Interpreting Insignia & Patches 1

[hen190782]

There is only one man listed on the Castleton RoH has being awarded the MSM and he is listed as a Warrant Officer II (acting) with Army Service Corps.

Nigel

[hen190782]

Actually, this man also received the Meritorious Service Medal:

Nigel

[FROGSMILE]

Staffs and Frogsmile

Thanks, given the Belfast connection, I would err on the side of Royal Irish Rifles.

Nigel

The RIR and the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) chose to retain collar badges (for officers and WOs) in deference to their antecedents, who apart from some Militia battalions were not Rifles by tradition. It was only the two original Rifles regiments (KRR and RB), plus associated London Regiment battalions, that did not wear collar badges.

[FROGSMILE]

There is only one man listed on the Castleton RoH has being awarded the MSM and he is listed as a Warrant Officer II (acting) with Army Service Corps.

Nigel

The qualifying criteria for the MSM was complex, especially at that time, and a man had to have very long service and, other than as an award for a specific act of meritorious service (rare other than during WW1), he also had to be already in possession of the Long Service and Good Conduct medal, whose ribbon you would normally see adjacent.

[hen190782]

I err in error

[hen190782]

Frogsmile

This is the newspaper clipping for MSM to the man I referred to in post #27:

Nigel

[FROGSMILE]

Frogsmile

This is the newspaper clipping for MSM to the man I referred to in post #27:

Nigel

Yes Nigel, this is exactly the kind of instance I meant when referring to the possibility of a man receiving a MSM for specific meritorious act(s). It was the only way a man could get the MSM without already having a LSGC. There were several cases in WW1.

Given the evidence that you have presented, it might be then that the MSM is indeed the medal ribbon seen in the photo as originally suggested by forum member Sepoy.

In which case the photo fits too with the RIR scenario. Just because regular battalions of the RIR generally wore collar badges, it does not mean that Service (i.e. war raised) and TF battalions always did so. Supply and demand could have an effect, as could the desire of some commanding officers of Service and TF units for their men to be different and thus more readily identifiable as from 'his' unit.

[hen190782]

Thanks