There are two schools of thought when it comes to cap badges. One school will not entertain re-strikes or copies. The second school will and I belong to the second school. Under normal circumstances not only are original badges difficult to come by but they will be very expensive.

When an original metal cap badge is made the manufacturer is supplied with the metal die from which to produce them. Sometimes the manufacturer produces more than requested so that he has a few spares left over in case of any rejects and if there are no rejects then the spares are no good to him.

When the contract is finished the die should be returned to the customer and it has been known for these to end up on rubbish skips. So a re strike is one that is made to the original customer and manufactures specifications using an old die but was never actually authorized. If you are ever offered a metal cap badge (in this case an Irish Lights one) cheaply then it is likely to be a spare or a re strike. Compare an original to a restrike Irish cap badge below.

Next is the embroidered Trinity House cap badge which was made for those on board Trinity House tenders and is a re make to the same stringent conditions. The Trinity House Pilot's cloth cap badge and the Principal Keeper's and Assistant Keeper's badges on the right are genuine.

Irish Lighthouse Cap Badges

To the best of my knowledge this badge dates back to the establishment of the Commissioners of Irish Lights, in their present form, in 1867. It was worn on the uniform caps of two branches of the Service and came in two different forms. The all-brass badge was worn by the Assistant Keepers on lighthouses, and by the ratings on board lighthouse tenders, while the same brass badge with its central pictorial disc in silver was reserved for Principal Keepers on lighthouses, and Petty Officers on board the tenders. The use of these two badge types was discontinued in 1972.

Can you spot the restrike. ? The front and reverse view on the left (or top if that's the way your browser shows it) appear to me as genuine as they shine as brass and a small remnant of brass polish can be seen. The front and reverse view on the right (or bottom) do not have the same shine of quality about them and I suspect that it is a restrike.

Both these items appeared on e-Bay and neither stated that they were original.

Trinity House Cap Badges

In the last 8 years no one has ever asked about the keeper's metal cap badge, and then within 6 weeks I get two questions. James, a teenager in the Isle of Wight, was metal detecting near St. Catherine's lighthouse and found the cap badge shown in the two pictures on the left. John was metal detecting near St. Ann's lighthouse in Wales and found the one shown in the picture on the right. Both have been cleaned up for the photo, have the fastening pin on the reverse, and are 4.5cm wide. I have spoken to my friendly ex lighthouse keeper, who in turn has consulted the archivist at Trinity House and we can confirm that it is a metal cap badge belonging to a keeper. It is probably Victorian and was still being used up to World War 1.

William Kelly was a keeper at St. Catherine's lighthouse, and a photo of him at the Maritime Museum in Falmouth shows him wearing a cap with this badge. He was keeper there from 1914-1918. An even older photo shows keeper George Freeman with the same badge in his cap. Fred (surname not given) in another photo shows the same badge. This style soon was replaced and my experts, who were young keepers during the war, confirm that their badge was cloth backed and embroidered with gold thread. The type of badge can sometimes indicate the rank.

And finally; on the left, here is a picture of John Redfern, keeper of Godrevy Lighthouse. The photo appeared for sale on e-bay. On the right is William Eulong Cooper, with a long and splendid career, but at one time at St. Marys's lighthouse at Whitley Bay. Thanks to Steve for allowing this family history photo to be published.
You will have to accept my word that the badges are the same.

Well done to the two enthusiast metal detectors and long may they find buried treasure.

Lighthouse keeper's caps

Here is an example of the traditional cap. I saw it for sale on e-bay and it sold for a silly price. I have also seen them for sale in a local charity shop at a give away price.

Note the free mildew - not surprising given where it spent the majority of its life.