What's new

WW1 Nova Scotia 85th highlanders badge…

Lord Verdigris

Silver Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Messages
3,935
Reaction score
9,274
Golden Thread
2
Location
East coast Canada
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Minelab equinox 800, Fisher F75 Ltd SE 2 & Fisher F2 with 11"DD
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Got a new permission but only dug a few hits then decided to save the property for after my work season to really hit it when I have some free time. I was shocked first dig was a wwi 85th Nova Scotia highlanders badge. Then a few odds and ends. I dug an old cork cap also that says Berry & sons co. that I’m trying to get some info on. Those old king cork caps are the only time I don’t mind digging a bottle cap! Haha
Thanks for looking! 😁👍
IMG_9946.webp
IMG_9940.webp
IMG_9941.webp
IMG_9938.webp
IMG_9939.webp
IMG_9937.webp
IMG_9930.webp
IMG_9947.webp
IMG_9948.webp
 
Upvote 30
Great find on the Highlanders badge.

The cork is from a spirit bottle sold by “Berry Bros. & Co.” of 3 St. James Street, London (now "Berry Bros. & Rudd Ltd.") They’re Britain’s oldest wine and spirit merchant, having been at that address since 1698. Originally a grocery shop founded by a lady known only as “the widow Bourne” selling tea, coffee, snuff, spices and exotic foods, the company passed to the family descendants of her daughter Elizabeth. Second cousins Francis and Walter Berry shifted the company’s focus exclusively to wines and spirits in the early 20th Century.

Since the cork carries the Royal Arms and the words “By Appointment”, it will be after 1903 when they first received a Royal Warrant. Although Harry Rudd joined the Berry Bros. partnership in 1920, his name wasn’t added to the company name as “Berry Bros. & Rudd” until the 1940s when the company also incorporated, adding “Ltd” to the name.

Their most popular and successful export product was “Cutty Sark Scotch Whisky” created in 1923 and widely smuggled into the United States during the prohibition era.
 
Great find on the Highlanders badge.

The cork is from a spirit bottle sold by “Berry Bros. & Co.” of 3 St. James Street, London (now "Berry Bros. & Rudd Ltd.") They’re Britain’s oldest wine and spirit merchant, having been at that address since 1698. Originally a grocery shop founded by a lady known only as “the widow Bourne” selling tea, coffee, snuff, spices and exotic foods, the company passed to the family descendants of her daughter Elizabeth. Second cousins Francis and Walter Berry shifted the company’s focus exclusively to wines and spirits in the early 20th Century.

Since the cork carries the Royal Arms and the words “By Appointment”, it will be after 1903 when they first received a Royal Warrant. Although Harry Rudd joined the Berry Bros. partnership in 1920, his name wasn’t added to the company name as “Berry Bros. & Rudd” until the 1940s when the company also incorporated, adding “Ltd” to the name.

Their most popular and successful export product was “Cutty Sark Scotch Whisky” created in 1923 and widely smuggled into the United States during the prohibition era.
Wow great info thank you. Soul you say between 1903-1920? 😁👍
 
Wow great info thank you. Soul you say between 1903-1920? 😁👍

You're welcome. Certainly after 1903 (because that's the year they got a Royal Warrant) but the company name remained unchanged until the 1940s, despite Rudd joining the partnership in 1920.
 
Some info if anyone is curious…

“The 85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders), CEF, was a famed Canadian Expeditionary Force infantry unit formed during World War I. Authorized in 1915 and mobilized in Halifax, it recruited men across Nova Scotia. The unit is best known for capturing Hill 145 at Vimy Ridge in 1917, the site where the Vimy Memorial stands today.
Formation & History
  • Recruitment: Raised province-wide, it drew men from rural communities, mining towns, and fishing villages. The commanding officer was Lt.-Col. Allison Hart Borden.
  • Vimy Ridge (1917): Originally functioning as a labor battalion, the 85th was abruptly called to the front line. On April 9, 1917, they launched a successful, daring bayonet charge to capture Hill 145—the highest and most heavily defended point on Vimy Ridge.
  • Legacy: The battalion fought in several other major battles, including Passchendaele, Amiens, and Canal du Nord, earning 12 battle honours before disbanding in 1920.“
  • While exact archival production records for the World War I 85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders) cap badges do not survive, roughly 1,000 to 1,200 badges were produced to outfit the initial draft of the battalion (34 officers and 1,001 other ranks) before they sailed for England in 1916.
  • While exact archival production records for the World War I 85th Battalion (Nova Scotia Highlanders) cap badges do not survive, roughly 1,000 to 1,200 badges were produced to outfit the initial draft of the battalion (34 officers and 1,001 other ranks) before they sailed for England in 1916.
 
I appreciate all the people who took the time checking out the badge and commenting or liking it. It feels good to be posting back here more. I’m still pumped over the badge find! :)
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest Discussions

Back
Top Bottom