Riding shotgun Posted 24 March , 2013 Share Posted 24 March , 2013 Hello Can anyone tell me at what point in the war the soldiers uniform would have changed over to the General service Buttons please, i am a bit confused to be honest, the question comes from the battlefield finds where they discover the remains of those lost in WW1 but some still have there unit buttons rather than the general service buttons, i spoke to a few Men of the Bedfordshire Yeomanry, 148 Field Regiment from WW2 who said they had the BY with the cross lances till they were called up at the outbreak of war then had to change them, was this the same for those during WW1? Thanks Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auchonvillerssomme Posted 24 March , 2013 Share Posted 24 March , 2013 GS buttons were already in use well before (from 1871 - 1881) the start of WW1, no doubt there were some exceptions but the majority if not all infantry other ranks would have worn them Correction British infantry O/R's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FROGSMILE Posted 24 March , 2013 Share Posted 24 March , 2013 The buttons were adopted in 1871 and used by all except Foot and Horse Guards and cavalry, including some yeomanry. During WW1 it was common for some units to somehow get hold of regimental buttons for their SNCOs, but as a general rule most units, less those mentioned used the GS button. For specific regiments you would need to consult their history to clarify any exceptions to the norm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auchonvillerssomme Posted 25 March , 2013 Share Posted 25 March , 2013 Sorry we didn't answer your question fully. The infantry went back to regimental buttons around 1924 (Ripley 1971). As regards the 148 Field Regiment Bedfordshire Yeomanry, what buttons did they change to, was it the RA button? Mick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riding shotgun Posted 25 March , 2013 Author Share Posted 25 March , 2013 In a photo i have taken of one of the men in 1938 and you can see Royal Artillery buttons, i remember one of the men saying that once war broke out they had to change to General Service buttons (they were using old WW1 uniforms as they didn't get an issue of 37 pattern battledress until early 1940), being 19 year olds they had never done this in there lives so many mothers did the honors for them, i am trying to find out the periods that the Bedfordshire Yeomanry Buttons were used on the Tunics, That the BY with the Cross Lances rather than the BIY from the Boer war period, the men i used to go and see regarding WW2 have passed away now and wish i would have asked more questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auchonvillerssomme Posted 26 March , 2013 Share Posted 26 March , 2013 They would have been wearing the button below after the change in name from Bedfordshire Imperial Yeomanry to Bedfordshire Yeomanry on 1st April 1908. Unless you can find stores record that's probably as close as we can get. Mick This is an officers button. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riding shotgun Posted 26 March , 2013 Author Share Posted 26 March , 2013 Thanks Everyone I know a hell of a lot more than i did in respect of the Boer War/WW1 period, i know in the 1930s they used the Royal Artillery buttons but after WW1 the cavalry was obsolete. There is an amazing amount of knowledge from the forum members on here and gratefully received. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kath Posted 26 March , 2013 Share Posted 26 March , 2013 Any pictures of General Service buttons, please? Kath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riding shotgun Posted 26 March , 2013 Author Share Posted 26 March , 2013 This is a general service button Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riding shotgun Posted 26 March , 2013 Author Share Posted 26 March , 2013 Sorry, hopefully attached this time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kath Posted 26 March , 2013 Share Posted 26 March , 2013 Thank you, Rs. Kath (not having heard of them before ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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