Good Conduct Stripe

[Sgt York]

If, a man on enlisting had previously served in the army and gained a Good Conduct/Long Service stripe. Would he be entitled to wear the stripe on re-enlistment?

Cheers,

Ronnie.

[Paul Reed]

Hmm - interesting one. I would say no, because the stripe went towards his potential pension, promotion or LSGC medal (pre-war); and that applied to that period of service only. When he re-enlisted, he started again and during WW1 Good Conduct stripes were awarded differently to pre-war.

Joe Sweeney might have an answer from ACIs?

[Muerrisch]

Good-Conduct Badges [always with the hyphen], "a high distinction ......... as a token of Our Royal approbation ..... a chevron on the left arm", are covered in the Pay Warrant 1914. This badge was a genuine chevron, ie point up, worn lower left sleeve. The exception was Guards drummers, who wore them point down I believe, to cross the drummer's lace on their sleeves.

The badges did not attract extra pay [Good-Conduct Pay] unless a soldier had elected, some years before 1914 to receive it rather than "Service Pay".

There was a further complication, that of "Proficiency Pay". If anyone has had the patience to understand the interaction of these three potential additional payments, please get in touch!

I do not believe the badges had any role towards pension, other than that a soldier without good conduct per se would not have been retained to 21 years service and so would not have got a retirement pension.

I do not believe that Good-Conduct Badges had a lot to do with promotion, either. They were certainly neither a necessary nor sufficient cause, and irrelevant for promotion above corporal.

Badges were earned at a rate of one for each period of years as follows:

2,5,12,18,23,28, although soldiers with no significant crime record could go 16,21,26 for the later badges. These qualifying periods had altered a lot over the preceding years, but I know of no changes during the war [indeed, soldiers "for 3 years or the duration" were officially Regulars on a different contract, and I see no reason for them not to earn a badge after 2 years].

Pictures exist of old soldiers with more than this number of badges, I have examples, but not during the Great War.

The highest rank/appontment that could wear the badges was that below full corporal or equivalent. This had not always been so, and was different for the West African Regiment.

Regarding the Long Service and Good Conduct medal, this was only awarded to those with a very high standard of conduct, demanding higher standards than the Good-Conduct Badge, "not less than 18 years with irreproachable character", and carried a gratuity of £5.

Finally, the opening question of this thread. All that the Pay Warrant says on this is "in awarding a Good-Conduct badge or badges to a man rejoining Our Regular Forces from Our Army Reserve, regard shall be had to the entries in his regimental conduct sheet during his service in the reserve". There is an implication that, if you had been virtuous whilst a Reservist in civvy street, you could "put them up" when you went back in.

Time for someone else to take the strain.

[Ciaran Byrne]

Well, I believe that you could wear them. If you look at this page on my site:

http://www.royalirishlancers.co.uk/family.htm

you can just make out that my great uncle has two good conduct stripes on his left sleeve. This picture was taken in Belgium. He joined up in 1908 and left the army in January 1914 , only to be called up again in August. The fact he is wearing good conduct stripes in this photograph strongly suggest that he is wearing previously awarded stripes.

[Muerrisch]

Nice photo: and even nicer to be right! And I am so glad that he was not also wearing corporal's chevrons!!

Thank you very much.

[Sgt York]

Paul, Langley and Ciaran,

Thank you for replying to my question.

Ronnie.