,
OF BIRMINGHAMS ,
JEWELLERY QUARTER,
OF THAT PERIOD,
AND ON THE RIGHT,
AND BELOW SHOW MEN, AND WOMEN AT WORK,
IN THE JEWELLERY WORKSHOPS.
OF THAT PERIOD.
THE BROACH BELOW IS A RARE FIND AND IS THE ONLY ONE IV'E EVER SEEN.
BELOW IS A BRIEF EXPLANATION,
OF THE BADGES ORIGINS.
2nd Naval Brigade (Aug. 1915-May/June 1916)
1st Royal Marine Bn.
2nd Royal Marine Bn. (disbanded 28/4/18. Personnel to 1st RM Bn.)
Anson Bn.
Howe Bn. (disbanded in Feb.1918. Personnel to other RND Bns.)
The new 2nd Naval Brigade & the amalgamation of the four RMLI Bns, was intended as a stop-gap measure until reinforcements allowed the reconstitution of their original formations. Unfortunately the reinforcements were never forthcoming & despite honest intentions, the two RM Bns. remained unchanged until April 1918. However, the 2nd Naval Brigade was disbanded in May 1916 on arrival in France, & the 3rd RM Bde. briefly reformed. There followed an exercise in Admiralty mathematics, whereby they got their calculations hopelessly wrong for the numbers of drafts available. Not before 1st & 2nd Hood Bns. had been formed in France, & 2nd Hawke, 2nd Anson & 2nd Drake Bns. at Blandford, was the truth revealed & all "2nd" Bns. disbanded. The end result was that for a short time the two RM Bns., with Howe & Anson Bns., became part of a "new" 1st RN Brigade. However as the Army had now taken control of the Division, it was decided to bring their designation into line with the Army's idea of titles. The RND was renamed "The 63rd (RN) Division ....................
THIS BROACH ON THE LEFT IS GILDED NO ENAMEL, AND IS IN,
NEAR MINT CONDITION,
CONDITION IS IMPORTANT,
IF ITS TO PERFECT " BEWARE!"
THIS ONE HAS GOOD PATINA ,
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK,
ROBIN McGREGOR,
FOR PUTTING ,
HISTORY AND MEMORIES BEFORE PROFFIT,
AND LETTING ME ACQUIRE IT FOR A REASONABLE PRICE,
THIS IS A RARE TRAIT THESE DAYS,
AS A LOT OF PEOPLE JUST SEE ££££££££!!!! AND MEMORIES SECOND,
PEOPLE ARE ENTITLED TO MAKE MONEY , DONT GET ME WRONG,
BUT IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING ON,
A LIMITED BUDGET, ITS NOT EASY TO SAVE THESE PRECIOUS ARTEFACTS,
FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS TO BENEFIT FROM.
" THANKS AGAIN ROB" .........................
ON THE RIGHT IS A NICELY FRAMED
DUO OF DRAKE DIVISION BADGES,
THE SMALLER ENAMMELED ONE,
IS A SWEETHEART BROOCH,
THE ONE BELOW IS A DRAKE DIVISION CAP BADGE,
NICE TO SEE THE PAIR TOGETHER LIKE THAT.
ABOVE IS A FRAMED DISPLAY OF 15 SWEETHEART BROOCHES
IVE USED A SELECTIVE FOCUS TO SOFTEN THE PLAIN FRAME.
I Would like to express a very special thankyou with a lot of humility
to Sally and Gerald Wilton from the "Vintage silver Studio Bournemouth".
who donated the RND Sweetheart brooch on the right
but as if that wasnt enough also included a donation of money ,
which will go towards a wreath to be laid later this year ,
thank you sally and gerry this means a great deal to me .
the badge will be attached to my RNR junior rates beret along side the,
modern Junior rates badge i had when i was a reservist, to symbolically,
bridge the gap between my forbears and myself,
as you have seen these brooches came in a variety of materials ,
and shapes and sizes this is a base metal one,
gilt metal coated and enamel, and is roughly one and a quarter inches
x three quarters of an inch at the base,
even now when you see one and you think ooo! ive got that one , you,
can be surprised ,but when you think that the RND only existed from,
the beggining of ww1 until August 1918-- 1919 you realise how scarce ,
these artifacts really are, ive also used my photo to mark part of the page link.
The brooch on the right
is another good example ,
of an enamel one ,
this one's in the shape of a horse shoe
